Probably one of the first things learned from history books or classes on ancient Greece is that the Greeks invented democracy. Athens originally had kings, but gradually, by the 5th century B.C., it developed a system that required active, ongoing participation of the citizens. Rule by the demes or people is a literal translation of the word "democracy". While virtually all citizens were allowed to participate in the democracy, citizens did not include women, children, slaves, or resident aliens, including those from other Greek poleis. This means that the majority were excluded from the democratic process. The democratization of Athens was gradual, but the germ of it, the assembly, was part of the other poleis -- even Sparta.
While wars
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Sparta has had two rulers lately, who ruled until they passed on. Then again, the leader of Athens is chosen every year. Athens is said to have been the origin of majority rule government.
Sparta was a "Government". The Ancient Greek "oligos" means "few", while "archia" signifies "control" – 'leadby the few'. Five Ephors were picked each year, joined by two masters, whopassed on the crowns to their picked youngsters. What should be known as the senate was its"gerousia", while Ephors and the Kings would consistently go to the "apella" (general get together) to create and attempt to endorsed movements and declarations. Different reasons for the general get together were to passed enactment and settle on common choices. The procedure by which this was grasped was by a clear hollering of "yes" or'no'.All in all, the five Ephors had the capacity to overrule the Kings, however tended to keep to religious andbattle ready obligations. Sparta's arrangement of government was exceptionally selective and open to individuals from just the most astounding social
By the fourth century B.C.E. there were hundreds of Greek democracies. Greece was not a single political entity it was a collection of about 1500 separate poleis or cities scattered around the Mediterranean and black sea shores. The cities that were not democracies were either oligarchies or monarchies (often times called tyrannies). Of the democracies, the oldest, the most stable, the most long-lived, and the most radical, was Athens.
Firstly it’s important to understand the meaning of a monarchy. A monarchy is a supreme power or sovereignty held by a single person. Ancient Greece at the time rarely had monarchies and if they did it was in the form of a tyranny where the ruler would have little interest in the people. Spartan was known for it’s two king rule and monarchies did exist but they shared power with the states and two of the famous ones are of Macedonia and Epeiros. Not all monarchs had absolute power especially at the times when in war which was led by Spartan army. Spartan Kings could be put on
Athens took over leadership of Greece in 487BC with the Delian League.With Sparta caught up in internal problems in the Peloponnese, and the war with the helots further stretching them, Athenian democracy was continuing to move up.
Sparta contained a four branch government system that was considered among the most unique in all of Greece. Unlike the democracy of Athens, Sparta was based on an oligarchy structure. The diarchy, which consisted of two kings, was the first division of this government. These figures held little influence over the state and served more as a symbol of royal heritage (Kennell 83). The second branch was the Gerousia council which acted as an advising body and hel...
Sparta’s form of government was an oligarchy. Their political system was unusual in that it had two hereditary kings from two separate families. These monarchs were particularly powerful when one of them led the army on campaign. The kings also sat on the council of elders known as the senate (γερουσια). This body consisted of 28, over-60 years of age, males who held the position for life. The γερουσια made the laws, led the citizen assembly, proposing issues on which to vote, and it was also the highest court in Sparta. “Amongst the many changes and alterations which Lycurgus made, the first and of greatest importance was the establishment of the senate, which, having a power equal to the kings’ in matters of great consequence, gave steadiness
Athens and Sparta were both city-states in Classical Greece. While Athens embraced democracy, Sparta was a dictatorial fierce warrior state. Sparta was a militaristic community, Athens was a freethinking, and commerce minded city-state. Modern societies have modeled their government organizational structure and military discipline practices from lessons learned of these ancient city-states. There is much is to be praised regarding Classical Greece for their courage, their progressive thinking and the birth of democracy. However, I think it is important to remember that in both cases, Athens and Sparta were able to sustain their lifestyle on the backs of countless slaves, non-citizens and women and that there is a darker and less romantic side to the past.
On which they would scratch the name of the person that represented a threat.”(Doc E)This demonstrates why Athens was a democratic society since not only did civilians get to decide on who is in office and who is not. Furthermore, because democracy means rule by the people, and male citizens of ancient Athens voted laws and officials into place.(doc c) This exemplifies how salient the majority's opinion was instead of opinions of just a few rich men .In addition, Athens “....constitution favors many instead of few.”(doc a) Also Athenians had the freedom to do whatever they desire a long as they did not disrupt any other citizen or violate a law. “The freedom which we enjoy in our governments also to our ordinary life…...we do not feel called upon to be angry with our neighbor for doing what he likes. But all this ease in our private life does not make us lawless as citizens.”(doc A) Therefore, this exhibits that this is a democratic government because this is a characteristic that can be seen in democratic governments today. To summarize why Athens was a democracy.Citizens were free to do what makes them jubilant as long as it did not interfere with the laws or fellow citizens. Male citizens could vote and elect the rulers and vote laws into place. These aspects all demonstrate why Athens
These governments came in different styles such as a monarchy which was led by a king. Another form of government that was seen among the Greeks was aristocracy in which the polis was ruled by a small group of noble, land owning families. One of the more notable polis of ancient Greek was that of Sparta in which they used the oligarchy as there form of government. This type of government is where the people are ruled by a few powerful people. Finally, there was democracy which means “rule of the people” (The Legacy of Ancient Greece and Rome 1-7). This was the government that Athens utilized and helped establish. These varying types of government can be seen throughout governments today, however, it is the government established by the Athenians and their political structure that had a greater impact on the west than that of its Greek polis counterparts.
