Ancient Greek Government Research Paper

Forms of Government in Ancient Greece

There were multiple different forms of governments in Ancient Greece. From Sparta’s dictatorship to the democracy of Athens, each Greek Polis has its own way of doing things. I will attempt to explain how each form of government worked in that day, and how it can be compared to the modern day.

There were five major government types in Ancient Greece; monarchy, aristocracy, tyranny, oligarchy, and democracy. A monarchy is “undivided rule or absolute sovereignty by a single person” (Monarchy., n.d.). An Aristocracy is a form of “government by the best individuals or by a small privileged class” (Aristocracy., n.d.). Tyranny is defined as “a government in which absolute power is vested in a single ruler; especially: one characteristic of an ancient Greek city-state” (Tyranny., n.d.). Oligarchies are “government by the few” (Oligarchy.,

At first, it was a monarchy. A king, called a basileus, would rule the people (Ancient Athens., n.d). He was the highest member of Athenian society, ruling and controlling the entire city-state. Monarchy did not last long in ancient Athens, however, and soon it became an aristocracy. The Aropagu, aristocratic Athenians, would elect archons “rulers” (Ancient Athens., n.d). The Archons could make decisions on anything concerning the city but had to submit them to the Arpoagu first. This did not bode well with the non-aristocratic Athenians, and lead to “social unrest that became severe enough to shake the aristocrat dominated political system to its core leading ultimately to democracy.” (Brand, P. J., n.d.). The Athenians who were not aristocrats wanted more of a say in politics of the city, what laws were made, and how the city worked. The solution, as both parties saw it, was to allow all free-born, Athenian born, males the right to vote. Athens became a democracy and would remain to be one for roughly 200 years (Brand, P. J.,