My fellow Athenians, As I am a recent participant in the Assembly, some of you may not be familiar with my person. I am Simon, a cobbler from the Deme District of Athens in the Kydathenaeum. It was through my profession that I met Socrates, of whom I am a follower. He was my inspiration to attend the Assembly and to become an active participator in its discussions. Through Socrates and my visits to the Assembly, I gained my belief that those citizens who participate in the Assembly and serve as jurors in the law courts should not receive compensation because they are taking part in their civic duty as Athenians. A recent issue that has been argued in the Assembly, and indeed a major purpose of today’s meeting, revolves around this question of whether or not Assemblymen and jurors should receive compensation for their roles in Athenian …show more content…
Some may appear before you today in the Assembly to tell you that citizens who vote or serve as jurors should receive compensation because they are taking the time to participate in the Assembly and improve Athenian life. Others may go so far as to state that the poor workers of Athens should receive compensation to provide them with assistance in rebuilding aspects of Athenian life that have been damaged by conflict. Unfortunately, this plan may have worked in another time, but with the ever looming threat of an attack from Sparta, measures should be taken to ensure that we Athenians have proper defenses. Providing compensation would be too costly, and as it is a civic duty, there should not be payment. I ask of you, my fellow Athenians, what would become of a society where a person is paid to perform their civic duty? In a society such as one found in Sparta, power is the driving force, and in this society, money is a method for gaining power. Socrates stated that “men of this stamp will be covetous of money” (Plato 195). If a society were to
The effects of this go far beyond the imbalance of military power between Athens and her tributaries, however. The Old Oligarch lists four main areas where the existence of the Empire benefits the common people of Athens, thus giving impetus to radicalize democracy and justify the expansion and strengthening of the Empire, and giving is reason to find an ongoing justification for its existence. The first is the building of the disproportionately large Athenian navy. Second is the overall flattening of the Athenian social pyramid, raising the relative status of the lowest classes of society, and exemplified by the way that Athens becomes a magnet for aliens to live and work, and gives unusual freedom and opportunity to slaves. Third is that the allies are compelled to have their court cases tried in Athenian courts, bringing both prestige and financial reward to Athens. Finally, the centralizing effect of these things, and the obvious maritime nature of the Empire, make Athens a trading center, m...
The socioeconomic structure of ancient Sparta was unbalanced and disproportioned, and because of the social unrest between the citizens of Sparta economic reforms were desperately needed. Plutarch highlights this issue when he says:
Being that you have a lot of support from lower class Athenians and not so much from Athenians of nobility, how will you change to receive equal support from both parties?
Meletus responds by saying the judges, councilors, and members of the Assembly had a major influence on the youth. They possessed expertise and knowledge about the law. Socrates reasons with Meletus by commenting that the Assembly is open to all men of the city. Since he is the only man being put on trial for corrupting the youth, Meletus assumes everyone else benefits the city. Socrates doesn’t believe this and supports his argument with this statement. This whole scenario supports Socrates claim to continue practicing philosophy, while completely disregarding the law. Socrates is honored that the law has been good to him, but he believes he is being treated unjustly according to the law because he is not the only one responsible for corrupting the youth. Once injustice is enacted upon him, he knows that he cannot follow the law anymore. The law is compromised. Socrates tells Crito, “We should not thing so much of what the majority will say about us, but what the person who understands justice and injustice will say” (Crito 5). In this situation at the trial, Socrates believes that the person who understands justice and injustice will agree with him about disobeying the trial’s outcome. He concludes he is not being treated fairly according to the law, compared to other men, and will continue practicing philosophy until he
Truth be told there is no real justice in Socrates? ?just city?. Servitude of those within his city is crucial to its function. His citizens are, in every aspect, slaves to the functionality of a city that is not truly their own. True justice can not be achieved through slavery and servitude, that which appears to be justice (and all for the sake of appearances) is all that is achieved. Within Socrates? city there is no room for identity, individuality, equality, or freedom, which are the foundations justice was built upon. These foundations are upheld within a proper democracy. In fact, the closest one can experience justice, on a political level, is through democracy.
