Was Athens Truly Democratic Dbq Analysis

277 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: Male role in ancient Greece

Was Athens Truly Democratic?

Athens was not truly democratic because there is evidence in both Document C, Document D and Document E to support this claim. Athens was not truly democratic because not everybody had the choice to vote. In Document C, it states "Percentage of Population Able to Vote: 12%." This shows that since only adult male citizens who were over the age of eighteen could vote, which left 88% of the population unable to vote. Democracy is when every citizen has an equal right to vote and takes part in government. This is not the case in ancient Athens, as shown in Document C. Document D states, “It is less democratic by narrowing down the concept of demos to mean the adult male citizens in assembly.” Demos means the

Show More
Related

  • Ap World History Chapter 7 Summary

    710 Words  | 2 Pages

    The democratic ideals in ancient Athens are different from the imperialist actions and building the empire that the government and military did good on. The Athenian political body did not stand entirely unified in its support of imperialist action but most of the citizens supported them. The fact that most of the eligible voting people supported imperialist conquests allowed for limited tension between the democratic and imperialist ideas. Athenian democracy centered around the equality of citizens under the law, and freedom of speech, which meant that imperialist action mostly did contradict the principles of Athenian

    Read More

  • Dbq Compare And Contrast Sparta And Athens

    585 Words  | 2 Pages

    Imagine two countries, so different from each other, that conflicts were inevitable. Athens and Sparta were not countries, however, they were city-states of Greece with many contrasting values. Athens was the city of the arts, reading, and writing. Meanwhile, military was the only thing the on the Spartans’ minds. Athens and Sparta differ in many ways due to their governments, economies, and cultures.

    Read More

  • Athens Vs Rome Dbq Essay

    441 Words  | 1 Pages

    Throughout history, civilizations have organized their members and incentives in citizenship systems. Athens and Rome, both portray the traits of semi-perfect systems of their time. While Rome may have been the greater civilization, Athens had the better citizenship system, for having protective, unbiased, and open minded tradeoffs.

    Read More

  • Athens: The Superior Polis Compared to Sparta

    654 Words  | 2 Pages

    Athens was a much more superior polis compared to Sparta because the Athenians invented new ideas and creations that supported the people, such as democracy, the Athenians led the Delian League, and Sparta created the Peloponnesian League after the Athenians created their alliance, and the Athenians changed the ways of their government many times to suit the people, and the Spartans did not.

    Read More

  • Athenian Democracy Dbq

    251 Words  | 1 Pages

    First of all, why I think Athens aren't a democracy is because people did not rule themselves just like in Document C on the chart it shows how slaves were a democracy, and slaves were not a democracy because they not rule themselves a. If you look in Document A paragraph 2 it shows a quote saying “ If we look at the laws, they give equal

    Read More

  • How Democratic Was Athens: Was Athens A True Democracy?

    339 Words  | 1 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Democracy In Herodotus

    773 Words  | 2 Pages

    Government and its different forms appears many times throughout Herodotus’s Histories, sometimes its positive and other times its negative, however in the readings Herodotus demonstrates that it is not the Athenian democratic values that makes freedom but rather the absence of tyranny along with equality among men. Herodotus’s assessment of Athenian democracy is overall a positive development to Greek cultural identity in the eyes of Herodotus.

    Read More

  • Essay On Democracy And Athenian Democracy

    1230 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Democracy And Athenian Democracy

    1825 Words  | 4 Pages

    The term democracy comes from the Greek language and means "rule by the people"(Democracy Building 2012). The democracy in Athens represents the precursors of modern day democracies. Like our modern democracy, the Athenian democracy was created as a reaction to a concentration and abuse of power by the rulers. Philosophers defined the essential elements of democracy as a separation of powers, basic civil rights, human rights, religious liberty and separation of church and state. The most current definition of a democracy is defined as a “government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system.”(Dictionary.com). The American democracy was greatly influenced by the Athenian democracy. The Founding Fathers of the American democracy borrowed ideas from the Athenian way of governing. Presently we as Americans live in a democracy that is much different than that the Athenian democracy, and what the Founding Fathers of the American Democracy envisioned. There are also some commonalities between Athens and what our Founding Fathers intended. . Laws of today’s democracy can be traced to the Athenian democracy and what our Founding Fathers originally envisioned. Some main differences and similarities between the modern American democracy the Athenian democracy and what the Founding Fathers envisioned are size of the democracies, the eligibility of a citizen to participate in the democracy and how a citizen participated.

    Read More

  • How Effective was Athenian Democracy?

    1945 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Direct Democracy In Ancient Athens Essay

    354 Words  | 1 Pages

    In the United States, we have a system of checks and balances which organizes and regulates the power each branch of government holds. Whereas in Ancient Athens the majority ruled and the citizens would make and rule on the laws. Another difference between the democracy in Ancient Athens and that of the United States, is that in the United States people in the vote on their congressmen, who in return vote to make the laws. While in Ancient Athens the citizens proposed the laws and voted on them. The democracy differences between Ancient Athens and the United States is evident, while our democracy is more progressive, it was Ancient Athens first steps in democracy that paved the way for the government which our society holds

    Read More

  • How Did Greek Democracy End?

    275 Words  | 1 Pages

    To address the question of how Greek democracy ended, you must first see how it started. Around 600 BCE Solon made some of the first changes in Athenian life. His reforms gave freedom and rights to many that had none. During this time period, Solon abolished Draco’s Laws that were currently in place. He ended the practice where the poor could offer themselves as collateral. The penalty for nearly all crimes had been death until his code of law was set in place. Solon established trade rules, encouraging the exportation of olive oil and prohibited that of grains. Grains were needed to feed the populace. However, his reforms didn’t go far enough or last. (Cadoux, 2015)

    Read More

  • Athenian Democracy Essay

    1381 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Athenian Democracy Vs American Democracy Essay

    384 Words  | 1 Pages

    While the Athenian and American Democracy share the idea of Democracy, there are a lot of visible differences in the way both democracies were ran or are run today. The Athenian Democracy had a direct democracy, which meant that eligible citizens voted on everything. As it had been stated by John R. Hale of THE EPIC STORY OF THE ATHENIAN NAVY AND THE BIRTH OF DEMOCRACY, “only males who were over the age of 18 could vote,” even though this idea seems wrong today, it was understandably ethical at the time because most nations did not consider. slaves and women equal to men. Women and Slaves had very little rights compared to men over the age of 18, and were supposed to work and take care of situations at home. Typically women were not deemed as great as men to run a country or be in a higher position than they were at the time. In Athens, because of a direct democracy all eligible citizens were allowed to participate and attend the assemblies. The assemblies basically was where all males got an opportunity to speak

    Read More

  • Essay On Ancient Greek Democracy

    846 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Greeks system of democracy was an entirely new concept when it was created, and one that has had lasting affects as it continues to influence present day politics around the globe. Modern day democracies may very well not exist if it wasn’t for the success the Athenians had with democracy. Today we look back at these ancient civilizations and we try to better our current society by learning from their mistakes and building on their success.

    Read More

More about Was Athens Truly Democratic Dbq Analysis

Open Document