Download 1.1 Greek Democracy

Greek Contributions to
Democracy
Ch 1.1
Early Governments
• Cities were fairly isolated due to terrain
• Two forms of government evolve:
monarchy and aristocracy
– Monarchy-power is centrally held by king
or queen
– Aristocracy- power is held by wealthy
nobles
• Two major cities evolve very different
forms of government: Sparta and
Athens
The Spartans
Spartan Model
• Two kings and a council of elders who
advise them
• Assembly made up of all citizens who
approves major decisions
• Citizen= male, native, 30+ years old
• Assembly elects 5 ephors (officials) who
run day to day affairs
Athenian
Model
• Tyrant= person who gains power by force.
Tyranny reduced power of aristocracy who
ruled Athens through reforms
• Early democracy, council of 500 chosen at
random from all citizens, prepare laws for
assembly, supervised day to day work
• The assembly was all male citizens 30+, they
became a true legislature, debated merits of
laws and voted on them.
Democracy in Greece
Age of Pericles
• Direct participation in gov’t by
citizens (today we are more indirect).
People were paid to be a part of of
the assembly, allowing the poor to
serve
• Stressed not only the rights, but
duties of citizens.
• Peloponnesian War (Sparta vs
Athens) ends Athenian political
influence, decline of democracy
Philosophers
• Socrates
– Wrote no books
– Encouraged people to examine their
beliefs
– Used questions to promote thinkingSocratic Method
– Sentenced to death, refused to flee
believing that the duty of the individual was
to the laws of the state
• Plato
– Set up Academy, a center of learning for
900 years
– Believed that reasoning led to knowledge
– Rejected democracy because it had
condemned Socrates
– Wrote the Republic, said state should
organize everything
– Society should be divided into workers,
soldiers, and philosopher-kings
– Women should be a part of the
government
• Aristotle
– Favored rule by a group from the middle
class
– Golden Mean- middle ground, avoid
extremes= good conduct
– Reason helps learning
– Built the Lyceum where people studied
works on politics, ethics, logic, biology,
literature, physics, etc (many of the works
written by Aristotle)
– Becomes basis for first universities in
Europe
• “School of Athens”- Plato and Aristotle
central figures