Ancient Athens is credited with having developed one of the first democracies on this earth. The city-state’s democracy‚ which was known as a direct or radical democracy‚ was at its peak under the rule of Pericles (circa 495- 430 BC). Prior to the development of what was an extremely active democracy‚ the Athenians were under various forms of government‚ including monarchy‚ oligarchy and tyranny. Monarchy The city-states in Greece were established some time around the 9th century BC. From around
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Democracy‚ as defined by Polybius‚ was a “regime based on effective rule by the people.” In Polybius’ Histories‚ democracy was not based on each citizen having the ‘right to do whatever they wish or propose’ but true democracy relied on “reverence to the gods‚ succour of parents‚ respect to elders‚ obedience to laws‚ are traditional and habitual‚ in such communities” as well as decisions being decided by the majority. It has been agreed upon by most ancient historians that Rome was not a democracy
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A long time ago‚ approximately over 2400 years‚ the Ancient Greek Polis developed the first democracy. This was the first time this particular political system was established and organized. Not long after‚ the Roman Republic formed their version of a democracy to rival Greece. Both societies used democracy as a way to band their people together‚ and become stronger republics. There are many similarities and differences between the political systems of Rome and Greece. Both systems had in place
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assessment of values that the ancient Athenians attributed to their concept of democracy. ‘Mean’ is a very general word‚ and in this question could allow for all manner of possible answers‚ those focused on the practice of democracy‚ on the legal meaning‚ etc. But ‘mean’ implies interpretation and a certain degree of subjectivity by those trying to derive meaning. In this case‚ the term will refer to how the Athenians‚ as a people‚ perceived their democracy‚ in terms of both the political institutions
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Athenian democracy was guided by the principle of isonomy. Isonomy basically means that everyone in Athens is equal before the law‚ and all citizens have equal participation in creating the law (Breaugh‚ 2011). Even though citizens are equal in the political sphere‚ they were not equal in other areas of the polis. The lower classes in Athenian democracy were equal in the sense that they had an equal to vote on the laws‚ and to
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Pericles Pericles was an ideal leader. Not only was he a prominent general‚ he was also known for being a legislator‚ speechmaker‚ and an armed chief. “’Our love of what is beautiful does not lead to extravagance‚ our love of the things of the mind does not make us soft.’” What this quotation is telling us explicitly is that Athenians are strong and they don’t succeed just because of love and beauty. Implicitly what Pericles means here is how he views the Athenian polis. The Athenians do not
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Pericles’ Funeral Oration: The Ignored Arrogance In a while after the Peloponnesian War had broken out‚ Pericles delivered his famous Funeral Oration to commemorate those troops who had already fallen in battle. Recorded‚ and probably rewritten by the historian Thucydides‚ it is one of the primary sources on which our understanding of ancient Athens is based and provides a unique insight into just how Athenian democracy understood itself. In the speech Pericles relates the special qualities of
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Democracy was very important in ancient Greece because it gave citizens the opportunity to be involved in government decisions‚ allowed freedom of speech‚ equal rights‚ and eliminated the possibility of a ruler becoming too powerful. Most free men were able to vote and actively be a part of government but this did exclude women‚ children‚ and slaves. Cleisthenes who was a lawgiver in ancient Athens is credited to reforming Athens from an oligarchy (government by the few) to a democracy (government
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council and assembly. “The council of Areopagus” was the Anthenian council. This council served as an important legal institution under the the Athenian democracy. This council existed long before democracy and its power and composition changed many times over the centuries. The Athens conducted an assembly it was the regular gathering of male Athenian citizens to listen to‚ discuss‚ and vote on decrees such as‚ finical and religious matters‚ public festivals and wars‚ and treaties with foreign
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Athenian democracy originated and formed from the three definitions of "Demos". First of all‚ Demos is the Greek word for "village"‚ but the Greeks also used this word to translate as "People" and "Assembly". Initially‚ Demos means "Village" because it refers to the first step of democracy. The Athenians had a voting district‚ it was referred to as the "deme" and administrated the Assembly List. In order to qualify for the Assembly list‚ 18 year old males would have to prove to a political official
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