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ANCIENT GREECE Government 6-1 (continued) Around 750 B.C. villages joined together to form city-states with their own government and laws Most city-states were controlled by aristocrats Middle classes eventually took over government of city-states through Tyrants Around 594 B.C., Solon reformed the laws of Athens • Athens became the leading democracy of the ancient world • Only free men with Athenian parents could be citizens Athenian Democracy • Over 2400 years ago, the famous Greek general, Pericles, said, "It is true that we (Athenians) are called a democracy, for the administration is in the hands of the many and not the few, with equal justice to all alike in their private disputes." Athenian Democracy • Only in Athens, and only for a short time, "rule by many" meant that all citizens had to be willing to take an active part in government. That was the law. Athenian Democracy • Each year, 500 names were drawn from all the citizens of Athens. Those 500 citizens had to serve for one year as the law makers of ancient Athens. Athenian Democracy • All citizens of Athens were required to vote on any new law that this body of 500 citizens created. One man, one vote, majority ruled. Women, children, and slaves were not citizens, and thus could not vote. Athenian Democracy • After the Peloponnesian War with Sparta, which Athens lost, once again Athens was ruled by a small group of people. But for a brief period of about 100 years, Athens was a democracy. It was not a perfect democracy, but it established the roots of democracy. We owe Athens a lot! Two Types of Democracy • A Direct Democracy: citizens vote to make their own laws • A Representative Democracy: citizens vote for representatives that make laws Compare and contrast democracy in Ancient Greece (A) with democracy in the U.S.(B) Greece United States Would Greek democracy work in the U.S.? Why or why not? THE END