Athens: Social Contract Theory Of Citizenship In Athens

Citizenship in Athens and Rome has similarities and differences. Being a citizen is being a native or naturalized member of a state or nation who owes allegiance to its government. Being a citizen meant different things in each empire. The relationship between the citizen and their nation varied from their system of citizenship. Rome had a better system of citizenship because they were more open to who they allowed citizenship, they gave people they conquered citizenship, and personal grudges, judgements about others/topics would not affect the Empire.

In Athens and Rome, citizenship was to be honored and protected. There were many requirements to become a citizen, so not everyone could have it. The Roman Republic allowed free men, women, and children to have citizenship, but the Athens only gave citizenship to free, native-born adult males. Although it might seem like the citizenship system was better in Rome, the system in Athens was better because citizens were given equal rights, Athenians ostracized citizens so there is no dictator, and every citizen could become officials.

Citizenship is the legal status of an individual living within a particular country. Having citizenship gives people rights and responsibilities as well as a sense of belonging to a community. Citizenship can influence the lives of people as it gives people a sense of identity and how to live their life.

Democracy, the form of government in which there is a rule by the people, is said to have originated and thrived in the classical period of Athens, from 500-350 B.C.. Democracy inherently gave all that were considered citizens power to participate in politics. That being said, it is highly debated as to how much power the people, also known as the demos, exercised in this democracy. Many practices and informal institutions can be said to have limited the power of the demos. The democracy in Athens could be said to have been a democracy in theory yet not in practice, as can be proven through a variety of primary sources recounting Athenian political institutions and practices. Such primary sources that can demonstrate this include Herodotus’ History, Thucydides History of the Peloponnesian War, and Demosthenes’ Oration Against Eubulides.

Citizenship is when a person is accepted as a member of a society due to customs or laws. Another way to think about citizenship is that one does not truly become a member of a society until said person has managed to learn and master the tools and trades that allow the society and its members to go on with their everyday lives.

In our document based readings we learned a about how Rome and Athens varied in their approach to Government, Citizenship, and Social cast rights that their citizens were able to obtain. In documents A, B, C, and E all provide example as to how Athens strict rules allowed Athens to have the best system and , also become the longest lasting City-State.

Citizenship is a status or standing given by government to it's people It was first thought of in ancient times by Athens. Athens was a city-state part of the peninsula Greece. This whole transition to citizenship instead of subjects was thought to begin at around 500 BCE, but Athens wasn't the only one participating in this new ideology. Rome, of the Italian peninsula, decided that citizenship was a good way to make their subjects feel proud of their home, so both civilizations started using these new principles. But which citizenship system was better Rome or Athens.

The city-state of Athens had a better system of citizenship because they cared more about who became a civilian, everybody who was a citizen had equal rights and the citizens had a democracy. With the population of around 300,000 people, including slaves only 13% were considered citizens. Athenians emphasized citizen responsibility more than citizen rights. In Athens, participating in government and making the city-state work was considered the honorable act to accomplish.

Rome was generous with their citizenship because in Rome basically everyone could be a citizen except slaves and freed slaves. This included free native-born adult males, free native-born adult females, free native-born children, and sons of freed slaves (Doc A). Doc C states “our founder Romulus, on the other hand, was so wise that he fought his enemies and then hailed as fellow citizens several nations on the very same day”. By doing this it turned enemies into friends. In Athens, only free native-born adult males could be citizens. Free native-born male children had to have a complete education and two years of military training before becoming a citizen (Doc A). No one else could become a citizen. By giving people citizenship it

Citizenship in Rome and Athens, which was the Better System? Rome and Athens were two great civilizations that heavily influenced the United States of America. Two of the main areas of influence were the ideas of government and citizenship. Citizenship is when a person is legally a member of a state or country in which they enjoy specific privileges and have responsibilities to the state. The background essay for this document based questions states, “Citizenship often balances between individual rights, such as the right to vote, and individual responsibilities, such as a duty to serve one’s country.”

Have you ever think about what Rome and Athens had people achieve to become a citizen of Ancient Rome or Athens? These two civilizations started before Jesus was born. The civilizations had advanced societies and both valued citizenship. Rome was a patriotic empire, while Athens was a democratic city. Rome has a better system of citizenship because of Rome’s senate, tolerance for other civilizations, and their censors.

Rome had a superior system of citizenship to Athens. In general, the significance of being a citizen is that it allows someone to vote on laws, become an active part of their government, and manage their own land. A citizen would be free to speak their mind and express their opinions. If one was a citizen of Athens, they would be expected to participate in the government, go to assemblies, vote on laws, have an education, and have been in military training for two years. One would be expected to help make Athens a better place for its people. However, a citizen of Rome would be expected to bear healthy children for the Roman army and become the best citizen they could. In Rome, someone was not expected to participate in the government but

In doc A paragraph two, I think that The Ancient Athens Democracy is democratic because it claims in the document that the Athens leader clearly respects his soldiers. This is noticed because he made a speech at a funeral for all of them that had died in the first year against Sparta’s soldiers.The leader did this to respectfully show his appreciation about how they fight for their democracy.

Ancient Athens was a highly polarized society in which citizenship meant everything. Citizenship permitted individuals to not only participate in the democratic

Citizenship is highly coveted in many nations, so coveted in fact that through only a few processes can one become a citizen for most nations, might that process be natural birth or naturalization. Citizenship and its privileges were also highly valued in Rome, except becoming a citizen was extremely difficult if not impossible. Roman citizenship also leads to assassinations and war within the Italian peninsula. There is a complex history to Roman citizenship.