cleruchy, in ancient Greece, body of Athenian citizens in a dependent country holding grants of land awarded by Athens. The settlement in Salamis, which Athens captured from Megara in the 6th century bc, may have been the earliest cleruchy. Athens made wide use of the institution to cripple dependent states: plantations took the best territory, and the colonizers were garrisons for the future. With the establishment of the Delian League and the Second Athenian League in the 5th and 4th centuries bc, the cleruchy became a regular arm of Athenian imperialism.
Athenian cleruchs, separate in prestige and privilege from the native peoples among whom they were placed, retained full Athenian citizenship—voting, paying taxes, and serving in the forces—and governed their internal affairs with archon and Ecclesia on the Athenian model. Cleruchies were placed strategically on main lines of communication (e.g., on Andros, Naxos, and Samos and at Sestos on the Hellespont) and provided permanent bases for the Athenian police fleets. At the same time, the financial advantage of being a cleruch encouraged thousands of Athenian citizens to resettle, relieving the pressure of population in Athens and increasing the financial and military strength of the state.