Athenian Democracy Essay
507 B.C., the Athenian leader Cleisthenes introduced a system of political reforms that he called demokratia, or rule by the people. Which is modern day Democracy meaning the rule of the people. That is where each person votes about what they would like to happen. Whatever has the most votes wins, obviously. There is no king or dictator to say no to one’s vote. One problem that immediately comes up in a democracy is who is going to be able to vote. Can anyone vote? Should there be an age limit? Do you need to be a resident? Certain gender? Many question pop up and cause many problems with democracy.
The earliest democracy in the world began in Athens, in 510 BC, in Athens they let all that were citizen’s vote, any free adult men. That was …show more content…
The first of these characteristics was homogeneity. While it was a prosperous place, most people in Athens were neither extremely rich nor extremely poor. Furthermore, because only citizens could participate and citizenship was hereditary, there was little ethnic diversity in Athens. Thus, Athens was a homogeneous community in which most people shared common goals and values. A third characteristic of Athens which helped to support direct democracy was the polis’s relatively small population; once Athens grew to hold upwards of forty thousand citizens, rule by the Assembly was threatened. Athens provided for this sort of assembly, which is the fourth characteristic that supported direct democracy, by meeting at large on Pnyx Hill forty times a year. The fifth characteristic that made rule by the many possible in Athens was participation by nearly all citizens in the administration of the city. Citizens took turns by drawing straws to do the important work of the polis. This participation helped citizens to understand the issues and problems facing their polis. Lastly, Athens shunned treaties and alliances with other city-states, because Athenians believed that involvement with other polis’s would threaten their democracy. Instead, the Athenians remained
The earliest democracy in the world began in Athens, in 510 BC, in Athens they let all that were citizen’s vote, any free adult men. That was …show more content…
The first of these characteristics was homogeneity. While it was a prosperous place, most people in Athens were neither extremely rich nor extremely poor. Furthermore, because only citizens could participate and citizenship was hereditary, there was little ethnic diversity in Athens. Thus, Athens was a homogeneous community in which most people shared common goals and values. A third characteristic of Athens which helped to support direct democracy was the polis’s relatively small population; once Athens grew to hold upwards of forty thousand citizens, rule by the Assembly was threatened. Athens provided for this sort of assembly, which is the fourth characteristic that supported direct democracy, by meeting at large on Pnyx Hill forty times a year. The fifth characteristic that made rule by the many possible in Athens was participation by nearly all citizens in the administration of the city. Citizens took turns by drawing straws to do the important work of the polis. This participation helped citizens to understand the issues and problems facing their polis. Lastly, Athens shunned treaties and alliances with other city-states, because Athenians believed that involvement with other polis’s would threaten their democracy. Instead, the Athenians remained