Ancient Greek Governments
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.
Monarchy
The etymology of the English word monarchy is the Greek word monarkhia. The roots of the word are two Greek words: monos meaning "alone" and arkhein meaning "to rule" (Harper, 2016). This is the essence of a monarchy: one person in rule. Monarchies have been around almost
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Tyrannies have occurred throughout history and were popular in Ancient Greece. One leader or another would overtake the government, be it a monarchy, aristocracy or some other style, and rule the people with an iron fist. An example of a tyranny in Ancient Greece was Cypselus of Corinth. Corinth, a polis mid way between Athens and Sparta, was ruled by a family, the aristocratic Bacchiadae, from 747 BCE until around 658 BCE (Martin, n.d.) when Cypselus rallied the demagogues and overthrew the family. Cypselus "then ruthlessly suppressed rival aristocrats, but his popularity with the people remained so high that he could govern without the protection of a bodyguard" (Martin, n.d.). Although his rule was passed down to his son, Periander, like a monarchy, it was not considered to be one as he never declared himself …show more content…
These men were members of the Gerousia which, as we learned from Brand, were a group of powerful men who had survived the many wars and achieved the age of 60. Although similar to an aristocracy where a wealthy group governed, the appointment of the 28 Gerousia was not due to their class or families, as they were appointed by their peers.
From the Greek word oligarkhia, an oligarchy is "rule of a few" (Harper, 2016). It is interesting to note that "for the Greeks (or more particularly the Athenians) any system which excluded power from the whole citizen-body and was not a tyranny or monarchy was described as an oligarchy" (Cartwright, 2013). Thus, an oligarchy was almost, but not quite, a democracy.
Democracy
Athens was the prototypical democracy of its day. From the Greek words demos and kratos, the word literally translates to rule of the common people (Harper, 2016). Of course, in Athens, the "common people" were not very common: only free, native-born men were allowed to vote and thus rule. But it was as close as a system to modern-day democracy as ancient Greece could be. Ancient Greek democracy was not a perfect system. After all, it was the democracy that executed Socrates, otherwise known as the father of Western philosophy. But it was a form of self-government that the people
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.
Faculty Senate at Truman State University is one small peg in the tradition and history that is representative government and democracy. The term ‘democracy’ is a Greek term that means rule of the people . The earliest democracy and representative government began in Greece, Athens specifically. When representatives were chosen they were selected from wealthy, white males. Usually the men who were chosen were the richest of the possible selection .
With a dictionary definition (cited above), there is little end result between all definitions besides democracy. monarchy, oligarchy, aristocracy, tyranny all translate to few people or individual(s) ruling with power. Indeed, aristocracy and oligarchy are synonymous within this definition, as well as monarchy, aristocracy, and tyranny. The former being ruled by groups while the latter in definition are ruled by individuals. Not much difference.
I believe that athens was a true democracy because they voted only if they were citizens and only if they were old enough to vote. Democracy is a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives. For example the united states is a democracy because all the eligible members in the states have vote. The only bad thing is that not all the eligible member vote in all the states. I believe that it would be much better if all the eligible members in every state voted, because it would be more accurate for all the elections and rules that the government puts.
During the age of Pericles, the ideal form of government was believed to be a government formed by all of the citizens regardless of wealth or social standing. This was known as democracy, literally meaning “ government of the people” [Document 3.] This government favored the many instead of the few. Athens was a direct democracy, meaning every citizen participated in debates. Western civilization used this philosophy of government by many, and created an indirect democracy where citizens elect officials to make and enforce laws.
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...
