Compare And Contrast Tyranny, Oligarchy And Democracy As Forms Of Government

Written Assignment Unit 2

“Compare and contrast monarchy, aristocracy, tyranny, oligarchy, and democracy as forms of government in Ancient Greek city-states”

Monarchy & Aristocracy

Firstly it’s important to understand the meaning of a monarchy. A monarchy is a supreme power or sovereignty held by a single person. Ancient Greece at the time rarely had monarchies and if they did it was in the form of a tyranny where the ruler would have little interest in the people. Spartan was known for it’s two king rule and monarchies did exist but they shared power with the states and two of the famous ones are of Macedonia and Epeiros. Not all monarchs had absolute power especially at the times when in war which was led by Spartan army. Spartan Kings could be put on

trial and even exiled.
Tyranny
Tyrants were sole rulers of a state, they had little interest in the people and they were obsessed with power and controlling the monarch.

It is sometimes thought that tyrants were evil, this was not always the case, they just looked after their own interests. For Athenians tyranny was the exact opposite to democracy. Syracuse in Sicily had a run of famous tyrants, for example, Dionysios from 405 BCE and his son Dionysios II, who took over in 367 BCE. Tyrants took power by force and usually had support from the poor and because power was taken by force, it was not inherited unlike a monarchy. Many states were ruled by tyranny in the 6th century BC.

Oligarchy

According the reference stated below, An oligarchy “is a system of political power controlled by a select group of individuals”. This applied mainly to Athenians and meant the system excluded power from the whole citizen-body and it was not classed as a tyranny or monarchy. They were probably the most common forms of city-state government and often formed when there were problems with democracy. Sparta championed oligarchies and most citizens couldn’t take part in government, it was mainly formed of the men from rich families who controlled the state.

Democracy
Athens is probably the most well-known state to be known as a democratic state. There were other states like Argos, Syracus, Rhodes and Erythrai, however Athens is perhaps the most talked about. The democratic constitution respected the interests of all the people and when settling disputes, everyone was treated equally before the law. Most government officials were chosen through a lottery system and could only work for a year. The assembly got together at least once a month and most citizens who attended could freely ask questions and they were also paid to attend. There were 10 generals who were the most important and they were elected by the people. Voting was done by a show of hands.