Democracy Then and Now
May 30, 2013
Humanities: Chapter 4 Ancient Greece
Democracy: Then and Now
In modern conversation, when people hear the word democracy, most people immediately think of the late 1700’s when a group of people in what is today the United States of America, separated themselves from a tyrannical king in England, declared their independence from his rule, and fought a war to defend their right to be free. Many people associate the type of Government these brave American’s created as a new idea of democracy. But was it really a new idea?
The word “democracy” is derived from Greek roots, demos meaning people and kratos meaning strength/rule, rule by the people. The idea of democracy has roots much earlier than most people believe. Actually more than 2000 years earlier. In 508 B.C. the people of Athens Greece instituted a rule by the people form of government after ousting a tyrannical ruler by the name of Hippias. Hippias was known to kill or exile other aristocrats that would not go along with his ideas and principles. Once he banished the condescending individual, he would usually take a member of that person’s family hostage and hold them as a slave to shore up loyalty.
The people of Athens finally had enough of this tyrant Hippias, and they led a revolt with the help of the legendary military state of Sparta to overthrow him. Hippias somehow escaped from Athens and lived in exile in Persia. The people of Athens were fed up with living under the rule of one supreme leader. They divided the city into ten wards and selected 50 men from each ward (a total of 500) to serve on a council for 36 days. Athens convened 10 councils a year, and no man was allowed to serve on a council more than twice in his lifetime. This essentially eliminated the possibility of any one man or family from gaining enough power to become a ruler.
When our founding fathers established the US Constitution, they devised term limits for our President for this very same reason. They
Humanities: Chapter 4 Ancient Greece
Democracy: Then and Now
In modern conversation, when people hear the word democracy, most people immediately think of the late 1700’s when a group of people in what is today the United States of America, separated themselves from a tyrannical king in England, declared their independence from his rule, and fought a war to defend their right to be free. Many people associate the type of Government these brave American’s created as a new idea of democracy. But was it really a new idea?
The word “democracy” is derived from Greek roots, demos meaning people and kratos meaning strength/rule, rule by the people. The idea of democracy has roots much earlier than most people believe. Actually more than 2000 years earlier. In 508 B.C. the people of Athens Greece instituted a rule by the people form of government after ousting a tyrannical ruler by the name of Hippias. Hippias was known to kill or exile other aristocrats that would not go along with his ideas and principles. Once he banished the condescending individual, he would usually take a member of that person’s family hostage and hold them as a slave to shore up loyalty.
The people of Athens finally had enough of this tyrant Hippias, and they led a revolt with the help of the legendary military state of Sparta to overthrow him. Hippias somehow escaped from Athens and lived in exile in Persia. The people of Athens were fed up with living under the rule of one supreme leader. They divided the city into ten wards and selected 50 men from each ward (a total of 500) to serve on a council for 36 days. Athens convened 10 councils a year, and no man was allowed to serve on a council more than twice in his lifetime. This essentially eliminated the possibility of any one man or family from gaining enough power to become a ruler.
When our founding fathers established the US Constitution, they devised term limits for our President for this very same reason. They