Athenian Democracy Essay

Democracy The principal of Democracy is something that we often fail to appreciate. Democracy means a government that allows the public to be heard by having periodically held elections. During 507 B.C., The Athenian leader of Cleisthenes introduced a system of political reforms were called demokratia which means democracy. The Demokratia system was comprised of three separate institutions the ekklesia, a sovereign governing body that wrote laws and dictated foreign policy; the boule, a council

The Athens law that allows every single man of Athens to share and glorifies their superiority over their peer poleis. In reality, the Democracy in Athens are made of Three Branches. The Assembly (Ekklesia) states that all male citizens over 18 met ten times a year and can make executive decisions like declaring war and create laws. The Assembly contradicts Pericles’ speech since it only allow white males (not slaves) to create laws and make executive decisions. The Council of 500 (Boule) contradicts

“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

The Athenian democracy of Greece was the first established democracy that lasted for around 186 years. It was a strong system of government up until its fall. Being in the largest city of Athens where there was a large amount of diversity many types of people were able to serve as council men or judges. Though there was a large amount of diversity women were still not able to serve or have a say in what was done during council meetings. Because of the large amount of diversity in the council the

regardless of the type of government being discussed. There are many contrasting views on Athenian democracy; however, some of the strength’s and weaknesses present in Athenian democracy hold similarities to the democracy we are today. “Our constitution does not copy the laws of neighboring states; we are rather a pattern to others than imitators ourselves,” (68). Pericles (ca. 495-429 B.C.E.) was a famous Athenian figure and political leader who wrote the speech called, “Pericles’ Funeral Oration,”

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

Rhetoric was a major factor in the development and maintenance of the Athenian government and was used by many in order to gain power and ascend in politics. The ascendance of the great demagogues in Athens during the time of the Peloponnesian war was heavily influenced by their rhetoric and ability to effectively guide the Athenian democracy. The democratic government was composed of two groups: “public speakers […], those who made proposals and publicly argued for or against political projects

that he strongly believed that democracy was the best possible form of government. Pericles saw Athens as superior to other city states based on their implementation of democracy which ultimately represented freedom, liberty, courage, honor and justice. In his funeral oration, Pericles refers to the Athenian democracy as a system of government where men are able to advance in society as a result of their merits rather than on class or wealth. In the Athenian democracy “class considerations are not

The athenian democracy started to develop after the Persian War. Under Particle’s rule, Athens economy thrived and the government became more democratic. Not all Athens citizen agree about the idea of democracy. There also people who supported democracy, because they think it will help free the citizens from the rule of tyrants and long. To make Athens democracy stronger they have to bring people together. First, Athenian democracy should be about every citizen and how they should take part

city-state which is considered to be the place where democracy was created even though people often dispute whether Athens was a true democracy. Democracy is a cultural idea, justice to all people, people's power, and people having the right to vote, essentially democracy is all about the people. These characteristics make Athens a true democracy. Democracy is a cultural idea change over time. Professor Hansen stated that Demokratia, the Greek word for democracy, means the rule of the male citizens only.