The Ancient Greeks were nothing if not influential. Ever since it 's formation in the 8th century B.C., Greek civilization has impacted many of the world 's greatest thinkers and shaped the landscape of Western Civilization. Aside from their art and philosophy, the Ancient Greeks were particularly interested in politics and, in the case of Athens, a new system of government known as: democracy! Long before the American founding fathers declared their independence from Britain, Athenian citizens governed their own state and voted to solve political turmoil. However, ancient Athens was no perfect twin to American democracy, and being an upstanding Athenian citizen meant more than simply voting and going about one 's business. A standout Athenian …show more content…
Religion penetrated nearly every sect of Athens, with both public and private ceremonies, performed regularly. Athens was even named after the goddess of wisdom, Athena, and has her home, the Parthenon, as the iconic symbol of the Greek Golden Age. (5) Athenians believed that honoring the gods was crucial to their success both in war and at home, thus upholding correct behaviors and honoring the gods with sacrifices were crucial. (6) Failing to honor the gods or sacrilege their glory was a serious crime for Athenians- and also one commonly associated with the Sophists- who were accused of spreading moral relativism and angering the gods with their "atheism." In fact, many of the charges brought against Socrates accused him of "searching for things unto earth and heaven" and "teaching the aforesaid doctrines unto others." (7) However, Socrates defends himself with his own claims of piety, from the claim that the Oracle of Delphi proclaiming "no man was wiser than he," (8) to telling the jury and accusers that the gods want him to spread his wisdom. He even concludes his speech by saying to the Athenians "I honor and love you; but I shall obey God rather than you." (9) From the sacrificial offerings, to the serious duties towards the gods, any citizen would need to uphold a respectable amount of devoutness in order to fully participate in …show more content…
The community involvement began when democracy first developed in the early 7th century and furthered by Solon, who began reforming the Athenian justice system and organizing citizens by economic class. (10) Pericles pushed the envelope even further with the radical democracy of the Greek Golden Age, which emphasized direct democracy of the people by voting and selecting jurors to court cases randomly, giving more power to the poor classes and upsetting the elite. (11) However, with more freedom, came more responsibility. As Pericles himself said in his address to the Athenian people, "if a man takes no interest in public affairs, we alone do not commend him as quiet; but condemn him as useless." (12) To the Athenian people, participation in politics and law was not only important, but vital to government run by the people. Pericles even expounded on this by saying "action does not suffer from discussion but, rather, from the want of that instruction," (13) and "we have an exceptional gift of acting after calculating the prospects... whereas other men are bold from ignorance but hesitate upon reflection." (14) Athens was strong because the citizens needed to participate in their government and, in turn, needed to think critically about the decisions they made with each of their
The Athenians created the idea of Democracy which is a widely used form of government today. Solon was credited as the man who created the foundation for Athenian Democracy. He changed the whole game. He threw out the debt of the poor so they would not be slaves anymore, he outlawed the slavery because of debt so that it would never happen again, he divided the Athenian population into four different classes, and three of the richest could rise to power instead of the one before. He allowed the everyman to have a chance at power. Later Cleisthenes rose to power and he put democracy in motion. He threw away the four classes and created a council of 500 to decide things in the government. Everyon...
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
Athens was a thriving metropolis and commercial society with a ethnically homogenous population. By the 5th century BC, it already democratized her institutions establishing a sovereign Assembly whose majority formed the government that directly made all the vital decisions.
The structure of the Athenian government contributed to the good nature of individual citizens. It was common for governments to demand personal sacrifice from their citizens in order for the benefit of the state. Athens takes a different approach to this matter, however. On page 145, Pericles mentions that "everyone is equal before the law... [and] what counts [in matters of government] is not membership of a particular class, but the actual ability which the man possesses." This freedom in private life makes Athenians ...
From the start of his career in government, Pericles provided the Athenian people with the foundations of democracy. In 461, Pericles campaigned against aristocrats sitting in government, and in 451 enforced a law to prevent children of non-citizens from becoming full citizens (PBS, “The Greeks”). By managing the ties that aristocrats often made to other countries, Pericles managed to keep government from being monopolized. Unlike the aristocracy, Pericles focused on the disenfranchised, instructing Athenians to “especially obey those laws enacted for the protection of the oppressed and those which, although unwritten, it is acknowledged shame to violate” (Kagan 166, from Thucydides 2.37.3). Expounding on this social observance of fairness, Pericles most directly gave rights to the Athenians when he made possible “the full participation of its citizens in the government of city and empire” (Robertson 90). This faculty of citizens to have full access to their government provided Athenians with the start of democracy.
