Introduction
There were various forms of rule in Ancient Greece. These were monarchy, Aristocracy, tyranny, oligarchy and democracy. We will examine each in turn.
Monarchy
There were examples of rule by monarchy in ancient Greece. One example is in Sparta.
However, these monarchs did not hold the power that other monarchs did elsewhere in the world.
Sparta saw rule by dual kings from two different royal families, but their roles were largely ceremonial (Brand, 2010).
Elsewhere in Greece, monarchs were rare and were only distinguished from tyrants by their willingness to govern in the interest of the people.
Aristocracy
An aristocratic government is ruled by nobility. This was the kind of rule established in most of the city states of Greece
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Tyrants don’t always rightfully rise to power and are usually propped up by a large group (Cartwright, 2013). For example, Peisistratus from
Athens was supported by the Athenian hill men who were poor and fed up with the rule of the aristocrats (Wells).
Oligarchy
The word oligarchy means government by a select few who are usually corrupt and govern mainly to enrich their own selves. In this way, an oligarchy is similar to aristocratic rule, however, aristocratic rule is not usually punctuated by as must unjust behaviour as an oligarchy.
Oligarchies usually occurred when democracy had been abused. They could be found in Thebes and Megara (Cartwright, 2013).
Democracy
The best example of democracy in ancient Greece could be found in Athens. The word democracy has its root in the Greek word demos which refers rule the people. Whilst democracy refers to rule by the people, not everyone had a voice in ancient Athens. Only free-born males who were citizens of Athens were allowed to vote on matters relating to the citizenry. Women, slaves and non-citizens of Athens were not allowed to participate (Brand, 2010). There
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Despite this, there were ways that rich aristocrats hijacked the democratic process to make it more beneficial for themselves. Several attempts were
Government in Greece made to overhaul the process, the most significant by Cleisthenes who laid the foundation for modern day democracy.
Conclusion
Several forms of government were practiced in ancient Greece, some, with more success than others. Democracy was most successful and has survived to this day even though its start was rocky and it needed to be overhauled several times. One of the lessons that can be learned from government in Ancient Greece is that the masses do not tolerate unfair forms of government for very long. Eventually, the people revolt and demand fairness.
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Government in Greece
References
Wells, H.G., Monarchy, Aristocracy and Democracy in Greece, Retrieved from http://outline-ofhistory.mindvessel.net/210-greeks-and-persians/213-monarchy-aristocracy-and-democracy-ingreece.html,
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.
Cartwright, M. (2013), Greek Government, Retrieved from https://www.ancient.eu/Greek_Government/ Brand, P.J., (2010), Athens & Sparta: Democracy vs
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
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
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.
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.
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.
Raaflaub, Kurt A., and Josiah Ober. Origins of democracy in ancient Greece. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2007.
One of the versions of governing is an oligarchy, a small group of people in control of a country. In book eight of the republic Plato explains the meaning of an oligarchy and when it is very unsuccessful. It doesn't work because whoever has the most wealth can take part in ruling over the city. Plato even explains "when virtue and riches are placed together in the scales of the balance, the one always rises as the other falls...
Between the years of 508 BCE and 322 CE, Greece flourished under democracy. However, some question if the flourishing of Athens is due to the democracy that was in place as opposed to other factors relevant in building a successful community. This investigation will examine the effectiveness of Athenian democracy in Greek society. Relevance of Athenian democracy can be seen in foundation of many democracies found worldwide. In this investigation the right to vote, protection of minorities, use of social class, the structure of democracy and how Greek democracy has influenced the world will be addressed. The place investigated will be Greece, specifically the capitol Athens. The effectiveness of Athenian democracy can be seen in social structure, protection of minorities, and right to vote, as well as its structure and influence of other countries around the world.
Aristotle points out that throughout the process the type of governing was always monarchical from the household all the way up to the polis. The polis though is not a monarchy or oligarchy because of the natural maturi...
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.
An Aristocracy is a form of “government by the best individuals or by a small privileged class” (Aristocracy., n.d.). Tyranny is defined as “a government in which absolute power is vested in a single ruler; especially: one characteristic of an ancient Greek city-state” (Tyranny., n.d.). Oligarchies are “government by the few” (Oligarchy.,
qualified to rule the people. And an oligarchy is composed of ‘Oligarchy is the rule of the chosen
An Aristocracy is when a small class of noble and privileged people are in control. (Dictionary.com) An advantage of using an Aristocracy is that this form of government gives control and leadership to qualified people. Also it prevents the rise of a single person and it divides the control between the people. With the encouragement of the ruling class, it has led to the increase of arts and culture in very historical places. The disadvantages of this government are quite serious too. With only a small group of people sharing the power, they may rule out any ideas of the public or citizens, and that could start a uproar. Also the leaders are definitely not held accountable for their actions and then the leaders are left with the idea that they can do anything they want, even if it hurts their country. And lastly the ruling class could act selfishly when creating rules and laws. Some countries that use this government are Denmark, England, and
A government is a group of people or a sole ruler that governs a nation. It sets and administers, public policy and exercises executive political and sovereign power through customs, institutions, and laws within a state. It is an exclusive policy-making body of unit. There are many forms of government, democracy, republic, monarchy, aristocracy, oligarchy, and dictatorship to list a few. (WebFinance, Inc., 2013) Ancient Greek had many forms of government which can be observed when looking at the different poleis, and the two famous polis were known as Athens and Sparta. Athens formally was founded on the monarchy, a form of government controlled by one person, however by 564 B.C. Athens had formed the first form of government known as democracy. (Mathisen, 2012) Democracy was a system which required active and ongoing participants of citizens, while all Athenian citizens were allowed to take ...
The extent that ancient Greek states promoted democracy in the classical era was very limited. Based on the text democracy was views as poor man’s government, and in this paper I will explain why the educated felt that only the poor could support the democracy. Also, I will explain why the idea of democracy was rejected and considered to be futile. Lastly I will break down the social differences, and explain how that applies to the division of the political system.