What Was The Role Of 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

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 in theory. 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 can be proven 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 demonstrate this include Herodotus’

Today, much of the world’s governments have converted to democracies. In the Ancient World, there was only one truly notable example of a democratic society: The City-State of Athens. This is actually the birthplace of democracy, where instead of the rich or powerful ruling, it was the citizens of the city-state that held the power. This advanced way of government was so effective and well structured, it even laid the foundations for the development of our own democracy, right here in the United States, over 2,000 years in the future. Prior to Athens’s collapse during the Peloponnesian War, it truly had an efficient and very organized system of government.

The Greeks where the first democracy in the world. There government was made up of six thousand members all of witch where male citizens. They voted on problems that needed to be solved and if a law was to pass a majority vote was needed. Now in the United States also has a democracy. Instead of having six thousand people voting and making the decisions all the people vote on a representative that makes the decisions in the country.

Ancient Athens was not truly democratic because the middle class was in charge of politics. The upper and lower classes were not in politics at all. It was not democratic because the only people that could vote were men who are of citizen birth by both parents. People whose parent is a slave could not become a citizen so they could not vote. Democracy was excluding women, free foreigners and slaves.

Greece was one of the first people to have recorded the events of their democratic system. Democracy is a Greek word literally meaning the power of the people to rule. Early democracy was established in ancient Athens, a Greek city-state, and was probably the single most powerful and stable democratic government in Greece.

This is the form of government embraced by Sparta, the other powerful and most influential city state in olden Greece. Oligarchy means, "rule of the few" (Brand, n.d). In the case of Sparta, only the influential and rich members of the society have the right to rule. Unlike democracy, where the citizens of the assembly made most of the important decision, Spartan's rulers had only the power to decide important resolutions for the entire state. Although Spartans had also an assembly, nevertheless high-ranking officials such as the Ephors and Gerousia had the power to influence all-important decisions of the state. Oligarchy was common form of government among the city states in Greek civilization (British Museum, n.d); however, the solid implementer of it was the Spartans. Under the rule of oligarchy, people in the Sparta have no right to question the will of the state. For example, Sparta had a strict policy that all men must serve in military and it was absolute and strictly implemented to all, and all citizens obliged to conform (Brand, n.d). Moreover, oligarchy was popular among other city states in classical Greece (British, Museum,

The athens lived their lives as an oligarchy. According to The Athenian Constitution “The franchise is open to all men who are of citizen and birth by both parents.” This means that women or anyone else except for men who were citizens could not vote whatsoever. In document A it says “That their constitution favors many instead of the few”. Although Women, Children of citizens, Metics,

Ancient Athens allowed all of its people to vote and participate in the community.(Doc A) If there is a man of low class or low wealth wanting to vote or be a part of the community, they would not say no to that person. (Doc A) For example, if there was a man in Ancient Athens who was of low class I society and wealth, he would be able to still vote on laws or be part of his community and his financial problems would not

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).

The Greeks created first democracy in the world. People voted for their leaders, and were involved in public life. Greeks philosopher provided the origin of western philosophy, medicine, and natural sciences. Greek architecture is evident in every court in the U.S. Greeks invented drama. Drama is the form of tragedy and comedy. Minoan culture around (2000 B.C.E. - 1400 B.C.E.) was earliest civilization in the Aegean region emerged on the large island of Crete. By 2800 B.C.E., to make weapons they used metals, especially bronze. Minoan had many trade networks. The peasant paid high taxes. Mycenaean culture around (1600 B.C.E- 1100 B.C.E.) was highly militaristic society. The king collected taxes and controlled bronze and wooden production. The

For a period of less than 200 years, Athens experimented with democracy to a greater extent than any other known to that time. It is tragic to say, by way of commentary, that such an experiment derided by its own leaders, consumed quickly, and failed to enfranchise a vast majority of its people. Nevertheless, the political advances in Athens promoted the arts and sciences, architecture, theater, and literature, and set an enduring legacy for all humanity to

“Our constitution is called a democracy because power is in the hands not of a minority but of the whole people.” (Dale. Civilizations in History. Alternative Two. Pg. 92) This quotation perfectly summarizes Athenian democracy, a system in which all citizens had a say in affecting their daily lives. This is a contrast to Spartan oligarchy, which limited power to a small group of men. Athenian democracy encouraged citizens to use their voice and consequently make an impact on their society. The government included more people's opinions, gave Athenians a more lavish lifestyle and offered more freedom within the education system. This essay will prove that Athenian democracy left Athens a more open civilization, which therefore better

Democracy comes from two Greek words: a noun demos which means, "people" and a verb, kratein, which means "to rule" (Ober 120). Democracy first appeared in Athens towards the beginning of the fifth century B.C. The biggest difference between Athenian democracy and almost all other democracies is that the Athenian version was a direct democracy rather than being representative. Democracy came about in Athens as a result of the growing navel power and the reforms made by leaders such as Cleisthenes and Pericles.

Democracy began to emerge in Greece during the archaic (800-500) and classic (500-323) period, and it has expanded through the country over time . Greeks came up with the idea of democracy through discussions among citizens and with the majority voting; this was called direct democracy as everyone could debate and vote in one place to determine new policy for the country. During this period, only men were allowed to vote and give their opinions, others were not allowed to participate in government’s decisions . However, over time, the democratic government in Greece changed to be more open for every citizen. The poor, men and women, had the same rights, and equal share of power.