Ancient Greek Government A glorious sun warms the Pnyx Hill outside of Athens. A great amphitheater filled with men of all different workings and ranking gather to discuss the matters of the city. Soon, an orator will call the meeting to order. These various classes of men have no idea that they are shaping the world of government as we know it. The ancient Greeks have influenced our own governments with their different governments, democracy, and views. There were many different governments back in the ancient times; the Greeks personally had four main governments. “The Greek philosopher Aristotle divided Greek governments in monarchies, oligarchies, tyrannies, and democracies, and most historians still use these same divisions.” (Government
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Two of governments, tyranny and oligarch, could be quite prevalent in ancient Greece. “Tyrants were sole rulers of a state who had taken power in an unconstitutional manner, often murdering their predecessor.” (Greek Government, Cartwright) “An oligarch is a system of political power controlled by a select group of individuals, sometimes small in number, but it could also include large groups.” (Greek Government, Cartwright) We tend to think of tyrants as evil men laughing on their thrones while the masses bow in fear, but actually, in ancient Greece, tyrants were not necessarily malevolent. Many tyrants were, but the people actually respected some. Oligarchy seems like a better option, but oligarchy in Greece usually was a people trying for democracy while failing dreadfully. Monarchy is a government where a king rules, usually by himself. In this government, the king’s word is law. Moving on, democracy was another governments used by the Greeks. “Democracy is by far the most influential of the tree governments because it involves all of the people of the country and adds unity within a nation.” In Athens, every adult free man had the right to participate in the government. Theoretically, no one had more power than another, but usually those with more experience spoke more than those who were less experienced. Democracy was one of the most well known …show more content…
“Athens’ constitution is called a democracy because it respects the interests not of the minority but of the whole people. When it is a question of settling private disputes, everyone is equal before the law.” (Greek Government, Cartwright)This was one of the first kinds of democracy ever discovered, and the incredible idea that a people could rule themselves was completely new to everyone who lived in that time. “In the year 507 B.C., the Athenian leader Clestenes introduced a system of political reforms that he call demokratia, or “rule by the people.” This system was comprised of three separate institutions: the ekklesia, a sovereign governing body that wrote laws and dictated foreign policy; the boule, a council of representatives from the ten Athenian tribes; and the Dikasteria, the popular courts in which citizens argued cases before a group of lottery-selected jurors.” (Ancient Greek Democracy, History.com Staff) We see that Athens’s government really was democracy in its first state. There could be many people participating altogether, because as stated before, every free adult male could participate in participated in the government. We can now understand that the authority of the Greeks has affected our government very
Two of governments, tyranny and oligarch, could be quite prevalent in ancient Greece. “Tyrants were sole rulers of a state who had taken power in an unconstitutional manner, often murdering their predecessor.” (Greek Government, Cartwright) “An oligarch is a system of political power controlled by a select group of individuals, sometimes small in number, but it could also include large groups.” (Greek Government, Cartwright) We tend to think of tyrants as evil men laughing on their thrones while the masses bow in fear, but actually, in ancient Greece, tyrants were not necessarily malevolent. Many tyrants were, but the people actually respected some. Oligarchy seems like a better option, but oligarchy in Greece usually was a people trying for democracy while failing dreadfully. Monarchy is a government where a king rules, usually by himself. In this government, the king’s word is law. Moving on, democracy was another governments used by the Greeks. “Democracy is by far the most influential of the tree governments because it involves all of the people of the country and adds unity within a nation.” In Athens, every adult free man had the right to participate in the government. Theoretically, no one had more power than another, but usually those with more experience spoke more than those who were less experienced. Democracy was one of the most well known …show more content…
“Athens’ constitution is called a democracy because it respects the interests not of the minority but of the whole people. When it is a question of settling private disputes, everyone is equal before the law.” (Greek Government, Cartwright)This was one of the first kinds of democracy ever discovered, and the incredible idea that a people could rule themselves was completely new to everyone who lived in that time. “In the year 507 B.C., the Athenian leader Clestenes introduced a system of political reforms that he call demokratia, or “rule by the people.” This system was comprised of three separate institutions: the ekklesia, a sovereign governing body that wrote laws and dictated foreign policy; the boule, a council of representatives from the ten Athenian tribes; and the Dikasteria, the popular courts in which citizens argued cases before a group of lottery-selected jurors.” (Ancient Greek Democracy, History.com Staff) We see that Athens’s government really was democracy in its first state. There could be many people participating altogether, because as stated before, every free adult male could participate in participated in the government. We can now understand that the authority of the Greeks has affected our government very