“The happiness of the people is the end of government.” John Adams, a former president of the United States, spoke this quote. He is explaining to us about how the people of our country would be better off with no government, than with a government. The government of Greece strictly prohibits much of the freedom the people want, or need. The quote mentioned above is accurate for Greece and Legend, by Marie Lu. Political similarities are not uncommon. Although many political factions are different, the governments in Greece and Legend are related in the ways that people are treated. The political factions control all human rights, freedom of speech, middle class and education. Those who disagree or voice a descending opinion may be punished …show more content…
In both of these places, the government made victims of violations of human rights reluctant to report them. In Greece, the economic problems are one of the main reasons for its poor treatment for refugees. This means that it is not a safe place for people. People are forced to leave their children, no matter what age, unattended in very bad conditions. Sometimes it gets so horrid and the parents have to leave their children with people they do not even know. The most important human rights, which were violated in the year of 2013, were unprovoked racist violence against people who looked like they were foreigners or immigrants, the conditions in the migration detentions, and discrimination against Rome and their children. There are also limits on ethnic minorities, freedom of speech, and religion. For example, the Muslim culture is socially excluded from others during different occasions. Also, if refugees do not have their paperwork for moving into Greece, they will be arrested, and eventually moved into unhygienic detention facilities. In 2013, there were 502 children reported missing from off of the streets and many unlawful killings. In police stations, there were about 35 reported incidents of abuse to immigrants. The mugshots of the people were edited to not show their bruises and scars from the police’s physical abuse to the people’s bodies. The detention facilities did not meet the national laws and international standards. This included overcrowding, lack of supplies for daily needs, poor sanitation, and many other unlawful acts. In legend, human rights are also violated because the people will be taken to camps to be executed if they fail the trial. The trial is a test in the book and it is sort of like the SAT’s, or any other national assessments. This test determines where the people go in life, such as if they go to the “slum” sectors or if they get
In comparing the Ancient Athenian system of government, and the Modern Day American political system, there are many similarities. In Ancient Athens, democracy was developed in response to a long history of oppressive rulers who used their position of power for their own benefit. Ancient Athenians sought a government where all citizens were considered equal under the eyes of the law, and all had a fair say in the running of their country. Following a series
Like the various forms of Greek art, the government of ancient Greece appreciated the individual by creating an environment in which individuals were free to express themselves. Tyrants like Pisistratus and Cleisthenes came to power to try and make the polis a better place for the individual. These tyrants reformed the state in many ways; they helped make it possible for the rich and poor to have equal rights, and they created the conditions for the construction of the splendid monumental buildings ancient Greece is remembered for today. Although not all tyrants were good, they all had one thing in common: they were all citizens of Greece, and ruled to improve the lifestyle of the citizens of Greece. After the end of tyranny, Greece had a democracy; a government ruled by the people for the people.
Athens government and military is considerably different from their neighbors. According to Pericles, Athens government is not a copy of our neighbors...
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
Ancient Greece has always been known as the civilization that created the mold of the Western society that we live in today. It had influenced the world in a way that no other civilization had. However, such a great civilization didn’t last long. The reason for this is its people failure to form unity.
Government and its different forms appears many times throughout Herodotus’s Histories, sometimes its positive and other times its negative, however in the readings Herodotus demonstrates that it is not the Athenian democratic values that makes freedom but rather the absence of tyranny along with equality among men. Herodotus’s assessment of Athenian democracy is overall a positive development to Greek cultural identity in the eyes of Herodotus.
Pomeroy, Sarah B. Ancient Greece: A Political, Social, and Cultural History. New York: Oxford UP, 1999. Print.
Socrates and I grew up alongside the Athenian democracy, and experienced her vicissitudes in the past seventy years. We have both heard and experienced cycle of five types of governments that Socrates had mentioned. (Plato, Republic 8.547e) Our democracy was established hundreds years ago under Cleisthenes and turned to tyranny under Isagoras. In our childhood, Athens was a timarchy, and then Pericles ruled Athens with the
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.
In the Hellenic era from 500 to 338 BCE, the Greeks had many major values. These values include Greek mythology, social roles, war, agriculture, and government. Some of the values are still present today. Greek mythology is still prevalent in the modern Greek society and western society because it is still studied today. The Greeks’ view on social roles is one of the ideas that are not shared in modern society but were widespread in past culture. The Greek agricultural and political values are used in modern society because like the Greeks our society revolves around agriculture and trade and both of our governments are both democratic. The view of war in ancient Greece is currently shared, but just not in the same way. Our war values are not as strict. The Greek values are explained and expanded upon below.
The tales of Greek heroes and the gods are older than all of us. Most of these tales are thought to be myths, but every interpretation of Greek mythology and the stories that it contains correlates with something in the real world today. The story of the creation of the world, and the stories of the heroes Hercules, Perseus and Theseus, are only but a few of the compelling stories Greek mythology has to offer.
In Ancient Greece people valued democracy, wealth, entertainment, knowledge, and many other things however what is also important is what the Ancient Greeks clearly did not value. Of the many things, people, are possibly one of the most undervalued commodity in Greece include women, and slaves. There are also many other things that the Greeks did not seem to value one of which was anti-corruption measures. The Greeks seem to put most of their time and effort into society in many different ways from Gymnastics to plays even their houses are purpose built for social events. These values or more importantly the lack of value regarding slaves, women, and most importantly good government quite possibly assisted in the downfall of their civilization.
The foundation of Ancient Greek and American society are the same, freedom. Ancient Greece introduced the world to a new way of ruling. As democracy gained popularity in the area it was proven to be one of the most successful ways to create a strong nation while still preserving the lives and creativity of it’s people. It was so successful, that it was adopted by America when our country was formed and is
The Classical mythology contains tales and epics of the ancient Greek and roman literatures and myths. On the other hand, Homer’s two epic poems, the Iliad relates to the events of the Trojan War while the Odyssey details Odysseus expedition after the war. Homer’s epic poems, the Odyssey and the Iliad present a major part of ancient history as modern fictional heroic stories. In ancient Greek, heroes were humans who were depicted to possess superhuman abilities. A key example in the classical mythology is Akhilles who is later known in Homer’s Iliad as Achilles. Achilles is he greatest hero of the Iliad whereas Odysseus is the greatest hero of the Odyssey. The greatest heroes from classic mythology and the modern fictional hero’s stories are mortal, and subject to death. The Odyssey and the Iliad marks the beginning of modern fictional literature.
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.