Question: How did the Greeks start a democracy and make it evolve? How was the citizenship in Greece, was it equal?
Ancient Greece was separated into different city-states because of the high mountain ranges in the Peloponnese and northern Greece. One of the biggest changes to Greek life in Athens was the emergence of democracy, or rule by the people. Citizens of Greek cities overthrew their tyrants and set up governments ruled by citizens. Although citizens could speak and vote in democracy, women, slaves, and those born outside the city were excluded. This essay will explain how the Athenians moved toward democracy. It will explain how, unlike before, citizens of Athens participated directly in political decision making. Athens build a democracy with the help of many important men such as Solon and Cleisthenes. The laws of citizenship in Athens was always evolving.
When a young aristocrat named Kylon failed while trying to seize power and declare himself tyrant, his attempt made the Athenians recognize the stresses in Athens’ society. Peasants were oppressively poor and deeply in debt to the wealthy nobles. Common folk were growing impatient with aristocratic rule. The eupatridae, or best people, ordered the archon, or ruler, to change the laws. (Ed. Carroll Moulton. Vol. 2)
The archon was Solon, and he instituted many reforms. He canceled debts and used state funds to buy back Athenians who had been sold into slavery because of their debts. He also introduced a new constitution. Solon’s explanation for his actions are, "the laws I passed were alike for low-born and for high-born; my aim was straightforward justice for each." (Encyclopedia of World Biography) It gave all free men, even those who did not own land, the right to v...
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Before Solon was name to reform the laws of the city, Athens was in great chaos. Solon had to tackle issues that were within the city itself. Because of the fact that only aristocrats and nobles were given the power to elect man, many of the “common people” were against that notion; as a result, quarrels between the common people and the aristocrats arose. Furthermore, due the the war that the Athenians just finished, and the accumulation of debts, the poorest of the poor had their lands seized and either sold themselves as slaves or their children and family members.
Works Cited Robinson, C.E. (2007). Hellas – A Short History of Ancient Greece. Pantheon Books Bury, J. B.; Russell Meiggs (2000). A History of Greece to the Death of Alexander the Great Lazenby, JF. The Defence of Greece 490–479 BC.
It is surprising indeed that Even today, tyrannies and dictatorships exist in the world when more than two and a half thousand years ago the ancient Athenians had developed a functional and direct form of democracy. What contributed to this remarkable achievement and how it changed the socio-political. scene in Athens is what will be considered in this paper. The paper will have three sections, each detailing the various stages. of political development from the kings of Attica to the time of Pericles when, in its golden age, Athens was at the height of its. imperial power.
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
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In the fifth-century BC, Athens emerged as one of the most advanced state or polis in all of Greece. This formation of Athenian ‘democracy’ holds the main principle that citizens should enjoy political equality in order to be free to rule and be ruled in turn. The word ‘democracy’ originates from the Greek words demos (meaning people) and kratos (meaning power) therefore demokratia means “the power of the people.” The famous funeral speech of Pericles states that “Our constitution is called democracy because power is in the hands not of a minority but of the whole people.” However, only citizens (free adult men of Athenian descent) could participate in political matters. Women and slaves held no political rights, although they were essential in order to free up time for the citizens to participate in the matters of the state. The development of Athenian democracy has been fundamental for the basis of modern political thinking, although many in modern society UK would be sceptical to call it a democracy. Plato and Aristotle in The Republic and The Politics respectively were critical of the Athenian democracy, by examining the culture and ideology present the limitations and possible downfalls of a democratic way of life. Within this essay I will outline these limitations and evaluate their validity.
Athenian democracy includes participation of all adult, free, male, citizen, made possible for all. If at the beginning and during the thriving period of the Athens democracy the occupations of a state position was considered to be an worthy duty for the citizens, the taking in of ...
Athens in Plato’s time provides an apt description of turmoil and numerous political shifts in a short period of time. The Peloponnesian War ended with Sparta as the victor, while Athens became a picture of the devastation of the war. The disparity of Athens became heightened by an onslaught of the plague, the devastating loss of humanity, as well as economic difficulties due to of the cost of the war. Furthermore, the political arena of Athens became controlled by the Thirty Tyrants, who “appointed a Council of 500 to serve the judicial functions formerly belonging to all the citizens” (Gill). Critias and Theramenes, the leaders of the Thirty Tyrants, eliminated the powers of a democracy and began to rule as an oligarchy, executing any who opposed their rule. Plato juxtaposes the oligarchic regime with the concept of justice in his vision of a perfect society. He understands that the imperfections of the human need to be subdued or hidden by organizational efforts. Plato highlights structure and organization by dividing the population into three spheres: guardians, auxiliaries and producers. Each class structure is designated a task, the leader must make fair decisions and decide fairly amongst the population, the guards m...
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Retrieved from: http://anonemuss.hubpages.com/hub/Greek-Influences-today Damerow, H. (2006, May). Retrieved from: http://faculty.ucc.edu/egh-damerow/romans.htm Kreis, S. (2000). Lecture 7 Classical Greece, 500-323 BC. Retrieved from: http://www.historyguide.org/ancient/lecture7b.html Sakoulas, Thomas. (2002).
The march towards developing a democratic society is often obstructed with societal unrest due to the influence of the status quo on the instruments of power. Before the rule of Solon, Athens underwent this same rule, as there was much discontent among the social classes in Athens. The society suffered financial disparity that often was the trigger for the war among the rich and poor in the society. This was a major factor that forced Solon into power to institute policies that would see a reformed Athens. By so doing, the society was looking for an avenue that would guarantee democracy and a society that is fair for everyone. The city-state of Athens was the epicenter of the revolution for the Athenian democracy during the fifth century BC. In the Athenian democracy, the electorate voted for the legislation of bills instead of a direct democracy where the electorates are tasked with electing representatives who later developed the bill. Among the first people who made significant contributions to the development of the Athenian democracy were Solon (594 BC), Cleisthenes (508/7 BC), Pericles (495 – 429 BC) and Ephialtes (462 BC). Pericles was the longest serving democratic leader who contributed much development in democracy in the city. This paper will give an account of the age of the Pericles.
This paragraph will concern the social structure of ancient Greece society. In ancient Greece society, only native-born men were granted citizenship and entitled to full protection of the law in a city-state (wikipedia.org/Ancient Greece). In the majority of city-states, social prominence did not include special rights. In some situations, families controlled public functions, but this did not exactly grant extra power for the government. In the state of Athens, the population was divided into four social classes which was based on wealth. A persons amount of income was able to determine of they were eligible to change classes. In Sparta, male citizens received the title of equal if they completed their education requirements. With this being
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.