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Greek democracy research paper
Athena and her role in athenian societies
Greek democracy research paper
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In the “Protagoras,” Socrates and Protagoras debate why participation in government is open to all citizens, but technical matters, such as health, works of art, and the construction of buildings require qualified individuals. The argument presupposes that integrity and acumen are the necessary virtues that citizens must lean and apply for a properly functioning democracy.
Democracy is designed to concentrate the power of government in the hands of the people and protect against autocracy and oligarchy. It presupposes societies need a modicum of rule, as they cannot function if there is anarchy. In this way, democracy is a virtue, or a mean between two vices. However, democracy has a sliding scale, the metric of which is the citizens who rule it. Citizens ultimately dictate the laws to be agreed upon, codified and enacted. These laws not only govern behavior and maintain order, but also provide citizens with a mechanism to seek relief through the courts should they be aggrieved.
At the inception of Athenian democracy in the 5th Century, there were no professional prosecutors, or lawyers. Complainants seeking justice brought and argued their case against defendants, who would answer the charges themselves. After the case had been argued, the jury immediately voted and made its decision without the modern equivalent of a deliberation. Thus, the ability to argue, and use rhetoric was an important tool for litigants. Similarly, it was important for jurors to understand rhetorical arguments to effectively decide cases they heard. The application of reason, and the ability to apply logical thought extends beyond the courts and also to the formulation of public policy.
To effectively govern and implement policy, citizens partic...
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...se to over arching political leaders and policies that claim to act in the best interest of all, yet are in reality only in place to serve the self interest of a few.
Works Cited
"A Brief History of Ancient Greece: Politics, Society, and Culture [Paperback]." Amazon.com: A Brief History of Ancient Greece: Politics, Society, and Culture (9780195156812): Sarah B. Pomeroy, Stanley M. Burstein, Walter Donlan, Jennifer Tolbert Roberts: Books. Web. 13 Apr. 2012.
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"The Internet Classics Archive | Protagoras by Plato." The Internet Classics Archive: 441 Searchable Works of Classical Literature. Web. 13 Apr. 2012. .
"Protagoras." SparkNotes. SparkNotes. Web. 13 Apr. 2012. .
Democracy is the structure of government still used today in many countries.The definition of democracy is a system of government where people who rule directly are freely elected representatives.In addition, democracy comes from the Greek word demokratia. Demo meaning people and kratia meaning power of rule. For instance, here is an example, Great Britain has a democratic government since elected officials and laws are voted on by the people and also the representatives they elect. Therefore Athens exemplifies a democratic government. “Athenians would meet and vote on a simple question …. is anyone becoming a threat to democracy? If a simple majority voted yes,then they dispersed and reassembled two months later,
Before that can be established, I think a definition of democracy should be stated so that it may be called upon later in this essay. According to the American Heritage Dictionary, democracy is stated as "the principle of social equality and respect for the individual within a community" .
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.
Pomeroy, Sarah B. et al. A Brief History of Ancient Greece. New York & Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004.
The Ancient Athenian trials were heard by a randomly selected jury of anywhere between 200 and 6,000 citizens. Potential jurors volunteered for duty at the beginning of each year, entered into the juror pool by lottery and were assigned randomly to a case each day when they presented themselves for service. Cases were presided over by lay magistrates, also chosen by lottery, which had no formal training and could not make decision regarding cases, juries or testimonies. You can find the America’s interpretation of the right to a speedy and public trial in the 6th amendment of the United States Constitution. It reads, "In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense."
Raaflaub, Kurt A., and Josiah Ober. Origins of democracy in ancient Greece. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2007.
Pomeroy, Sarah B. Ancient Greece: A Political, Social, and Cultural History. New York: Oxford UP, 1999. Print.
Plato. (1992). Plato Republic. (G. Grube, & C. Reeve, Eds.) Indiana: Hackett Publishing Company Inc.
Plato. The Republic. Trans. Richard W. Sterling and William C. Scott. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1996.
Ancient Greek culture first emerged around 1600 B.C. in Mycenae. This developed a powerful military and participated in a wide trading network. Over the next thousand years, Greek society organized itself into city-states. The most famous ones were Athens and Sparta. They served as centers of political, religious, and cultural life.
Robin Sowerby, The Greeks: An Introduction To Their Culture. Published in 1995 by Routledge Publishers.
The Daily Life of Ancient Greeks Life in Greece in ancient times will remind you of your own life in many ways. There were school, family, athletic competitions, and social gatherings. Knowing that participants in their sporting events competed nude or that you rarely knew your husband/wife until the wedding day does however, make you grateful for the society that you live in today. Babies Life for the Greeks in Athens began in their home. Babies were delivered by the women of the family, and only in cases of serious complications was a mid-wife called.
Democracy has come to mean a principle under whose flag has most of the developed countries aced in their race for Imperialism. It has gone beyond all previous governing systems and has made room for progress and development. By offering free and fair elections, democracy has redefined human dignity and patriotism. It has also helped to improve decision-making among the citizens, and brought down the crime level. Democracy is for sure the most fitting among the other types of government, and needs to be implemented fully for effective functioning of a state.
What is democracy? Democracy a form of government in which the people freely elect representatives to govern them in a country, democracy guarantees free and fair elections, basic personal and political rights and independent court of law. There are two types of democracy, direct and indirect democracy. Direct democracy or pure democracy is where there is direct participate of the people; people make decisions for them instead of letting them representative make decision for them. Indirect democracy the decisions are made by the representative on behalf of the people that voted for them. All over the world people are having different views with regard to democracy and how it operates. “It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried” ~ Winston Churchill, some have said democracy is the worst government form of government which I also think it’s! Due to the how it operates.