The Pros And Cons Of Athenian Democracy

The word “democracy” or “demoskratos” in Greek, is a form of government where the (ruling) power is in the hands of the people. The democracy of Athens developed around 500 B.C.E because of the current uproar of oligarchies and dictatorship. The main body of governance in the democracy was the Citizens Assembly, which was a meeting where any man regardless of class was able to direct foreign policies, balance the power of leaders, and was able to oversee laws. Athens had both anti-democratic and democratic qualities to its government because they only represented certain individuals out of a whole population, however this was the first time in history where citizens of any class could vote on governmental affairs and average citizens were able to have the power to check and balance their leaders power.

Once broken down, the word “demoskratos” simply means the power is in the hands of all people. This definition, however, did not hold true in Athens. The Athenians narrowed down the meaning of “demos” to only adult male (citizens) whom which were part of the Assembly. The whole population was comprised of a diverse group of people, but only “12 percent of the population was able to vote” (Ober). Additionally, slaves, metics, children of citizens, and citizen women made up 88% of the

According to Pericles’ Funeral Oration, “If a man is able to serve the state, he is not stopped by the obscurity of his condition” (Pericles). This highlights how people regardless of their class could now be represented by this new system of governance. This is a real turning point in history because now people begin to see how others are able to vote on what they believe in, no matter their condition. This idea would later become woven into the United States democracy, which is why it is so