Download Government and Law

Greek Government and
Justice: Athens vs Sparta
Introduction
• It’s important to note that political
structure depended on the city-state in
which a “Greek” inhabited.
• For the sake of comparison, we’ll examine
the rival city-states of Athens and Sparta
both of which adopted a political
structure radically different from the
other.
“The Athenians knew how to
think, the Spartans how to act
aright.”
~ Jean Jacques Rousseau,
(philosopher and social critic of the
Enlightenment)
The Cradle of Democracy
500 years before the birth
of Christ…
…the world’s
first democracy
emerged
The Key Figures in the
Development of Democratic rule
Key term: Archon
• position of power created after
decline of kings
• land-holding aristocrat originally
appointed for life
• carried out judicial and religious
duties
• later became 3, then 9 archons
• eventually archons elected for 1year terms
Key Figure: Draco
• elected 1st archon (621 BCE)
• codified and publicized Athenian
law; laws called draconian
because they were harsh
Key Figure: Solon
• appointed archon
in 594 BCE
• set Greece on
road to
democracy
• increased number
of archons to nine
• wealthy landowners formed
ruling classes
Key Figure: Pisistratus
•
•
•
•
Tyrant
Introduced reforms
Improved commerce and mftg
Confiscated land from wealthy and
divided it among landless
• Broke stranglehold of political
influence based on wealth/birth
• Reforms pushed Athens toward
greater democracy
Key term: Democracy
•derives from two Greek words:
demos (people) and kratia (rule)
•means -- “rule by the people”
Key Term: Direct Democracy
• Modern 21st century states do NOT
practice direct democracy BECAUSE it is
unworkable and impractical
• The Greeks invented the concept of direct
participation in political decision-making
• In Athens, a fishmonger and an aristocrat
could have equal say in affairs of the state
• Voting privileges were restricted to about
40,000 of the 300,000 citizens in Athens
Guiding Principles of Athenian
Democracy
• Males over 30 were only citizens
entitled to vote (suffrage)
• Guaranteed rule of law
• All citizens equal before law (justice)
• Equal access to legal redress
Key term: Assembly
• Met 40 times a year
• composed (in theory) of all Athenian
“citizens” (males)
• passed laws, decided all questions of
foreign policy and served as supreme
court
• elected ten generals to run armed
forces
Key term: Council of 500
• Composed of 500 Assembly
members chosen by lot who
served for 1 year
• Proposed and administered
laws
• Conducted routine business
when Assembly was not sitting
Key Figure: Cleisthenes
•
•
•
•
Followed Pisistratus
Reorganized electoral system
Established Council of 500
Increased direct participation in
government
• Divided Athenians into ten tribes
• Turned Athens into a real
demokratia
The Age of Pericles
•
“Our constitution is called a
democracy because power is
in the hands not of a minority
but of the whole people….
[W]hen it is a question of
putting one person before
another in positions of public
responsibility, what counts is
not membership of a
particular class, but the
actual ability which the man
possesses….Here each
individual is interested not
only in his own affairs but in
the affairs of the state as
well.”
~ Pericles
Pericles
• Greek general Pericles dominated
Athenian politics for 30 years
• He retained power not by force but
by election
• His brilliant oratorical ability and
popularity ensured his political
survival
Athenian Justice
Introduction
• Athenian democracy was
guaranteed by the “rule of law” and
something called isanomia (“equality
before the law”)
• These principles still form the
foundation of Canadian law
Administration of Justice
• Cases tried by jury of 6000 (men 30 yrs>)
selected by lot
• Cases usu. heard by jury of 201-1001
• Plaintiff & defendant presented cases
• Public vote of majority determined
verdict
• Plaintiff / defendant proposed appropriate
penalty if none existed
• Jury voted for one of proposal
• No appeal of verdict / sentence
The Death of Socrates by David (1787)
Key term: Kleroterion
• allotment machine into which
volunteer jurors placed their
• tickets (inscribed with name and
jury section)
Kleroterion (bottom left), ticket,
(bottom right), ballots (top right)
Key term: Ostracism (ostracon)
• Citizens voted yearly to exile other
citizens by scratching name on piece
of pottery (called an ostracon)
• Citizens for whom majority of 6000
voted, would be ostracized for ten
years
Athenian Democracy: An
Assessment
• Power in the hands of 40,000 men (only)
out of population of 300,000
• System worked effectively for 200+ years
(longer than many modern states)
• Athenians enjoyed: freedom of speech;
equality before law; equality of political
power
• Provided a foundation for western
democratic structure
Athenian Democracy: An
Assessment, Cont’d
• Remember, however, that like the
Spartans the Athenians also had a
very narrow definition of citizenship
The Spartan Way
Introduction
• Throughout its existence, Sparta
remained an armed camp which
embraced an aristocratic,
oligarchical political structure.
• It was rule by the few
• Though ruled by two kings, the
Council of Elders (Gerousia) really
wielded power
Key Term: Spartiate
• Privileged upper class of 25,000
• Only ones to enjoy full rights of
citizenship
Key Term: Ephor
• Means overseer
• Five men elected by Assembly
• Acted as judges and decided what
law or custom of state was
• Council and Assembly usually
supported their policies
Key Term: Gerousia
• The Council of Elders composed of
28 elected men over sixty years old
• Served for life
Key Term: Perioeci
• Means (dwellers roundabout)
• Third class beneath the Spartiates
and Ephors
• They could carry on trade and
manage their own affairs but had NO
political rights
Key Term: Helot
• Serf / slave
• Approximately 250,000 (vast
majority of the population of Sparta)
• No rights….period!
Assessment of the Spartan
way
• Often seen as the forerunner of
modern dictatorship
• Way of life sacrificed personal
liberty, family life and art and culture
• To maintain a military state, such
sacrifices were necessary - blind
allegiance to the state was
paramount to its success
Assessment of the Spartan
way, cont’d
• While the Spartans were generally feared
because of their military prowess, they
were also admired for their respect for
authority, simplicity and moderation and
allegiance to the state
• Furthermore, agree or disagree with their
way of life, no one can say that the
Spartans did not defend and remained
true to their ideals
Works Cited
Cotterell, Arthur, ed. The Penguin Encyclopedia of Ancient Civilizations.
Penguin, 1980. Print.
Ricker, John and John Saywell. The Emergence of Europe. Toronto: Irwin,
1976. Print.
Walker, Robert J. World Civilizations: A Comparative Study. Don Mills:
Oxford UP, 1998. Print.
Watson, Patrick and Benjamin Barber. The Struggle for Democracy.
Toronto: Lester & Orpen Dennys, 1988. Print.
Toronto: