Download Development of Democracy in Ancient Greece

The Origin & Development of
Democracy in Ancient Greece
Objectives
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
What is Democracy?
What are the main types of democracy?
What pushed Greeks towards democracy?
Who was Solon and what were his reforms?
Who was Cleisthenes and what were his
reforms?
VI. Who was Pericles and what were his reforms?
VII. What did Aristotle say about tyranny and
democracy?
Definition of Democracy
• Democracy:
– Word has Greek
language origin
• Demos: people
• Kratos: rule
• Rule by/of the people
Definition
• Democracy derives
from the ancient
Greek,
“demokratia”:
– demos = the
people
– kratien = to rule
Definition
• Meant to distinguish the idea that it is
the people collectively, not any class,
family, or group that rules
Definition
•Other types of government derived from
Greek base:
–
–
–
–
–
Aristocracy:
Monarchy:
Rule by the best
Rule by one
person
Oligarchy: Rule by the wealthy
Timocracy: Rule by the honorable
Tyranny: Rule by the rulers, for the
rulers
Questions of Democracy
• Who are “The People?”
Questions of Democracy
• How do “the people” rule?
Questions of Democracy
• How do we know what the people
want?
Plato
• Greek philosopher Plato
distinguished democracy
from:
– Aristocracy or Oligarchy:
rule by a small elite or
wealthy class
– Monarchy: rule by one
individual, i.e. king or
emperor
Main Types of Democracy
1. Direct Democracy:
– System of government
where the power rests
with the citizens
– Citizens themselves are
the power (without
representatives)
– Power is exercised
through voting – each
citizen represents one
vote
Main Types of Democracy
. Representative
Democracy:
–
–
–
Citizens are elected
as representatives
Those elected
officials are to act in
the interest of the
citizens
Normally they serve
only for allotted
period of time
Origin and Causes of Democracy
• Began in Athens, Greece
• Approximately 508 B.C.
• Due to geography, isolated “city-states” began to
emerge
– City-states were given the name “polis”
• A polis (or city-state) is an area with its own
political system
– A polis was independent from other polis’ (poleis)
Evolution of Democracy
• Initially, a polis was styled after monarchies (circa
700 B.C.)
• Over time, this evolved into an aristocratic style of
rule
• Over time, there became an imbalance of power
– Wealthy: more power; the rest of the citizenry: less power
• This pushed Athens towards becoming a
democracy
Draco
• The privileged eupatrid(aristocratic) few in Athens had been
making all the decisions for long enough.
• By 621 B.C. the rest of the people of Athens were no longer
willing to accept arbitrary, oral rules of the eupatrid
thesmothetai 'those who lay down the law' and judges.
• Draco was appointed to write down the laws. Athens may
have been a late-comer to the written law code since it may
already have been done elsewhere in the Hellenic world.
First Glimpse of legal System
• First written code. posted on wooden tablets, later on 3 sided
pyramids.
Probably just a codification of existing practices/oral law.
Comparable to Hammurabi's Code. Violation and
punishments clear.
Laws readily available to all. Empowering. In effect, reduces
power of aristocracy.
Probably written b/c of pressure from new hoplite classes.
All his laws were repealed by Solon apart from those dealing
with homicide.
Problems Introduced by the
Law Code of Draco
• The story goes that when asked about the
harshness of his punishments, Draco said
the death penalty was appropriate for
stealing even so much as a cabbage. If
there had been a worse penalty than
death, Draco would gladly have applied it
to greater crimes.
Draco
• As a result of Draco's strict, unforgiving
code, the adjective based on the name
Draco -- draconian -- refers to penalties
considered excessively severe.
Slavery For Debt
• Through the laws of Draco, those in debt
could be made slaves -- but only if they
were members of the lower class.
• This means members of a genos (the
gennetai) could not be sold as slaves, yet
their hangers-on (orgeones) could.
Homicide
• Another result of the codification of laws by
Draco -- and the only part that remained
part of the legal code -- was the
introduction of the concept of "intention to
murder." Murder could be manslaughter
(either justifiable or accidental) or
intentional homicide. With the new law
code, Athens, as a city-state, would
intervene in what were formerly family
matters of blood-feuds.
