Why Greece Is Considered the Birthplace of Democracy. I was not sent to Athens by the Romans to learn its history, but to subdue its rebels, he declared. Ancient Athenian democracy differs from the democracy that we are familiar with in the present day. And its denouement is the Roman sack of Athens, a bloody day that effectively marked the end of Athens as an independent state. was part of the first Persian invasion of Greece. 474 Words2 Pages. It survived the period through slippery-fish diplomacy, at the cost of a clear democratic conscience, a policy which, in the end, led it to accept a dictator King and make him a God.". The word democracy (dmokratia) derives from dmos, which refers to the entire citizen body, and kratos, meaning rule. Intellectual anti-democrats such as Socrates and Plato, for instance, argued that the majority of the people, because they were by and large ignorant and unskilled, would always get it wrong. Over time tyrants became greedy and cruel. About the same time that the Pontic army was sweeping across the province of Asia, Athens dispatched the philosopher Athenion as an envoy to Mithridates. At last, Archelaus saw that the game was up and skillfully evacuated his army by sea. But where Athenion failed, Mithridates was determined to succeed. There is a strong case that democracy was a major reason for this success. 2023 A&E Television Networks, LLC. The contemporary sources which describe the workings of democracy typically relate to Athens and include such texts as the Constitution of the Athenians from the School of Aristotle; the works of the Greek historians Herodotus, Thucydides, and Xenophon; texts of over 150 speeches by such figures as Demosthenes; inscriptions in stone of decrees, laws, contracts, public honours and more; and Greek Comedy plays such as those by Aristophanes. A mass slaughter followed. In 590 BCE Athenians were suffering from debt and famine throughout Athens. Ultimately, the city was to respond positively to some of these challenges. In an effort to cope, Athens began to create a system of self-regulation, described as a "giant Neighbourhood Watch", asking citizens not to trouble its overstretched bureaucracy with non-urgent, petty crimes. "use strict";(function(){var insertion=document.getElementById("citation-access-date");var date=new Date().toLocaleDateString(undefined,{month:"long",day:"numeric",year:"numeric"});insertion.parentElement.replaceChild(document.createTextNode(date),insertion)})(); FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. Archelaus landed on the Greek coast to the north and withdrew into Thessaly, where he joined forces with Pontic reinforcements that had marched overland from Anatolia. The mighty Persian empire (founded in Asia a generation earlier by Cyrus the Great and expanded by his son Cambyses to take in Egypt) is in crisis, since a usurper has occupied the throne. When republishing on the web a hyperlink back to the original content source URL must be included. It argues that it was not the loss of its empire and defeat in war against Sparta at the end of the 5th century that heralded the death knell of Athenian democracy - as it is traditionally perceived. Under this system, all male citizens - the dmos - had equal political rights, freedom of speech, and the opportunity to participate directly in the political arena. Most of all, Pericles paid artisans to build temples read more, Ancient Greek mythology is a vast and fascinating group of legends about gods and goddesses, heroes and monsters, warriors and fools, that were an important part of everyday life in the ancient world. He also said that Mithridates would free the citizens of Athens from their debts (whether he meant public or private debts is not clear). His influence and that of his best pupil Aristotle were such that it was not until the 18th century that democracy's fortunes began seriously to revive, and the form of democracy that was then implemented tentatively in the United States and, briefly, France was far from its original Athenian model. Every day, more than 500 jurors were chosen by lot from a pool of male citizens older than 30. Demagogue meant literally 'leader of the demos' ('demos' means people); but democracy's critics took it to mean mis-leaders of the people, mere rabble-rousers. When some topped the walls and ran away, he sent cavalry after them. READ MORE: Why Greece Is Considered the Birthplace of Democracy. Athenian democracy refers to the system of democratic government used in Athens, Greece from the 5th to 4th century BCE. Sulla had the tyrant and his bodyguard executed. Athenian Democracy. Athens, for example, committed itself to unpopular wars which ultimately brought it into direct conflict with the vastly more powerful Macedonia. Though Mithridates had to withdraw from territories he had conquered and pay an indemnity, he remained in power in Pontus. Sparta had won the war. This was a democratic form of government where the people or 'demos' had real political power. The classical period was an era of war and