Democracy : The Foundations Of The Athenian Democracy

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 Athenian democratic system enabled mass political participation of its (admittedly exclusive) citizenry, with each member of its assembly able to vote on the policies formed by the representatives in the council. This is why, despite its exclusivity, this form of politics is known as a direct democracy. You can see that it directly relies on two of our three meanings of Demos and indirectly includes the third, with the assembly enabling direct participation of the adult male citizens, and the council representatives from the demes representing both the male and female citizens of their particular

Democracy. A democracy is a government which all the people of the state are involved in making decisions, such as voting for representatives. So was there a democracy that was set by the Athens? Or was it an oligarchy that represents how everyone is supposed to live. Although many say the athens lived a democratic life, the evidence says it itself, they didn’t.

Democracy is the ancient form of government our great nation built its foundation on. This inspiration came from the ancient Greeks, especially Athenians, who established the beginnings of democracy thousands of years ago. However, not everyone in Greece agreed upon what this “people led” political system should look like. The Peloponnesian War broke out in 431 B.C.E which was essentially a civil war between the Greece city-states of Athens and Sparta. Blood was spilt and lives shed for the principles of government these two very different cities represented.

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

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?

Athens was the intellectual center of Greece. It was one of the first city-states of its time, and is still known as one of the most famous cities in the world. It was named after Athena, the goddess of wisdom and the city's patron. In 508 B.C., Athens became one of the first societies in ancient times to invent democracy. Democracy came from the Greek words, demos, meaning people, and kratein, meaning to rule. This form of government was usually held in a meeting place, which the Athenians called the Assembly. Here the citizens of Athens met monthly and discussed the affairs of state. There were no decisions made by government without first asking the Assembly.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

The Athenian Democracy principle was majority rule. The assembly of all male citizens in Athens voted on decisions directly. The elected officials did not determine decisions. Few checks on or limits to the power of the assembly existed. Only adult male Athenian citizens had the right to vote in Athens, which excluded slave workers, women and resident foreigners. In addition, there were no lawyers and everyone had to argue their own case. All decisions were final, no appeals.

Democracy is a form of government in which all eligible citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Democracy allows eligible citizens to participate equally—either directly or through elected representatives—in the proposal, development, and creation of laws. It encompasses social, economic and cultural conditions that enable the free and equal practice of political self-determination.

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.