The Economy Of Honours

The demos expected the basileus to be generous to his followers, who were members of the demos and their exchanges to be balanced. When speaking to the other suitors, Antinous says, “Then we’ll seize his estates and worldly goods, carve them up between us, share and share alike,”(The Odyssey: 16.425-426). Antinous was more likely to gain the loyalty of the other suitors, which would extend his influence, because he was willing to distribute the goods equally among them. Odysseus and his men came upon Polyphemus and said “We’re glad to say that we’re men of Atrides Agamemnon…But since we’ve chanced on you, we’re at your knees in hopes of a warm welcome, even a guest-gift, the sort that hosts give strangers. That’s the custom.” (The Odyssey: 9.297-303), there is an implication that interdependence is to occur. By establishing

Solon and his reforms are excellent examples of how Athens developed the road to democracy, and how the benefits of these reforms make Solon superior to Lycurgus as a ruler. Solon, a man of middle ground, was urged forward by the people to rule over them and to settle differences between the rich and the poor. “Solon, on the other hand, could not go to such extremes in his constitution, since he was a man of modest fortune and had been chosen by the people. Yet he made full use of his power, relying on the good will of the

The Greek society was a direct democracy with people voting on the issues themselves instead of representatives voting on their behalf. Any male citizen over the age of eighteen was allowed to vote. Like the Romans, the Greek government was divided into separate parts. The Greek government consisted of an assembly, council, and courts, with each requiring a different number of voters present. The people all gather and vote on issues by hand, and this is the simplest form of majority rules. The role of the people is extremely important in how the society and state is governed and run. This early form a democracy was detailed by Pericles funeral oration during the Peloponnesian War. Pericles was an eminent Athenian politician who states in regards to the government of Athens, “Its administration favors the many instead of the few; this is why it is called a democracy (Pericles, “Funeral Oration”, pp. 2)”. Here, Pericles states that the people have all the power and their opinion is highly valued. Likewise, the Romans valued the people’s opinions so highly that they entrusted with them rewards and punishments, vital aspects that held the society together. Pericles also states, “…nor again does poverty bar the way, if a man is able to serve the state, here is not hindered by the obscurity of his condition (Pericles, “Funeral Oration”, pp. 2)”. Here is the essence of democracy, every man no

The most distinctive feature of Greek political culture lay in the extent of popular participation in political life that occurred within the city-states. This participation was based on the unique ideas of “citizenship,” of free people running the affairs of state, and of equality for all citizens before the law. Political participation in Greek city-states was much wider than in Persia, but it varied considerably between city-states and over time. Early in Greek history, only the wealthy and wellborn had the rights of full citizenship, but middle- and lower-class men gradually obtained these rights in some city-states.

A reading of Thucydides’, Pericles’ Funeral Oration and The Melian Dialogue uncovers both contrasting and comparable viewpoints on Athenian politics, power, aims of war, and empire. Thucydides presents two differing characteristics of Athens, one as the civilizer in Pericles’ funeral oration and the other as an tyrant in the Melian dialogue. In the funeral oration delivered by Pericles during the first year of the war, the Athenian leader emphasizes the idealized personal image of the Athenians in regard to their constitution and good character. Pericles goes on to praise the Athenian democratic institution of Athens that contributes to their cities greatness; in Pericles’s own words, “The Athenian administration favors the many instead of few… they afford equal justice to all of their differences” (112, 2.37). This quote emphasizes the good character of the Athens’ to coax and encourage the Athenians to preserve and better their great empire into the future. On the other hand, in the Melian dialogue, this notion of justice and equality is irrelevant; one, because Athens compared to Melos, is the stronger of the two and thus, is more powerful. Further, Athens, will continue to acquire absolute power and build its empire by conquering Melos and whomever else stands in its way. Through Pericles’ funeral oration and the Melian dialogue, the following conclusions/themes will demonstrate both the changing and somewhat stable nature of Athenian policy with regards to empire,

The people of Troyes were all expected to pay certain taxes such as the head tax, labor service, tax at will, and the marriage tax (Gies 199). Even though this was an example of egalitarianism within the town, there were many other examples that argued the opposite. For instance, the government was not “democratic.” In fact, most people did not have a say. Wealth and status played a large role in who was granted political power in Troyes. The ultimate power was given to few wealthy, middle class families who, “[monopolized] political power” (Gies 200). Additionally, not all members of the town were considered part of the commune. If you were a knight, clergy, bishop, canon, priest, or monk, then you could not take part. However, if a clerk or a knight were to join or start a business, they were obligated to join the commune. In more ways than one, as clearly outlined in the Gies’ writing, town government in Troyes was not equal given that the people clearly discriminated based on religion and wealth.

In turn, this political equality enabled all citizens to become involved. As a result of the freedom within one's private life, citizens of Athens kept to the law in matters regarding public life. Pericles discusses the Athenians' deep respect and commitment to upholding the laws in which the representatives, whom the people elect, create. With limited legal restrictions on what citizens can and cannot do, free enterprise flourished as well; living in such a dominant, prosperous state such as Athens opened up many international economic options. Through obeying the laws, regulations, and customs set forth by elected officials and supported by Athenian culture, as well as serving their country, the people of Athens stood to gain profit.