conflictfirst between the Greeks and the Persians, then between the read more. The one exception to this rule was the leitourgia, or liturgy, which was a kind of tax that wealthy people volunteered to pay to sponsor major civic undertakings such as the maintenance of a navy ship (this liturgy was called the trierarchia) or the production of a play or choral performance at the citys annual festival. The island had many Roman and Italian residents and relied heavily on the Roman trade. Athenion at first feigned a reluctance to speak because of the sheer scale of what is to be said, according to Posidonius. The Roman leaders, he said, were prisoners, and ordinary Romans were hiding in temples, prostrate before the statues of the gods. Oracles from all sides predicted Mithridatess future victories, he said, and other nations were rushing to join forces with him. After all, at the time of writing, Athens was the greatest single power in the entire Greek world, and that fact could not be totally unconnected with the fact that Athens was a democracy. However, historians argue that selection to the boule was not always just a matter of chance. A Greek trireme Meanwhile, on the other side of the Aegean, events touched off an explosion whose force would swamp Athens. Books From Democrats To Kings is published by Icon Books. But geometry worked against him. In the 4th and 5th centuries BCE the male citizen population of Athens ranged from 30,000 to 60,000 depending on the period. Instead, Dr. Scott argues that the strains and stresses of the 4th century BC, which our own times seem to echo, proved too much for the Athenian democratic system and ultimately caused it to destroy itself. His political opponents had seized control of Rome, declared him a public enemy, and forced his wife and children to flee to his camp in Greece. https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-greece/ancient-greece-democracy. Sulla had reason to let Mithridates off easyhe was anxious to deal with his political opponents back in Rome. While Eli Sagan believes Athenian democracy can be divided into seven chapters, classicist and political scientist Josiah Ober has a different view. This is a form of government which puts the power to rule in the hands of . Eventually the Romans breached a section of the wall and poured through. Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/Athenian_Democracy/. An early example of the Greek genius for applied critical theory was their invention of political theory Three of the seven noble conspirators are given set speeches to deliver, the first in favour of democracy (though he does not actually call it that), the second in favour of aristocracy (a nice form of oligarchy), the third - delivered by Darius, who in historical fact will succeed to the throne - in favour, naturally, of constitutional monarchy, which in practice meant autocracy. laborers forced into bondage over debt, and the middle classes who were excluded from government, while not alienating the increasingly wealthy landowners and aristocracy. The Greek emissary became an enthusiastic booster of the king and sent letters home advocating an alliance. He sees 12 stages in the development of Athenian democracy, including the initial Eupatrid oligarchy and the final fall of democracy to the imperial powers. Many of its economic problems were gradually solved by attracting wealthy immigrants to Athens - which as a name still carried considerable prestige. He was chief historical consultant for the BBC TV series 'The Greeks'. The resulting decision to try and condemn to death the eight generals collectively was in fact the height, or depth, of illegality. He is the author, co-author, editor and co-editor of 20 or so books, the latest being Alexander the Great: The Hunt for a New Past (Pan Macmillan, London, 2004). The mass involvement of all male citizens and the expectation that they should participate actively in the running of the polis is clear in this quote from Thucydides: We alone consider a citizen who does not partake in politics not only one who minds his own business but useless. After all, at the time of writing, Athens was the greatest single power in the entire Greek world By 413, however, the argument from success in favour of radical democracy was beginning to collapse, as Athens' fortunes in the Peloponnesian War against Sparta began seriously to decline. According to Appian, Sulla ordered an indiscriminate massacre, not sparing women or children. Many Athenians were so distraught that they committed suicide by throwing themselves at the soldiers. Critics of democracy, such as Thucydides and Aristophanes, pointed out that not only were proceedings dominated by an elite, but that the dmos could be too often swayed by a good orator or popular leaders (the demagogues), get carried away with their emotions, or lack the necessary knowledge to make informed decisions. Please read our email privacy notice for details. Whether they produced battlefield images of the dead or daguerreotype portraits of common