Compare and contrast monarchy, aristocracy, tyranny, oligarchy, and democracy as forms of government in Ancient Greek city-states.
Introduction
In ancient Greece, the Greeks lived in city-states as to each of their own and there was no central government at that time. Each city-state has their own culture, made their own laws, and their own monetary system. As a result, Greece was made up of many city-states such as Corinth, Athens and Sparta. Thereafter, each city-state formed their own government according to their preferences: monarchy, aristocracy, tyranny, oligarchy, and democracy.
Monarchy
The Greek word “monarkhia’, monarchy, is a form of government relative to ancient Greece, “ruled by one”. Macedonia, a Greece city-state, was
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Tyranny is an opposite of democracy and a complementary to monarchy. Some monarch could turn into a tyrant king, whose best interest was their own and their ultimate goal to gain power and greed. For instance, the Persian kings, Darius and Xerxes, were in pursuit to seize Athens that led to the battle of Thermopylae and Salamis. Although Sparta and Athens were united during the Persian Wars, the two separated, which culminated the Peloponnesian Wars, thus Sparta Hegemony over Athens. Thereafter, Athenian’s replacement of democracy was embedded by Sparta called the “Tyrant of 30,” the pro-Spartan oligarchies. During their reign of terror, these tyrants went into a killing spree of Athenian citizens, seized their property, and banished and executed a few democratic supporters. An important exiled democratic supporter, Thrasybulus, formed an alliance with other Greek cities, which were displeased with the Tyrant of 30, besieged the city of Piraeus, Athens’ chief port. By 600 BCE, most city-states were ruled by …show more content…
Due to the Athenian democracy, a death sentence was given to the famous philosopher, Socrates, in 399 BCE. On the contrary, Aristotle firmly believed that the three types of government in ancient Greece exhibited some good and bad features. For instance, democracy in an extreme form was a “mob rule”. Tyranny was a type of a monarch ruling, which serves their own self-interests. Since oligarchy ruled by the “few,” or by the wealthy, oligarchy was the worst kind of aristocracy. Nonetheless, Athens stood by their invention of democracy in accordance to Pericle’s
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
By the fourth century B.C.E. there were hundreds of Greek democracies. Greece was not a single political entity it was a collection of about 1500 separate poleis or cities scattered around the Mediterranean and black sea shores. The cities that were not democracies were either oligarchies or monarchies (often times called tyrannies). Of the democracies, the oldest, the most stable, the most long-lived, and the most radical, was Athens.
Ancient Greece today is most known for the culture: the gods, the dramas, how people lived. What most people do not realize is that there were hundreds, maybe even thousands, of different civilizations spread throughout Greece that all had different forms of government. The three main ones were Athens, Sparta, and Miletus. Each was very different from the other. The most powerful out of all three was Sparta: a military based society. The Spartan government had a strong foundation that was all torn down by one bad leader.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Sparta contained a four branch government system that was considered among the most unique in all of Greece. Unlike the democracy of Athens, Sparta was based on an oligarchy structure. The diarchy, which consisted of two kings, was the first division of this government. These figures held little influence over the state and served more as a symbol of royal heritage (Kennell 83). The second branch was the Gerousia council which acted as an advising body and hel...
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.
The Greece’s Classical Society was about 800-300 BCE. This society has caused a huge movement in human history. Greece’s society has arisen the questions and ideas of which form of government is best? Since Greece has many city-states which
Ancient Greece was not a country in the way modern countries are organized today. This is because, rather than one unified government throughout the land, each city state in Ancient Greece had its own form of government and laws, quite independent of their neighbours. The poleis even created their own colonies. This paper will outline some of the similarities and differences between the various governmental styles in Ancient Greece.
In the ancient Greek city-states, the monarchy was rare as a form of government. Sparta did have a form of monarchy in that there were 2 kings, but there were elements of different forms of government within Sparta, including oligarchy, democracy, and aristocracy. The Spartan monarchy kings were from two different families. However, Sparta also had a council of elders called the Gerousia to contribute to its oligarchy; there was also a bit of democracy in that there was an assembly of people. (Gill, 2008).
One of the more fascinating aspects of Ancient Greek city-states were the various forms of government which spanned throughout its period. There was democracy, monarchies, a dose of tyranny, and oligarchies. Many of these forms of government varied throughout specific territories. At times, these forms of government will resemble each other with respect to certain features incorporated. In certain aspects however, they will be noticeably different as well. Analyzing these forms of government, many of which were attributed to Ancient Greece, plays a critical juncture in understanding their importance in 21st century life. Throughout this essay I will discuss, compare,
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.