The Philosophies Of Athenian Democracy

Athens weren’t a democracy because they didn’t allow citizen women, foreigners, or slaves to vote. Athens didn’t allow people to think differently or they'd be killed or sent away. Many people had barely any rights because they were either slaves, women, or people who weren't born in a Athens couldn’t participate

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 Athenians democracy was the pride and jewel of their nation. It created confidence, security, and patriotism, however, it also created an arrogant mindset which eventually leads to the downfall of their nation. Pericles states that the Athenian government was unorthodox because it was a government of the whole people rather than a minority (Thucydides 1). In addition, all Athenian citizens had the right to be apart of the government and administer justice. However,

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.

Though there were rulers, Athenian government was held primarily in the hands of the people of the citizens, thus making it a democratic system. This is beneficial to the Athenian slaves as it means that the voters are not voting for an elite group, but rather the entire group as a whole.

Was ancient Athens truly democratic? Some may say yes and some may say no. But the answer is yes. The reasons are these. “ Fear is our chief protection against this, teaching us to obey the magistrates and the laws.” (Doc. A) This was one of the many statements Thucydides gave during his speech for Pericles’s funeral. The quoted statement essentially meant that during Thucydides time (460 – 395 BCE) there were laws and government rules that had to be followed. Men, women, and even slaves obeyed the laws and government rules because they thought they made sense and had no other reason to disobey. In that case, they wouldn’t have the need to be angry at their neighbors if they were too loud. This document written by Aristotle is a great example

Ancient Greece was one of the first democratic societies and has greatly influenced modern day governments. Although the Greek idea of democracy is different from what is practiced today, their ideas formed the basis for modern democratic governments. Prior the invention of democracy, citizens had no rights and there were no guidelines for who was considered a citizen. Democracy gave voting rights and the ability to hold office to citizens – free men born in Greece, usually landowners. Today’s modern democracy is accessible to all people and has a higher degree of organization and hierarchy, it still derives its basic prinicples from Greek democracy.

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 defined as a government ruled by common people. The power of the should be in the hands of the largest class which is the poorest. The political system of ancient Athens was a Democracy, which involved all of its citizens.This system was divided in three parts: the ekklesia( a sovereign governing body who wrote the laws) the boule(representatives from the Athenian tribes) and the dikasteria, (the courts in which citizens argued cases in front of selected jurors). Every men could participate in the political process, being selected by lot to fill even the highest offices and being paid for pub- lic service. Four times a month proposals were debated and decisions were made openly so and any citizen could speak to the issues of the day.

The Athenian democracy went as far as being a government by the people within the narrow confines of the polis.# The citizens could pursue their private interests. They were also allowed to seek the seek the highest goals by placing their interests at the service of the city.#Pericles stated during the Funeral Oration at Samos that Athens was a “free state, both in politics and in social life.”# People might say it wasn’t fair because Pericles made Athenian citizenship limited to adult males who had an Athenian mother and father.# Citizens who wanted to, could try to achieve their private goals and manage their private affairs. They could have their interests at the service of the city to help them seek what they desire. “Pericles believed that man’s capacities and desires could be fulfilled at the highest possible level only through government participation.”# The government that allowed you the most active participation in government was a direct democracy, so Pericles chose that form of government for Athens.

A by Pericles). However, the data collect by Professor Josiah Ober in 2010 states that the only people who can vote are the citizen men which contradicts Pericles’ previous statement. The rest of the citizens did not have the ability to vote and the slaves’ poverty prohibits them from voting as well. Keeping in mind that both these statements are from different time periods, Professor Josiah is still is very credible and trustworthy source for information seeing as he is teaching at Stanford University. Overall, ancient Athens is not truly democratic due to the small percentage of citizens who are able to

There are multiple reasons why ancient Athens was not a Democracy in its truest sense. In Document A of the Athenian constitution, it clearly states.. “ Our constitution favors the many instead of the few,’’ however, if that were accurate, why could only twelve percent of the population vote (Document C).The Philosopher, Plato, concluded that women should have the same education and hold all positions in society (Guided Reading Activity 1-2 question 10); this is the very same conundrum that the American government had to face back in the 1920’s (Amendment 19), and it still has not been completely addressed to this day. If the Athenian constitution had favored the many as it claimed than 100 percent of the population should been allowed to vote.

In doc A paragraph two, I think that The Ancient Athens Democracy is democratic because it claims in the document that the Athens leader clearly respects his soldiers. This is noticed because he made a speech at a funeral for all of them that had died in the first year against Sparta’s soldiers.The leader did this to respectfully show his appreciation about how they fight for their democracy.

Democracy is defined as “rule by the people”. The last paragraph of Document B says that the Athens elected all government officials through lot, not voting by the people. This is one reason that Ancient Athens cannot be considered truly democratic.

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.