soldiers, []. The king probably wished to engage the Romans far to the west, away from his core territories in Anatolia. Web. Dr Scott's study also marks an attempt to recognise figures such as Isocrates and Phocion - sage political advisers who tried to steer it away from crippling confrontations with other Greek states and Macedonia. Indeed, there was a specially designed machine of coloured tokens (kleroterion) to ensure those selected were chosen randomly, a process magistrates had to go through twice. Hes just returned to the city-state from a mission across the Aegean Sea to Anatolia, where he forged an alliance with a great king. Yet the religious views of Socrates were deeply unorthodox, his political sympathies were far from radically democratic, and he had been the teacher of at least two notorious traitors, Alcibiades and Critias. To protect their money, some Athenians buried coin hoards. Becoming more desperate, they gathered wild plants on the slopes of the Acropolis and boiled shoes and leather oil-flasks. During the night, Archelaus sealed the breaches in the walls by building lunettes, or crescent-shaped fieldworks, inside. Though he at first refused, he later relented and sent a delegation to meet with the Roman commander. In hard practical fact there was no alternative, and no alternative to hereditary autocracy, the system laid down by Cyrus, could seriously have been contemplated. Rome, which was preoccupied fighting its former Italian allies in the Social War (9188), failed to step in to settle matters, increasing resentment in Athens. Enter your email address, confirm you're happy to receive our emails and then select 'Subscribe'. The third important institution was the popular courts, or dikasteria. "It shows how an earlier generation of people responded to similar challenges and which strategies succeeded. Last modified April 03, 2018. In the words of historian K. A. Raaflaub, democracy in ancient Athens was. S2 ep 5: What is the future of artificial intelligence. It was this body which supervised any administrative committees and officials on behalf of the assembly. In the late 500s to early 400s BCE, democracy developed in the city-state of Athens. In the later parts of the Republic, Plato suggests that democracy is one of the later stages in the decline of the ideal state. In around 450 B.C., the Athenian general Pericles tried to consolidate his power by using public money, the dues paid to Athens by its allies in the Delian League coalition, to support the city-states artists and thinkers. A Council of 500 and Assembly were created. By Professor Paul Cartledge One of the indispensable words we owe ultimately to the Greeks is criticism (derived from the Greek for judging, as in a court case or at a theatrical performance). As the new Alexander, he may also have seen the conquest of Greece as a natural move. Sulla had siege engines built on the spot, cutting down the groves of trees in the Athenian suburb of the Academy, where Plato had taught some three centuries earlier. 'What', asks the teenage Alcibiades pseudo-innocently, is 'law'? (Only about 5,000 men attended each session of the Assembly; the rest were serving in the army or navy or working to support their families.). Chronological order of government in ancient Athens. - Melissa Schwartzberg. The Romans were extorting as much revenue as possible from their new province of Asia. His short and vehement pamphlet was produced probably in the 420s, during the first decade of the Peloponnesian War, and makes the following case: democracy is appalling, since it represents the rule of the poor, ignorant, fickle and stupid majority over the socially and intellectually superior minority, the world turned upside down. Soon after, Roman soldiers overheard men in the Athenian neighborhood of the Kerameikos, northwest of the Acropolis, grousing about the neglected defenses there. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so. Less than two years separate these scenes. That at any rate is the assumed situation. At the kings order, the locals slaughtered tens of thousands of Romans and Italians who lived among them. The battle was fought on the Marathon plain of northeastern Attica and marked the first blows of the Greco-Persian War. They are also, however, reminders of the human capacity for disagreement, read more, An ambiguous, controversial concept, Jacksonian Democracy in the strictest sense refers simply to the ascendancy of Andrew Jackson and the Democratic party after 1828. Around 460 B.C., under the rule of the general Pericles (generals were among the only public officials who were elected, not appointed) Athenian democracy began to evolve into something that we would call an aristocracy: the rule of what Herodotus called the one man, the best. Though democratic ideals and processes did not survive in ancient Greece, they have been influencing politicians and governments ever since. Historian Appian states that the Pontics massacred thousands of Italians there, a repeat of the slaughter in Anatolia. Democracy, however, was