Three Democratic Reformers
• SOLON
• Gap between wealthy & non-wealthy
considered a crisis
• Solon, a respected leader, elected to reform
Athens
• Reforms of Solon:
– Slavery outlawed
– The debts of farmers were abolished
– Established four classes of citizenship
• Based on wealth, not heredity
• Citizens of three highest classes could hold
office
– All adult male citizens were granted citizenship
• This dramatically increased citizen
participation in government
Solon’s Constitutional Reforms
•
•
•
Arconship – 9 + 1
Areopagus – aristocratic council /
Council of Elders
– Consisted of former
archons
– Final decisions on
legislation, war and
peace
– Meets 3-4 times/month
– Power reduced by
Solon. Transferred to
Boule
•
•
Boule / Council of 400
– Upper house
– Each of 4 tribes elect 100
members
– Sets agenda for Ekklesia.
Ekklesia
– 1-3 allowed in (no Thetes)
– Annual elections
– 43,000 people. However, only
those wealthy enough to spend
time away from home would have
been able to participate
Heleai – Judicial Branch
– 6000 jurors
– All cases except treason and
murder
Pisistratus: A Special Kind of
Tyrant
•
•
Maintained Solon’s reforms and pol. structures. Tyrannical enforcement of
Solonic democracy. Stacked his men in positions of power.
Objective: to reduce factional/class tensions. Methods:
– For the rich:
• Some control of Areopagus
• Maintain archonships
• Allies with Tyrants and develops trading networks
• Attic exports to Ionia, Cyprus, Syria, and Spain
• Est. colonies in Dardanelles
Pisistratus: A Special Kind of
Tyrant
–
For the poor:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Cut taxes for poor
Est. 5% tax on ag. production. 1st tax in Athens.
Gave away state owned land
Est. circuit courts
Athenian beautification-aqueducts, roads, temples…
Mining at Larium
Promoted arts
Three Democratic Reformers
• CLEISTHENES
• Reforms of Cleisthenes:
– Formed the Council of
500
• Members were chosen
randomly from the citizenry
• Council was made a
“legislature” (law-making
body)
Conclusions :
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•
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Father of Athenian Democ?
By end of 5th C, most Athenians had a small plot of land
A time of peace
Too moderate? Frieze on temple of Apollo at Delphi, “Nothing in Excess” attributed to
Solon.
Make everyone unhappy, but kept peace. Persuaded rich and poor to compromise.
Forestalled revolution. “Radicals criticized him for failing to establish equality of
possessions and power; conservatives denounced him for admitting the commoners to
the franchise and the courts.” (Durant, 117)
Asked if he had given Athenians the best laws he replied, “no, but the best that they
would receive.” (Durant, 117)
Asked what is good government, he replied “when the people obey the rulers, and the
rulers obey the laws.”
Solonian Reforms: Conclusions
•
•
•
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challenged power of aristocrats
↑ political competition
↑ political participation
↑ factionalism
Region
Peralia
Pediakoi
Diakroi
Ideology
Class
S&W - Shores Moderates Mid ClassTraders
C - Plains
Aristocrats Rich
E – Mountains Radicals
Poor
Supported
Solon
Lycurgus
Pisistratus
Three Democratic Reformers
• PERICLES
• An instrumental figure in Athenian
democracy
• Reforms of Pericles:
– All citizens of Athens encouraged to take
part in government
– Council of 500 increased dramatically—at
times, it was made up of 6,000 members
– Number of paid government officials
increased
– Lower-class citizens were now permitted
to hold office
– Citizens who served as jurors were now
paid
• Overall, the reforms increased
participation among all the social
classes of Athens.
Read the two excerpts from Aristotle’s Politics below. Dissect and shrink
each excerpt to two sentences.
On the Nature of Tyranny:
“The Tyrant must ‘cut down to size’ those who raise their
heads too high, destroy men of Spirit, not allow common
meals, political clubs or education . . . and he must guard
against all things that might inspire courage and confidence
among the people. . . A tyrant must make every effort to
know what each of his subjects says and does . . . he must
employ spies . . . The tyrant must also encourage quarrels
among the people, pitting friend against friend, the common
people against the gentry and the wealthy against one
another. . . . The Tyrant must also be a warmonger so that
the people will be kept busy and will constantly feel the need
for a leader.”
On the Nature of Democracy:
“. . . rulers should be chosen by all citizens and from all
citizens . . . each citizen should be ruled by all
citizens and all citizens by each one of them; . . . the
tenure of all offices . . . should be short; . . . the jury
courts should be chosen from all citizens; . . . The
assembly should be sovereign over all things and no
official is supreme over anything accept quite
unimportant matters; . . . no official should serve for
life.Equality does not imply that the poor should
rule instead of the rich or that they alone should
hold power, but that all people should share power
equally , according to their numerical strength.