Democracy was a revolutionary development for the Ancient Greek society it was an innovative idea which gave the citizens of Ancient Greeks the freedom to participate in the governmental system and contribute in the processes and decisions, this in turn helped Ancient Greece succeed politically and economically. This democratic society not only helped Greece succeed in the Mediterranean region but also influenced modern day society. The Ancient Greeks succeeded significantly and were highly advanced for this period, the progressive thoughts and ideas demonstrated by individuals in this society contributed to the development of democracy in Athens which has become one of the most beneficial forms of government created.
Oligarchy: In my research in the LDCE, I read that oligarchy means “...a small group of people who run a country or organization, or a country that is run by a small group of people...” In this case, the Spartan government is an example of it. In the Spartan society, there were people who “...envied the Spartan rejection of democracy as well as its noble military society in which the best people ruled by virtue of their strength and virility...” those people were called oligarchs. They were a few that has the power and the rules. I can’t say that the Athens’ government was an Oligarchy.
The Spartan governmental system was the most unique and efficient government in the ancient Greek world, it comprised of an oligarchy combined with a monarchy and democracy. This complex system of government makes the Spartan government more efficient from the Athenian system, but it also restricted the amount of power ordinary people had in governmental affairs. The power the assembly (a collection of men over 30) possessed in Sparta was the power to either rubber-stamp or veto decisions the ephors had made . Although Sparta had an elected dual monarchy, this was enacted to act as a counter-balance system so that the monarch could not abuse their power. The ephors were the group in Spartan government who had the power to declare war, supervise that the kings did not abuse their power; if necessary the ephors had the right to impeach the king . Much like Sparta, Athens had a governmental system that alienated the poorer population, sometimes resulting in the poor selling themselves as slaves in order to pay off their debts. However, during the golden age, Athens abandoned its aristocratic and tyrannical governments when Solon and Cleisthenes started to introduce democracy to the Athenian people. Solon forgave all of the debts of the poor and restructured the legislative process, whereas Cleisthenes strove to build in Solon’s ideas
Governing has never been an easy task during the times of ancient Athens and Sparta. Both equally were ahead of their time by giving their people an actual voice and weight when making decisions. Unfortunately, neither of these civilizations lasted the great length of time.
Ancient Greece was not a unified nation. The Greek peninsula contained several islands with mountainous terrain, which made travel and communication difficult. Therefore, each community developed their own political systems, known as city-states. These city-states then formed their own system of government, which varied greatly among them. Corinth, for example, was an oligarchy. An oligarchy is a system of government that is ruled by a small group of powerful leaders. Other city-states developed a system of government that contained several governing styles. Sparta’s government, for example, contained a monarchy, oligarchy, and democracy. It contained two kings, a council of 30 noblemen, and an assembly of all the Spartan men. Athens, however, is considered the most influential city-state to Western civiliza...
Ancient Greece was made up of individual city states, known as a Polis, which relied heavily on citizen participation in politics. The idea of self-rule was an entirely new way of governing. Citizenship was unheard of at the time. Although still considered citizens not everybody was allowed to participate. In Athens only adult males who had military training were allowed to vote. The majority of the population, namely slaves, children, metics (free noncitizens) and women were excluded from participation in politics. “[Metics] and women were not citizens and did not enjoy any of the privileges of citizenship.”(Sayre, 137) Athenian citizens had to be descended from citizens, excluding the children of Athenian men and foreign women. Individuals could be granted citizenship in to Athens by the assembly this was usually as a reward for some service to the state. Ancient Greece paved the way for the representative democratic style of government that is practiced by many countries today. Much like how voting rights started out in America, originally only the wealthy land owners were allowed to vote and call themselves citizens, but soon all men were allowed to have a vote and a voice in their states politics. Essentially the Greeks were the first to introduce citizen rights and freedom similar to what’s seen today.
“Democracy in Athens had the effect of energizing its citizens in the defense of the city, and gave the Athenians a reputation of power and strength (Dynneson, 2008, p. 63)”. This form of government was used in the Assembly or ecclesia. The Assembly consisted of male citizens of Athens who met four times a month in the ten month Athenian calendar. The Assembly would make important decisions on foreign policy, debated on legislative issues, discuss the affairs of the state and sit on juries. No decisions by the government would not be made without first asking the Assembly. The decisions made by the Assembly would be carved into stone and display...