found in other areas as well and after the conquests of Alexander the Great and the process of Hellenization, it became the norm for both the liberated cities in Asia Minor as well as new . People of power or influence weren't concerned with the rights of such non-citizens. More loosely, it alludes to the entire range of democratic reforms that proceeded alongside the Jacksonians read more, The Battle of Marathon in 490 B.C. It reached its peak between 480 and 404BC, when Athens was undeniably the master of the Greek world. Democracy itself, however, buckled under the strain. With few military resources of its own, the city turned for help to the Roman Republic, the rising power of the day. In 133 BC, Rome was a democracy. The ancient Greeks have provided us with fine art, breath-taking temples, timeless theatre, and some of the greatest philosophers, but it is democracy which is, perhaps, their greatest and most enduring legacy. A demagogue, a treacherous ally, and a brutal Roman general destroyed the city-stateand democracyin the first-century BC, https://www.historynet.com/the-end-of-athens/, Jerrie Mock: Record-Breaking American Female Pilot, When 21 Sikh Soldiers Fought the Odds Against 10,000 Pashtun Warriors, Few Red Tails Remain: Tuskegee Airman Dies at 96. Why, to start with, does he not use the word democracy, when democracy of an Athenian radical kind is clearly what he's advocating? S2 ep4: What would a more just future look like? a unique and truly revolutionary system that realized its basic principle to an unprecedented and quite extreme extent: no polis had ever dared to give all its citizens equal political rights, regardless of their descent, wealth, social standing, education, personal qualities, and any other factors that usually determined status in a community. The lottery system also prevented the establishment of a permanent class of civil servants who might be tempted to use the government to advance or enrich themselves. Cleisthenes issued reforms in 508 and 507 BC that undermined the domination of the aristocratic families and connected every Athenian to the city's rule. Any citizen could speak to the assembly and vote on decisions by simply holding up their hands. Traditionally, the concept of democracy is believed to have originated in Athens in c508 BC, although there is evidence to suggest that democratic systems of government may have existed elsewhere in the world before then, albeit on a smaller scale. The competition of elite performers before non-elite adjudicators resulted in a pro-war culture, which encouraged Athenians in . Meanwhile, our democratically elected representatives are holding on to the fuse in one hand and a box of matches in the other. This was because, in theory, a random lottery was more democratic than an election: pure chance, after all, could not be influenced by things like money or popularity. However, the equality Herodotus described was limited to a small segment of the Athenian population in Ancient Greece. Thank you for your help! Theophilus even hacked off the hands of Romans clinging to statues inside a temple. But what form of government, what constitution, should the restored Persian empire enjoy for the future? Chiefly because of a fatal ambiguity: to its opponents democracy was no more, and no better, than mob-rule, since for them it meant the political power of the masses exercised over and at the expense of the elite. Blood flows in the narrow streets, as the Romans butcher the Athenianswomen and children included. I wish to receive a weekly Cambridge research news summary by email. Seven noble Persians conspire to overthrow the usurper and restore legitimate government. An early example of the Greek genius for applied critical theory was their invention of political theory, probably some time during the first half of the fifth century BC. He also said that the ability to govern and participate in government was more important than one's class. Pericles knew Athens' strength was in their navy, so his strategy was to avoid Sparta on land, because he knew that on land, Athens would be no match for Sparta. Thank you! Mithridates swiftly retaliated, invading and overrunning Bithynia. In these intellectuals' view, government was an art, craft or skill, and should be entrusted only to the skilled and intelligent, who were by definition a minority. Athens, therefore, had a direct democracy. Since the 19th-century read more, The term classical Greece refers to the period between the Persian Wars at the beginning of the fifth century B.C. It was in the courts that laws made by the assembly could be challenged & decisions were made regarding. City residents who had cheered lustily for Athenion, the demagogic envoy, now found themselves ruled by a tyrant. First, was the citizens who ran the government and held property. democratic system failed to be effective. and the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C. After suitable discussion, temporary or specific decrees (psphismata) were adopted and laws (nomoi) defined.