“[…] it is the poor which mans the fleet and has brought the state her power […] these have brought the state her power much rather than the…best-born and the elite […] it seems right that all should have a share in offices filled by lot or by election, and that any citizen who wishes should be allowed to speak […]” presented by Document B. This projects the idea that common men are in fact the backbone to society, rather than picking out the hereditarily wealthy of the people of Rome. As cited in Document E, the Athenian Assembly met forty times a year, all citizens were eligible to attend, and the united citizens chose their five-hundred officials by lot. The fact that there is a healthy amount of meetings per year, allows all of the citizens to be aware of government affairs by witnessing for themselves. The lottery further allowed a fair chance for all citizens to participate from the officials chosen by the Athenians, the Council of

The freedom which we enjoy in our government extends also to our ordinary life” (Pericles’ Funeral Oration, Thucydides). In other words, it doesn’t matter what your social rank is, if you are a citizen of Athens, you have a right (and duty) to serve in the government. This is known as a direct democracy today, and it is where we, citizens of the United States, took inspiration for our current system of government. Pericles is right to praise the city-state in this regard, as its legacy still has effect on the world millenniums after its time.

Most Greek city states were ruled by a small elite group, also known as an aristocratic oligarchy (cite text book). Pericles explains that the Athens government is a democracy because the administration is in the hands of many and not just a few people. This will cause the government to have equal justices exist for all people. This is confirmed by Pericles stating, “When a citizen is in any way distinguished, he is preferred to the public service, not as a matter of privilege, but as a reward of merit”. This means that a citizen has to earn their privileges, they don’t just get things because of who they are in society. Athens not only takes pride in their government, but is also very proud of their military. Athens considers their military training to be better that their enemies in many ways. The people never try to hide anything from enemies or prevent them from seeing or learning anything that might benefit them. While their enemies are undergoing difficult exercises to make them brave, the people of Athens live the easy life. Although they live the easy life, the people of Athens are equally ready to face the challenges which their enemies face. The people of Athens would rather meet danger with a light heart and not intense training like their neighbors. They also want to do this with courage not enforce by law, but instead gain by habit. When the Lacedaemonians come into Athenian territory they bring their whole confederacy,

Daniel Mechenko HIS 1001 Professor Trumbach Paper 2 Sophism For many years, ancient Athens had been governed entirely by aristocrats with peasants contributing little to nothing to politics due to the imbalance of power. However, after the birth of democracy, which was implemented by Solon, the Aristocrats did not have as much power at their disposal relative to previous era. Peasants acquired the right to vote for their leaders, and because of this, an individual looking to obtain political power had to be a proficient orator in order to sway the citizens of Athens to elect him as a public official.

Solon is the second person to reform the laws of Athens. He began revising laws in the 590s BC and “allowed all men in Athens to take part in the assembly that governed the city and to serve on the juries that heard trials” (SOURCE 1). Along with participation in the assembly, Solon “forbade the practice of debt slavery and set up a fund to buy back Athenian slaves who had been sold abroad” (SOURCE 2). Solon “based eligibility for political office on property qualifications, not birth,” permitting those not born of high social status to have the opportunity to hold an office (SOURCE 2). Through all of these events, society still did not accept the laws and because of this, more problems arose. During the troubles and chaos, a man by the name of Peisistratus “took advantage of the renewed conflict to seize power” (SOURCE 1). Peisistratus is a tyrant among the Athenians, however, is a popular person. This is because he “proceeded to institute Solon’s reforms” (SOURCE 2). The men of Athens who participated in the democracy were to “vote in all elections, serve in office if elected, serve on juries, and serve in the military during the war” (SOURCE 1). Cleisthenes, another law reformer, “divided Athens into 10 tribes based on where people lived” and “made these new tribes…the basis for elections” (SOURCE 1). The tribes had to send

The first section of this piece will attempt to explore the conflicts that occurred between the aristocrats and the peasants in Solon’s Athens on the basis of land and slavery, and the solutions that Solon posed in the form of laws, as well as the effects that they had on the citizens of the time. There were city of Athens was divided into three parts; there was the Hill, the Plain, and the Shore (Plutarch: Solon, 54). Each division contained it’s own people with different political views. The Hill supported an extreme democracy, whereas the Plain supported an extreme oligarchy, and the Shore wanted a government that wasn’t quite an oligarchy, and wasn’t quite a democracy. The Shore wanted a government that was modeled after, and was a mix of both democracy and oligarchy (Plutarch: Solon 54). The presence of this third party made it very difficult for either extreme party to rise above the other (Plutarch: Solon 54). The land quality of the peasants was very poor and it was located in the barren part of the city, however the rich owned vast amounts of good quality land (Trumbach). It was very common to find peasants in debt to the aristocrats because of their bad quality land. Many times, commoners would cultivate on the land owned by the aristocrats, and pay them one-sixth of the produce that was harvested (Plutarch: Solon, 54). It was also apparent that peasants would use themselves as collateral, and were often seized as debt slaves by their

During the reign of Pericles, he brought the idea of citizenship to the people of Athens. In Pericles’ Funeral Orations he stated that “Not membership of a particular class, but the ability which the man processes.” Pericles says that in society, your class does not matter, what matters is how you contribute to democracy. He also shows the idea of citizenship again when he says, “everyone is equal before the law.” Pericles is showing that citizens will be equal no matter what so you should not be afraid to participate because the law will treat you equally. Once again Pericles demonstrates the idea of citizenship when he said, “power is in the hands not of a minority but of the whole of the people.” Once more, Pericles shows that everyone has a right to be a part of democracy and encourages you to be a part of. Others would say that because not everyone had the same rights, the rule of Pericles’ was not a Golden Age, however

Although Philocleon does escape from his son’s poorly thought out trap, Misocleon does not accept defeat but rather attempts to reason with his father. The father’s willingness to at least debate the issue shows that he is a fair man and is willing to hear what others have to say. Based on their discussion, the reader can see an obvious gap in generational understanding of the litigious Athenian democracy. Philocleon is illusioned by his petty wages and is obsessed with the praise of others and the benefit that come along with his position such as the affection of his own daughter (600-5). However, Misocleon fires back at his partisan father explaining that when he takes into account all of the taxes, then the income that he is so prided in, is nothing but 1/10th of what the city makes. (650-5). He