Athenian Democracy A Democratic System - 1320 Words

During the dawn of the Greek civilization, rulership consisted of one king that rule the entire occupied land. Such system included only family members, tribe members, and wealthy individuals to receive whatever good the empire had to offer. It took many years until new reforms came about in regards of rulership. The Athenian democracy was developed by the efforts of the leaders and philosophers who were encouraged to think and answer the why freely. Although it was called a democratic system, only male citizens had the opportunity to participate. In this essay, I will discuss how the Athenian democratic system was developed, why, and the efforts of the Greek thinkers in developing the Athenian democracy. Additionally, we will have the†¦show more content†¦It was the urge inside them and the sense of obligation toward their city-state. Thus, The Athenian democratic system was developed to created identity, rationalism, and unity within the society. It was mainly the wishes o f the poor people to participate and have an opinion on the things that mattered. Those poor farmers, workers, and the lower-class people supported Cleisthenes and Solon to help to remove the elites from power. By doing so, they had the opportunity to establish a system where the people could participate in the political process. The Greek culture encouraged humanity and rationalism. The Athenian democratic system received much-needed refinement from the Greek leaders and philosophers. Many of which were Draco, who contributed in developing a legal code that all Athenians are equally rich or poor. His code set a harsh judgment for criminals, a death punishment for all crimes. Moreover, he allowed debt slavery. After Draco, Solon made several changes that were in favor of the lower-class society. Many of those changes were; the cancellation of existed land debts, banned human collateral loans, refined the death penalty to murder alone. Solon divided the society into four classes; Pentakosiomedimnoi which consisted of generals, archons, and Areopagus. Hippies, Archons, Areopagus, and Cavalry. Zeugali which is the boule that ran the city and prepared business for assembly. Thetes which consisted ofShow MoreRelatedAthenian Demokratia Essay1672 Words   |  7 Pagesceased; giving rise to a new democratic constitution under the leadership of Cleisthenes. The changes m ade under his leadership and other subsequent reforms resulted in a relatively radical form of government for the time known as democracy (Hyland Lecture, 26/09/2013). Democracy is a system of collective decision-making in which the participants have equality at least at one essential point of the decision making process (Christiano, â€Å"Democracy†). Furthermore, the term ‘democracy’, which comes from theRead MoreAmerica s Establishment Of Democratization1498 Words   |  6 PagesIn the year 507B.C, Cleisthenes introduced a system that incorporated political reforms and named it demokratia. The new structure imposed a type of governance encompassing a rule by the people (Bury 101). In order to implement the mechanism of the governance, Cleisthenes derived three institutions which constituted the Ekklesia (the governing body), the boule (council of representatives) and the dikasteria (courts which citizens argued out cases). Romans on the other hand are conside red imperialistsRead MoreEssay on Athenian definition of democracy1213 Words   |  5 Pages Discuss the Athenian definition of democracy. Is the city state the only kind of state in which true democracy can exist? What happens to democracy when it is applied to a society with a large dispersed population? What are other examples of democratic societies besides Athens? Compare and contrast Athenian democracy with American democracy. Is the United States a democracy in the classical sense of the word? nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The ancient Greek word quot;demokratiaquot; was ambiguousRead MoreAncient Athens : The Birthplace Of Democracy1378 Words   |  6 Pagesthe birthplace of democracy. Nevertheless, in this paper I argue that there are aspects that show that Athenians were not truly democratic because of the restrictions imposed on citizenship such as; age requirement, only males allowed, and the requirement of a birth measure meaning that double descent was required from both an Athenian mother and an Athenian father to be recognized as a citizen regardless of one’s birthplace. It is antithetical to classify the political system of Ancient AthensRead MoreThe Founding Fathers Of The United States1705 Words   |  7 PagesBy definition, democracy is a type of political system in which all members share the same level of power, but it is also the framework for the government of multiple countries including the United States of America. Athenian democracy, created near 400 B.C. in Athens, Greece, was a direct system where participating citizens had the opportunity to vote directly on legislative and executive bills. The founding fathers of the United States took the Athenian’s idea and created the idea of â€Å"representativeRead MoreAthens vs Socrates1521 Words   |  7 PagesAthenian democracy ensures that a citizen in a society acts according to what society deems appropriate rather than by an individuals assumptions of what is acceptable. Athens as a whole stresses the importance of an active citizen whose life is intertwined with the government . In essence, an Athenian citizen can participate in the decision making of the state and will be enthusiastic in carrying out policies that pass in the assembly. Pericles, an Athenian statesman, makes it clear when he saysRead MoreImportance Of The Polis On Ancient Greek Life1608 Words   |  7 PagesMidterm Prompt 1 Discuss the importance of the polis in ancient Greek life, using Athens as an example. Trace the development of democracy in ancient Athens. â€Å"Polis is a term that is used to describe a tight knit small community of Ancient Greek citizens who agreed on certain rules and customs. Usually a polis was centered on a small town and the countryside the surrounded it† (Deering). The polis defined a public and communal space, the Agora, for the purpose of leading public affairs. The affairsRead MoreIdeals of Democratic Citizenship in Funeral Oration by Pericles1264 Words   |  6 PagesIdeals of Democratic Citizenship in Funeral Oration by Pericles When dealing with the extent to which Socrates is a good example for following the ideals of democratic citizenship, a good source to use as a point of comparison to his life is the principles laid out about that citizenship by Pericles in his Funeral Oration. In the Oration, Pericles brought forth certain ideas about Athenian democracy and how its citizens should live their lives in accordance with it. He held these views to beRead MoreThe Democracy Of The Classical Period Of Athens1619 Words   |  7 PagesDemocracy, the form of government in which there is a rule by the people, is said to have originated and thrived in the classical period of Athens, from 500-350 B.C.. Democracy inherently gave all that were considered citizens power to participate in politics. That being said, it is highly debated as to how much power the people, also known as the demos, exercised in this democracy. Many practices and informal institutions can be said to have limited the power of the demos. The democracy in AthensRead MoreAncient Greek Of Ancient Greece1582 Words   |  7 Pagespublic and communal space, the Agora, for the purpose of leading public affairs. The affairs of men and affairs were included as these had essentials parts to the entire community’s affairs. The Ancient Greek poleis are among the first recorded democratic governments in the world. The term polis has been translated into city-state as there was typically only one city and because an individual polis was independent from other poleis in terms of political, judicial, legal, religious and social institutions