Democracy : The Foundations Of The Athenian Democracy

Even though Athens was the birthplace of democracy Athens, itself, was not a democracy. The reason why they are not considered a democracy is because of the 240,235 people only 12% or 29,900 of the population were allowed to vote. Men were the only citizens who could vote (Document C). The Franchise was open to all the men who were citizens by birth only. Both parents had to be citizens as well. Women weren’t allowed to be part of the Franchise (Document B).

Democracy is a “Government by the people”, Democracy was a central part of Athenian society and everyday life. The Athenian government held Ekklesia or assembly where citizens could go to vote on laws, issues and practically everything affecting Athenian life. They also had The Boule or council and the Dikastiria or the courts that helped make decisions and enforce laws. Through their actions the Athenians established a very early democracy.

During the classical age of Athens, in 6th century B.C.E. Athens’ leaders and citizens voted, represented, and became their government. They called their form of government representation ‘demokratia’ meaning ‘government by the people for the people.’ While only certain groups were able to take part in the Athenian government, the Athenians were still a true democracy because of their systems of random lottery to be accepted into the assembly and the simple fact that they created democracy in the first place. One way Athens proved that it was a democracy was by its system of pulling citizens randomly to take part in the assembly. As shown by Document B, the magistrates that were “responsible for the ordinary routine of administration are accepted

Democracy in Athens While history in Athens can get quite murky, there is an age long argument on whether or not Democracy truly existed in Athens or not, while many back the idea of “No way! Athens was not a democracy!” This document is here to show you how Athens was one of the democratic powerhouses of Ancient Greece. You can always argue two sides of an opinion but to face the facts collected here you can see how the democratic beliefs in Athens may have well influenced today’s ideas on our democracy still used in the government today and all over the world.

Approximately 2500 years ago a series of changes and reformations in political thought led to the creation of the ancient Athenian democracy. Through the changes implemented by Solon and Cleisthenes during the Golden Age of Greece, democracy was born in Athens. Although it was somewhat impractical, exclusionist, and only open to a very small percentage of the total Athenian population, its impact is still felt today. Athenian democracy is widely recognized as the model from which all other forms of democratic rule has evolved from. Through the principles handed down from that Athenian democracy, ancient Greek culture remains a prominent presence in contemporary life, particularly in regard to its democratic policies.

The Athenians valued each others opinions and ideas. They gathered with fellow citizens to speak their minds and hear the views of others at assemblies. This shows cooperation and organization. They then voted directly on government laws and policies. Public officials were elected, or reelected, every year.

The Athenian democracy as all about the people and how they have all the power to decide on rules, provide growth to the people and treat everyone with fairness regardless of status, class, rank or lordship. Athens is not ruled by one individual, it is ruled by the people and not by politicians. Politicians in Athens is only meant to guide the peoples’ actions on what to vote for. Politicians can write whatever they like to change something for their people. However, it’s the people that decide if they will move forward with it.

To start answering this question we first need to look at the facts of what Demokratia really was in Ancient Greece. By now we know that it means “power of the people”, but was it really?

To understand how democracy came into power, the instigators who set up and initiated this system of government need to be further analysed. Each of them did key, significant modifications that ultimately attempted to make Athens an equal society amongst its citizens. Firstly, in the 6th century BCE Solon revoked all debts that the people of Athens owed. He allowed the poor to be involved by creating the ‘general assembly’, who now had a choice on deciding who they wanted in power (Pfingsten, n.d.). Debt slavery was also abolished by Solon, who was the first initiator towards a democratic society. Politically, Solon was believed to establish the council of 400, he also created the four class system dividing the population into separate classes

Demokratia, is a greek word meaning “rule of the people.” This meant that every citizen, excluding slaves, immigrants, and women, could vote and serve in a jury. This is the final government of ancient Greece.

In the fifth-century BC, Athens emerged as one of the most advanced state or polis in all of Greece. This formation of Athenian ‘democracy’ holds the main principle that citizens should enjoy political equality in order to be free to rule and be ruled in turn. The word ‘democracy’ originates from the Greek words demos (meaning people) and kratos (meaning power) therefore demokratia means “the power of the people.” The famous funeral speech of Pericles states that “Our constitution is called democracy because power is in the hands not of a minority but of the whole people.” However, only citizens (free adult men of Athenian descent) could participate in political matters. Women and slaves held no political rights, although they were

Democracy is defined as a government ruled by common people. The power of the should be in the hands of the largest class which is the poorest. The political system of ancient Athens was a Democracy, which involved all of its citizens.This system was divided in three parts: the ekklesia( a sovereign governing body who wrote the laws) the boule(representatives from the Athenian tribes) and the dikasteria, (the courts in which citizens argued cases in front of selected jurors). Every men could participate in the political process, being selected by lot to fill even the highest offices and being paid for pub- lic service. Four times a month proposals were debated and decisions were made openly so and any citizen could speak to the issues of the day.

Continuously throughout history the Greeks ideas had displayed themselves multiple times in many different ways. Most Americans had become familiar with the famous description of a democratic government by Abraham Lincoln, “a government of the people, by the people, for the people.” Although, unfortunately less known that the word democracy comes from our ancient Greek companions. Demokratia, a Greek word for “power of the people,” came to life in Athens in the 7th century BC. A democracy described itself as a government in which citizens elect representatives to advocate for them in the government. As the city-states oligarchy exploited citizens and created economic, political, and social problems, Athens became inspired by the prosperous, semi-democratic model Sparta had adopted. They turned their ways in trying to help the struggling majority

Through the establishment of democracy in Athens, Cleisthenes was successful in abolishing the political aristocracy that had monopolized decision-making. However, the introduction of the democratic governance was marked by reforms within a small portion of the Athenian population. During the founding of democracy, the Athenian population was limited to about 100,000; this constituted citizens whose parents were also born within the state. The rest of the population comprised of 10,000 resident foreigners (metoikoi) and 150,000 slaves (Dahl 66). Within the whole population, the state allowed only the males who were above 18years to participate in the democratic processes. Therefore, the beginning of the 4th century was marked by a developing democratic system that was limited relative to who could participate in the process.

Democracy is a frequently used word but its meaning is rarely fully understood. A democratic political system is one in which the ultimate political authority is vested in the people. The word democracy comes from the Greek words "demos" which means the people and "kratos" which means authority. Democracy first flourished in the ancient polis of Athens, where huge gatherings were held in order to vote on certain issues.