The Athenian government was a democratic government, which means it was ruled by the people to vote and have a voice in society. The democracy was slowly formed by leaders Solon and Cleisthenes. Solon took over when Athens was in political turmoil. He introduced new reforms to forgive debts, outlaw new loans, free people that
On which they would scratch the name of the person that represented a threat.”(Doc E)This demonstrates why Athens was a democratic society since not only did civilians get to decide on who is in office and who is not. Furthermore, because democracy means rule by the people, and male citizens of ancient Athens voted laws and officials into place.(doc c) This exemplifies how salient the majority's opinion was instead of opinions of just a few rich men .In addition, Athens “....constitution favors many instead of few.”(doc a) Also Athenians had the freedom to do whatever they desire a long as they did not disrupt any other citizen or violate a law. “The freedom which we enjoy in our governments also to our ordinary life…...we do not feel called upon to be angry with our neighbor for doing what he likes. But all this ease in our private life does not make us lawless as citizens.”(doc A) Therefore, this exhibits that this is a democratic government because this is a characteristic that can be seen in democratic governments today. To summarize why Athens was a democracy.Citizens were free to do what makes them jubilant as long as it did not interfere with the laws or fellow citizens. Male citizens could vote and elect the rulers and vote laws into place. These aspects all demonstrate why Athens
Greek Government Ancient Greece was not one nation, as we think of countries of the world today. As Greece entered the 8th century BCE, a number of 'city-states' had begun to form, each with its own political, legal and social systems. Each city (polis) functioned much like a state and there were alliances and conflicts that frequently emerged between them. Most famous among these city states are Athens, Sparta, Corinth, Thebes, Rhodes, Syracuse and Macedonia and each had a distinct form of government (Mark, 2013). It is hard to point to a city-state and say they have a "pure" version of one form for any extended period of time.
These governments came in different styles such as a monarchy which was led by a king. Another form of government that was seen among the Greeks was aristocracy in which the polis was ruled by a small group of noble, land owning families. One of the more notable polis of ancient Greek was that of Sparta in which they used the oligarchy as there form of government. This type of government is where the people are ruled by a few powerful people. Finally, there was democracy which means “rule of the people” (The Legacy of Ancient Greece and Rome 1-7). This was the government that Athens utilized and helped establish. These varying types of government can be seen throughout governments today, however, it is the government established by the Athenians and their political structure that had a greater impact on the west than that of its Greek polis counterparts.
Democracy was a revolutionary development for the Ancient Greek society it was an innovative idea which gave the citizens of Ancient Greeks the freedom to participate in the governmental system and contribute in the processes and decisions, this in turn helped Ancient Greece succeed politically and economically. This democratic society not only helped Greece succeed in the Mediterranean region but also influenced modern day society. The Ancient Greeks succeeded significantly and were highly advanced for this period, the progressive thoughts and ideas demonstrated by individuals in this society contributed to the development of democracy in Athens which has become one of the most beneficial forms of government created.
Before democracy, Athens was a city-state no different than any other. A few powerful, aristocratic families controlled all governing power. Most of the population held little or no role in the political life of the city. Athenians changed this, and created a system where participation was encouraged and opinions were valued. While some other Greek cities were also setting up democracies, none were as stable or well documented as that of Athens. The reason for why the Athenians moved toward a democratic society instead of an oligarchy or monarchy is still debated by historians. However, one common belief is that it rose due to a rapid population growth in their lower class, which may have caused them to have more power in the government compared to other Greek poleis during the Lyric Age. This time period took place between 800 and 500 B.C.; it represents a very vibrant, evolutionary stage in Greek history. The rise of the lower class in Athens probably did help spark ideas of democracy, yet the significant contributions of the political leadership of Solon, Cleisthenes, and Pericles can undisputedly be credited for the primary development of Athenian democracy. In 594 B.C., the first major political and economic reformer Solon came into power. The next reformer was Cleisthenes; he lived from 570 to 508 B.C. The final, and most revolutionary of the three was Pericles. Pericles is responsible for the last and most glorious stage of Athens. By expanding its power and building patriotic pride, he forever changed the system of democracy.
The ancient Greece was divided among several hundreds of city-states called “Poleis”. Within this poleis, Athens and Sparta were the most powerful, significant, largest and significant states.
As Pericles said in his famous funeral oration, “power is in the hands not of a minority but of a whole people.” This meant that the citizens of Greece could have a say in who was in control over the government. The people were still required to obey their leaders and their laws, but they had some choice in who and what their leader and their laws would be. Democracy is an effective way of making citizens happy, however, there were often restrictions on who exactly was able to vote, so not every citizen may have been represented. As well, a possible downside to democracies is that it may be harder to take decisive action when there is not one individual person in total power.
An example of a democratic government in ancient Greece occurred in Athens which has been