Ancient Athens was a highly polarized society in which citizenship meant everything. Citizenship permitted individuals to not only participate in the democratic
Athens was one of the only city-states with a democracy. In Document B Pericles, an Athenian general and leader, is describing a democracy and saying how every citizen is expected to serve the state. The reforms of Cleisthenes established the basis for the Athenian democracy. All citizens enrolled in ten tribes and each tribe chose 50 members by lottery each year for a new council of 500 people. These 500 people had the responsibility to take care of foreign and financial affairs. There was also an assembly of all male citizens, and they had the final authority in passing laws through free and open debate. In Sparta there were two kings who led the army and ruled their city-state. There were five ephors elected each year and they were responsible for the education of the youth and the beha...
In Athens there were many types of government like monarchy, oligarchy, and tyranny. But the one that fit them the most was democracy. The tyrants paved the way for democracy to develop in Athens. Athenians had assemblies to vote on government actions. Democracy improved the economy in Athens and then it became a showplace in Ancient Greece.
Two major forms of government existed during Ancient Greece: oligarchy and democracy. The government in Sparta was controlled by an oligarchy in which the power was held by a group of five men called ephors. Working below the ephors was the Council of Elders and an Assembly. Male citizens over age sixty could serve on the Council while anyone, male or female, over the age of twenty could be a member of the Assembly.1 Though the citizens had little say in the decisions made by the government, the system worked effectively. It was the oligarchy in Sparta that put a war-like attitude as its first priority in the city-state. Every man in the army fought with a great deal of passion for his country. The beliefs of Sparta were oriented around the state. The individual lived and died for the state. The government in Athens followed a very different course than that of Sparta. Upper class male citizens over the age of thirty were the only Athenians who held any right to vote. The democracy in Athens consiste...
The Government of the Athenian people had a large impact on western civilizations. In document three, Pericles states his beliefs about democracy. Pericles states that he believes all men that have the opportunity to take a part in their government should. America, a western civilization was greatly influenced by the Greek government. First of all, everyone has the opportunity to vote or to take part in his or her government. Second of all, People are not discriminated by social class or racial class in America. Lastly, In America, all the power is not given to one person. We have a president and congress to make sure one person does not have much power. Along with political come many other contributions from Greece.
With his introduction, he divided Athens into ten tribal groups. Before Cleisthenes introduced this new government, only a select few were able to vote. Now since Athens is a direct democracy, people can vote freely on the laws for themselves. Later on, Pericles was able to expand democracy throughout the whole of Athens. It was now not just part of the government but part of everyone's everyday lives. During the time period that Pericles was leader, Athens and the use of democracy flourished. The people were happy and Athens was stable and under control. Life in Athens was not something to complain
Between the years of 508 BCE and 322 CE, Greece flourished under democracy. However, some question if the flourishing of Athens is due to the democracy that was in place as opposed to other factors relevant in building a successful community. This investigation will examine the effectiveness of Athenian democracy in Greek society. Relevance of Athenian democracy can be seen in foundation of many democracies found worldwide. In this investigation the right to vote, protection of minorities, use of social class, the structure of democracy and how Greek democracy has influenced the world will be addressed. The place investigated will be Greece, specifically the capitol Athens. The effectiveness of Athenian democracy can be seen in social structure, protection of minorities, and right to vote, as well as its structure and influence of other countries around the world.
The government structure reflected the Athenians’ belief that individual contribution is crucial for sustaining a productive society. In the Classical Era, which was from 490-323 BCE, democracy was implemented and resulted in the power over the state lying in each citizen’s hands. Every vote affected the decisions that were made for the community, and every person had a say. The democratic system increased the individual’s involvement and interest in state affairs, therefore making each citizen more aware of what was happening in his community. As Thucydides said in Pericles’ eulogy, “Here each individual is interested not only in his own affairs but in the affairs of the state as well: even those who are mostly occupied with their own business are extremely well-informed on general politics.” By being well informed, the Athenians made better choices for their polis and cared more about what was going on in their city.
The Athenian government was a democratic government, which means it was ruled by the people to vote and have a voice in society. The democracy was slowly formed by leaders Solon and Cleisthenes. Solon took over when Athens was in political turmoil. He introduced new reforms to forgive debts, outlaw new loans, free people that
“The polis itself became a major economic factor in terms of public employment on juries or in large public building projects, like Acropolis, or the famous Athenian navy ( Augustana university, n.d.)” Democracy provided significant benefits in an economically sense as office holders, jurymen members and administrative council of 500 as people where paid for their time served (Cartledge, 2011). “Power to the people, all the people, especially the poor majority, remained the guiding principle of Athenian democracy (Cartledge, 2011).” This government also paid the citizens to attend assembly, this enabled the poor to be able to attend the assembly (Blackwell, 2003). Democracy also contributed to a stronger army and navy” it was evident that the Athenian army and navy were more powerful because their men believed they were fighting for their own democracy and for their own freedom” ( Augustana university, n.d.). Athens this evidence clearly establishes that democracy gave many Athenian citizens employment and it also lead to victory in the wars. This system of government was a revolutionary idea, overall it provided a just government and formed a system were the whole citizen body can actively participate in the political system. This lead to the economic and political success of the democratic system in Athens that has since developed