Greek Democracy Research Paper

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.

Democracy is thoroughly known as the power of the people in which that citizens are able to control their own cities and or states without an overruling government. Many civilizations follow the rules of democracy, one of these civilizations include the ancient Greek state Athens. Research from ancient Athens philosophers; Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle has shown that Athens is a so called democratic government. Aristotle stated in his writing “The Athenian Constitution” that, “ The franchise is open to all men who are citizen birth by both parents.” (Document B) Due to Aristotle's intelligent appearance towards others, people soon found Athens as a truly Democratic state. Although there are many that disagree with this point, strong studies

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

The idea of democracy came from the Ancient Greek civilization. The power was in the hands of the eligible people who had the right to decide or vote what was right or wrong for themselves. The Ancient

"I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

     Democracy has been around for almost 2500 years since Athens, Greece became the first democracy. The Romans also experimented with democracy, however it was more a republic, and not a democracy. Around 1200 England laid the groundwork to become a republic. Later, in the 1700's,

As we have learned that Democracy came from the word ‘demos’ which means people, that makes people the ruling party or majority rule. Ancient Greeks who were experimenting with different kinds of political system and were much interested in which system works best. By far the most radical kind of democracy is a direct democracy which lasted less than two centuries in a Greek city-state of Athens. Citizens of Athens were directly involved in the process and participated in decision making and they were proud of it, they deemed their system to be the best and superior to other systems in other Greek city-states. As Cartwright stated an excerpt from Pericles himself who was one of the greatest supporters of democracy in classic

For approximately two thousands five hundred years ago, democracy a government ruled by the vote od citizen has played a vital role in the world political the preferred political system of free people through the world democracy originated on the streets of athens and because ingrained in greek. Society in 508 b.c clothier an athenian ruler, had reformed by the people theise he established the world's first democracy.

The Greeks are credited with being the fathers of democracy, it was considered a direct democracy, but it was the Romans, who “In 509 B.C., and after having expelled the

The Ancient Greeks had the first known democracy which is the founding basis for our government in the United States. Athenian democracy was developed around the fifth century B.C. in the polis

The Greeks invented and used democracy. The word itself means rule of the people in greek. Democracy allowed for men, poor or rich, to be able to vote. Democracy became quite popular until the Romans’ and their republic. Later to be received in the Middle Ages and then again by the French and Spanish.

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.

“In a democracy the poor will have more power than the rich, because there are more of them, and the will of the majority is supreme” - Aristotle. This quote lays out the main idea behind Democracy. The idea that the people deserve equality and freedom. Equality in race, colour and religion, and freedom of speech, and will, unless it is against the will of the majority of the people. Democracy endeavors to achieve a balance in freedom of an individual, whilst not violating the majority's will. Democracy was developed in Ancient Greece. The word itself comes from the greek term ‘demokratia’ (‘demos - the people’ and ‘kratos - rule’. Democracy was first used in the Greek state, Athens. Athens used a direct form of Democracy, as people knew each other. Nowadays, there are an abundant amount of countries that are ruled under democracy, such as New Zealand, Switzerland, Ireland, and Austria.

Democracy is a form of government where people choose leaders through elections and social construct that are based on the equality of everyone within the state. It is a form of government were majority and public opinions combine to choose leaders with respect to the social structure of a particular society, taking into consideration the social laws, rules, traditions, norms, values, and culture. Plato and Aristotle tow of the most influential figures in Greek philosophy. Both Plato and Aristotle were big critics of democracy as a poor form of government. Aristotle’s views about democracy hold that democratic office will cause corruption in the people, if the people choose to redistribute the wealth of the

one essential conviction, expressed in the word democracy itself: that power should be in the hands of the people. Although democracy today has been slightly inefficient in this idea, with the wealthy, elite class challenging this right, “it nevertheless claims for itself a fundamental validity that no other kind of society shares….” To completely understand the structure of democracy, one must return to the roots of the practice itself, and examine the origins in ancient Greece, the expansion in the Roman Empire, and how these practices combined make what we recognize as today’s democratic government.