actual jury made up of commoners. Greece was the first to think of paying people for their
Let us firstly analyze and delineate the significant instances in the interchange between the unjust speech and the unjust speech. Both the unjust and just speech begin this interchange with a heavy slandering of one another. Perhaps, one of the most notable moments of this slander is when the just speech, after claiming that it believes in and stands for justice and is hence “speaking the just things”, is asked by the unjust speech that “denies that justice even exists” to “answer the following question, if justice truly exists, then why didn’t Zeus perish when he bound his father?” (p. 152, 901-905). The just speech replies to this question by exclaiming that “...this is the evil that’s spreading around” and that he needs “a basin” if he is to continue hearing it (p. 152, 906-907). Firstly the just speech, as a mouthpiece for the existing Athenian legal-political convention, has claimed that this legal-political convention is where justice in its entirety is to be found. Secondly and simultaneously, however, the just speech finds itself unable to articulate what it means by justice and how the teachings of the Homeric Gods, that have informed the construction of Athenian political convention, are positive and/or negative examples of an
For Pericles, Athenian values are realized through culture and “daily devotion.” He claims that Athenian citizens obey both “the laws themselves” and “agreed-on social values (which need no specific legislation),” not requiring legislation to uphold their values. Accordingly, Pericles views exceptionalism as intrinsic to Athenians. Boasting about the city, Pericles questions “how else did she become great but by this genius in her citizens?” A recommitment to civic values, therefore, is simple to Pericles: Athenians are exceptional at the moment of his speech, and must simply continue their past conduct in order to achieve future
The system of government we have today was starting to developed centuries ago by the Athenians and Romans. Both governments were established with the intent to give power to the people, even though it did not always play out that way in society. The Athenian democracy and the Roman republic were two very different governments in practice, but also maintained similar characteristics in both systems of government.
In Greece, there were numerous non-monetary rights that could be awarded to metics. Besides naming benefactors proxenos and euergetes, titles that gave an ill-defined set of privileges to foreigners, “the polis often added privileges such as ateleia, asylia, and epimeleia.” Metics who committed euergetism could gain ateleia, exemption from the “slavish” obligation of taxes to the polis, making themselves more autarkic. With asylia, “[i]n the event of litigious proceedings within its territory, [the polis] would then protect them against any threat of seizure of their goods.” Many of these rewards are useful only to metics.
In Homer’s Iliad, an extremely courageous and noble character is Hector, Prince of Troy. Hector does not want war, so his decision to lead the assault on the Achaean forces may seem strange. However, if there were a noble way out of the war, Hector might have taken it. “Without a noble escape, Hector is forced to fight”(Willcock 62).
Socrates reaches a conclusion that defies a common-sense understanding of justice. Nothing about his death sentence “seems” just, but after further consideration, we find that his escape would be as fruitless as his death, and that in some sense, Socrates owes his obedience to whatever orders Athens gives him since he has benefited from his citizenship.
As Socrates said in Apology by Plato, “...the envy and detraction of the world, which has been the death of many good men, and will probably be the death of many more…”(Philosophical Texts, 34) Throughout history, many leaders have been put to death for their knowledge. In Apology, Socrates- soon to be put to death- says he was placed in Athens by a god to render a service to the city and its citizens. Yet he will not venture out to come forward and advise the state and says this abstention is a condition on his usefulness to the city. (36) My argument is that Socrates is of great service to the citizens of Athens, as he understands he knows nothing, he understands where he belongs, and through this
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.
The Greeks system of democracy was an entirely new concept when it was created, and one that has had lasting affects as it continues to influence present day politics around the globe. Modern day democracies may very well not exist if it wasn’t for the success the Athenians had with democracy. Today we look back at these ancient civilizations and we try to better our current society by learning from their mistakes and building on their success.