Direct Democracy In Ancient Athens

The concept of Democracy dates back to the Classic Period, otherwise known as the Golden Age of Greece. Prior to becoming a unified nation, Greece was made up of city-states that were constantly warring with one another. None of these city-states possessed full control over its neighbors. It was during this time and because of these circumstances that there was great advancement in Greek thought encompassing philosophy and politics. These advancements are responsible for the strong Greek

One mark Greece had on future societies in the West can be seen in the advancement of political order, namely democracy, which still prevails in not only the United States but across the globe. Democracy began development when Cleisthenes transformed Athens into a democratic state and took steps to protect the system of government from tyranny.1 The first period of Rome would later take from these concepts and became marked by the representative way in which they chose to govern themselves—as a republic.2

One of the strengths of the Athenian democracy was that the people (males)had a voice for their city. If there was a problem or concern they were able to bring it up and discuss it among others. The men were not able to vote for everything, this was great because it didn’t allow one person to rule with power. The laws were created within the power of the people and then were passed according to the votes that the “people” casted.

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

As a democracy, people should be involved in important decisions such as voting. Ancient Athens was not a democracy because only 12% of the people were allowed to vote. That percentage only included citizen men who were or appeared to be of 18 years of age. In fact, this excludes citizen women, children of citizens,

Democracy is a system of government by the whole population or all eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives. These members have the rights to vote, have well-paying jobs, and be able to serve their country during a war. However, in ancient Athens only a very small population of citizens had the rights to do these things. In ancient Athens, the Athenian government was not truly Democratic because only a little population of citizens could vote, the city can decide whether or not you have the right to be a citizen, and only a few citizens had the full amount of rights.

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.

democracy is a form of government in which people come together and make laws for the benefit of the country for example, here in the united states people have the right to vote, have equal rights, pursuit of happiness and practice in any religion of your choice. ancient athens did not have a true democracy. In ancient athens Women, free foreigners and slaves were excluded from voting, the government body could decide if you were a citizen or not. Also, women weren't allowed to vote unless they married a citizen. Therefor there constitution did not favor democracy.

Ancient Greece was famous for its art and ideas. Greek people were very creative in great epics, history, dramas, philosophy, science, mathematics, and medicines. The ancient Greece was covered with mountains, rocky hills, and narrow valleys. Greek later became educated about trading with the Mediterranean. Modern Democracy is more concerned about peace, division of power and providing equal rights of every citizen of a country however, in the ancient Greece was involved with war among the state, misuse of political power, discriminate slaves and poor farmers.

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.

Athenians knew that they could always speak up and make Athens a better place. People were able to make laws and vote to make decisions. It made people love the government. Democracy made Athens golden because it allowed multiple opinions to

In a direct democracy, all the citizens could vote for every single issue. Athens’ direct democracy allowed each citizen to take part in the city’s government. Every ten days, the citizens who wanted to vote would gather on a hill. There, the men debated on issues, voted on laws, and listened to others speak their opinions (Frey 285). Since all citizens could participate in the Athenian government, there were a lot of different perspectives on the same issue.

Greek democracy was best developed in the city-state of Athens from where the very word “democracy”, meaning “the rule of the people” stems. People ‘ruled’ by electing officials through lot and making important decisions by majority rule. Democracy was direct, meaning that the Athenians “allowed the whole citizenry to assemble in the central eklisia, or the equivalent today of the main city hall, to vote on important issues” (Makedon 1995). In this sense, Athenian democracy differed from representative democracy that is currently prevalent in most states, in which officials are elected through democratic vote and then given authority to make decisions for the people. In Athens, elected officials were paid, but the pay was very low so that it compared with the wages of the poorest citizens and only covered the compensation of their time and effort.

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

Democratic values can be seen through many different situations, such as when people had the same rights to engage meaningfully in an open discussion or debate, make free decision without the fear of being arrested, and have the right to participate through voting for the government. In the Ancient Greece, democratic values were important as people believed in “equality before the law”, which explains that they wanted to share their culture, their values and freedom with the same power. Democracy began to rise in the city of Athens, through accomplishing new principles that gave the right to speak, the just and equal order. The people in Greece, whether they had different cultures, still had mutual respect,