Ancient Greece Forms Of Government

Sparta’s government was said to have a mixture of the major types of government which is oligarchy, monarchy, and democracy. While Athens seems to only have a democracy. In Document 2, an excerpt from “The Spartan Constitution” by Aristotle there’s a quote that states “they praise Lacedaemon because it is made up of oligarchy, monarchy, and democracy..” This quote tells exactly what type of government Sparta had. It’s also said that Sparta is the foundation for the governments we now have in the world. Athens on the other hand had a democracy as stated in Document 3, an excerpt from “Funeral Orations” by Pericles a quotes from this excerpt states “it is true that our government is a democracy, because it’s administration is in the hands, not of the few, but of many..” This quote clearly states that the type of government Athens has is a

The city-states of Ancient Greek provide examples of different types of government structures that, even

Oligarchy comes from the Greek words “oligos” meaning “few” and “archo” meaning “rule”. Essentially “oligarchy” means “rule of the few in their own interests and not in the interest of the majority or the public good.” (Melville, 2011). Melville states that oligarchy was a “degeneration” of aristocracy as stated by Aristotle. Oligarchies were the most common form of government in the Ancient Greek city-states. In Sparta, the Gerousia (council of twenty-eight men over sixty-year of age together with the two kings) was an elite assembly dominated by the wealthier members of Spartan society. The Gerousia approved all laws that were submitted to the popular assembly for vote. The Ephors were a group of five men who were elected annually for a single term of office. The Ephors usually deferred to the guidance of the Gerousia (Brand, n.d.).

When evaluating the government of ancient Athens, some might say that it was a democracy, however, it can be better described as an oligarchy: a form of government in which a small group of people has the power and control (Doc. D by Mogens Herman Hansen). A democracy takes all the citizens’ opinions and thoughts into account, unlike an oligarchy that only takes the male citizens’ opinions and thoughts into account. Thus, Athens is more similar to an oligarchy than a democracy. The people of Athens also decide as a whole what the best government for their city-state was, as opposed to a democracy where the people elect representatives to make decisions for them and their city-state. Athens could be seen as not a true democracy because of the lack of basic democratic rules and methods such as what they define democracy as, who is able to vote, and how they vote.

It was usually a tyranny, a form of monarchy or a select group of people. The Greek states could either be ruled by a single individual, such as monarchs and tyrants, or a select group of people, an oligarchy, or every male citizen, which was a democracy. Also the idea of a democracy was regarded as the Greeks' greatest contribution to civilizations of today. But actually monarchies were rare and often not distinguished from a tyranny unless the hereditary ruler was really kind and ruled in the interest of his people rather than himself. But tyrants were not necessarily considered evil, rather they were considered rulers that were just looking out for themselves.“The most famous monarchies were the states of Macedonia and Epiros, where the ruler shared power with an assembly of people” (Cartwright). The Ancient Greek government went through a lot of changes, but, unlike the government, the military stayed

Let’s see what is Monarchy? It is a king or queen who gets all the powers of authority from inheritance and power stays in the same family, usually the bloodline from father to son. In Ancient Greeks, there weren’t too many monarchies, but there was some present and even Athens went under the monarchy at the end of the classical period which ended with the death of Alexander the Great. His father Phillip II of Macedon who became king after the deaths of his two brothers conquered Athens after the Peloponnesian war and ended democracy in the great city of Athens. (Wasson, 2014)

A form of government very similar to monarchy, Tyrannies usually grew out of oligarchies. The word tyranny comes from the Greek word tyrannos (usurper with supreme power). Many states, particularly in the 6th century BC, were ruled by a tyrant. It first appeared in Argos or Corinth, then Sicyon, Megara, Mytilene and Miletus. However, A tyrant usually doesn't pass power to his son, and despite common stereotypes, not all tyrants were bad leaders. Oligarchy An oligarchy is a form of government in which the ruling power is in the hands of a few leaders. The word oligarchy comes from the Greek terms oligos (few) and arkhein (rule). These "few" are rich, powerful or both, and are usually nobles, aristocrats, military groups or any distinguished group that rules tyrannically with their own interests at heart. Thus it did not benefit the mass population. It is highly championed by the Spartan government. In Sparta the Spartan who rose through the ranks and eventually serve as Ephor and Gerousia or is a direct descendant of the royal family Agiads and the Eurypontids get together to

away the will of the citizens, it is called oligarchy. Megara and Thebes are some of the ancient

In the centuries of rule among the ancient Greek polis, we can see examples of monarchy, aristocracy, tyranny, oligarchy, and democracy. As no city-state is alike, there are differences in how these forms existed from polis to polis. Scholars may still argue over the appropriate label for some of the forms of rule.

If you time travel back to the time of Ancient Greece, you will notice many things that are different from now, including the type of government in their society. If you go to say, the City of Athens around 500 B.C.E you'll find they have a Democracy that's a bit different than the one we have today in the United States. Demokratia or rule of the people was introduced by Cleisthenes a noble Athenian Leader. For about one hundred years Athens was a direct democracy, unlike the United States that has a Representative Democracy. Though, since you can't time travel I’ll explain to you just what I’m talking about.

Picture a world of nothing but oligarchies, and you’ll see what ancient Greece was like. Ancient Greece consisted of a large amount of city states that were interconnected only via trade routes and alliances and, most of them, were almost all ruled by oligarchies and aristocracies. In 508 B.C., a city state set itself apart from the rest of the world by becoming a democracy. Athens, an influential “polis,” which is an ancient Greek city-state. Athens, which was located in the southeastern Grecian peninsula known as Attica, was the world’s first democracy. The Athenian Democracy lasted for 186 years, and even after it fell in 322 B.C., there were still traces of democracy in the Athenian government.

In Sparta the political structure was mixture of monarchy, oligarchy and democracy. There were 2 two kings, one to go to war and

An oligarchy is another type of republic. This type is ruled by a select few. An example of an oligarchic society would be France. King Louis XV is king but he has a complete parliament to assist him in the law making procedure of France.

Monarchical Government - this is a government by one person or monarch. However, it degenerates into tyranny which is a bad type of government.

The Athenian government evolved from a monarchy into an aristocracy. A monarchy is when a King or Queen exercises central power. In Greece, the government was headed by a privileged minority or upper class, which ruled his or her own city-states. They created a system based on the right of each individual citizen to speak out about issues.