advantages and disadvantages of democracy in ancient greece

Lets look at two of them. 1 What are the pros and cons of Athenian society? If no button appears, you cannot download or save the media. They took politics very seriously and made sure that everyone had a voiced opinion. It was the oligarchy in Sparta that put a war-like attitude as its first priority and best met the needs of Ancient Greece. Two of the biggest city-states were Athens and Sparta. Tenant farmer Person who pays rent, either in money or crops, to grow crops on another person's land Metic Foreigner in a Greek city-state, often a merchant or artisan Slavery The United States has a representative democracy. 1996 - 2023 National Geographic Society. Democracy was rule by citizens only, excluding women, free foreigners (Metics) and slaves. Ancient Athens has two documents that discuss democracy. However up until 500 BCE, the concept of Democracy was a foreign concept, and the great civilizations of that era were run by monarchs, aristocrats, and religious leaders of sorts. These mountains and oceans would make Sparta would be in a condition of prosperity and comfort. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. (Bulliet 99) From 1000 B.C.E to 30 B.C.E, Ancient Greeces view on individualism changed the political system Greece had, over time changed the way individuals thought and made important Intellectual changes, and gradually changed the Economic system such as bartering. Democracy is an aspect that can be included in many different governments including, republics, monarchies, and theocracies. Draco organized laws by putting them in a written code, letting everyone know what the laws were and, In historical Europe, many of the countries were ruled by tyrants who dictated the citizens daily lives. This crossroad marked a change to the government. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Advantage: They had access to trade, transportation, fish, and water. Unlike the Romans, Athenians had a strict but fair schedule that allowed them to enjoy citizenship equally. This completely contradicts the all-inclusive concept of direct democracy that the Athenian government preached so frequently. There was a constant importance of acknowledging all citizens hard work and participation. Underline the word or expression in parentheses that best completes each sentence. These reasons include Pericles rise to power, the different members of government and their powers, and the changes in the idea of a democracy. Every city-state had their own coins, government, and laws. This basically means that if you are not wetly than they won't treat us the same as wealthy people. While it has been stated that Athens is the cradle of democracy, and that it was better than any of the other governments in the world, it was still a work in progress. When you look at the literal definition of democracy in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, there is a decently large explanation. This new city and surrounding area were not dominant or influential. Two of the most well known and powerful city-states were Sparta and Athens. Athens was a democratic state that was peaceful and where women were open to culture and democracy. Cons. Hence, Absolutism was made possible by new innovations and characterized as a phenomenon of Early Modern Europe, rather than that of the middle Ages, where the clergy and nobility counterbalanced as a result of mutual. The Sea shaped the Greek civilizations as rivers did in the other ancient civilizations. Athenian citizens in that era were generally expected to have respectful qualities, like openness, a rational mind and belief in their authority, although they did have shortcomings. HomeBrowse. Ancient Greece was divided into many different city-state who had their different cultures, the most critical being Athens and Sparta.They adored a broad range of god and goddesses,the most imperative of whom, the Olympians, small thought to live on Mount Olympus. Advantages: small, easy to control, centralized. According to the State of the World Atlas, 44% of the worlds population live in a stable democracy. Such abundance of water makes Ancient Greece good in fishing and trade. It is a powerful word. Ancient Greece is often credited with being the birthplace of democracy. Enter a Melbet promo code and get a generous bonus, An Insight into Coupons and a Secret Bonus, Organic Hacks to Tweak Audio Recording for Videos Production, Bring Back Life to Your Graphic Images- Used Best Graphic Design Software, New Google Update and Future of Interstitial Ads. What did ancient Greece do for democracy? If you have questions about how to cite anything on our website in your project or classroom presentation, please contact your teacher. City-state is an independent or nearly independent state in which political and cultural activities are concentrated in a single urban center (Legon). I do not believe that in the 4th to 5th century BCE ancient Athen were democratic for many reasons. This is one reason Ancient Athens was not a democracy. Prior to Athenian democracy, a few people would make decisions for the masses. While Athens was a democracy, Sparta was an oligarchy, which means ruled by few powerful and wealthy people. A belief in shared power: based on a suspicion of concentrated power (whether by individuals, groups or governments). The advantages of Greeks geography is that they had protection from invaders and some disadvantages were that they had a hard time farming and traveling. In Athens all men are on an equality which means Not of the few but of the many (doc 3 pericles). The Athenian democracy was not equitable, and it did not consider slaves and foreigners. Advantage: They had access to trade, transportation, fish, and water. Slavery No pay labor 6%of the population had a right in democratic matters. Athens owes the first penal and civil law code to Draco. Pros And Cons of Ancient Athenian Democracy and Pros and Cons of American Democracy. It was easy for the Athenians to see who the people are due to the population number at the time. The Best Benefits of HughesNet for the Home Internet User, How to Maximize Your HughesNet Internet Services, Get the Best AT&T Phone Plan for Your Family, Floor & Decor: How to Choose the Right Flooring for Your Budget, Choose the Perfect Floor & Decor Stone Flooring for Your Home, How to Find Athleta Clothing That Fits You, How to Dress for Maximum Comfort in Athleta Clothing, Update Your Homes Interior Design With Raymour and Flanigan, How to Find Raymour and Flanigan Home Office Furniture. Spartas kings ruled until death or forcibly removed from office. Some of the major issues with government are the political lies and schemes it takes to get to the top and remain there. The direct democracy of Athens wasnt actually as inclusive and steady as the statement at Pericles 's funeral state, Our Constitution is called a democracy because power is in the hands not of a minority but of the whole people (Doc C). In fact, of the 450,000 citizens of Athens in 430 BC, only about 40,000 people had the power to vote. Spartan women are better than Athenian women because they have more rights, these rights coclude of being able to marry anyone they wish to. It does not store any personal data. I have come to this conclusion that Athens had a better system because anyone could office and they had more equal rights as a citizen in the government. In document A, I found that is truly democratic because your social class is not allowed the interfere with someone 's merit. Athens also had much more trading power, and controlled more land than Sparta. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. The period of prosperity in Athens was so short lived because they only had one strong leader, Pericles. They were only given a cloak - no shoes or other clothes, and not enough food so they had to steal (to learn survival skills). Sparta advantage. What are the advantages of the ancient Greek system? Democracy (disadvantage) Few people were considered citizens and had a voice in government. Give me balance, give me equality. What this means is that all the citizens voted on all the laws. One of the most famous civilizations lies between three seas, the Aegean Sea, Sea of Crete, and the Ionian Sea. Athenians were the most scholarly types while the Spartans were more of the military type. Sparta is far better than Athens on the grounds that their armed force was strong and defensive. The Spartan men get more and children become great warriors because they at war and war training for 23 years. The Roman Republic was all the more a time. The Athens also got to abolish politicians they did not like. Greece is also quite mountainous. The Greek idea of democracy was different from present-day democracy because, in Athens, all adult citizens were required to take an active part in the government. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". Women, children, and slaves were not considered citizens and therefore could not vote. The purpose of this essay is to prove that ancient Greece wasnt truly democratic. Socrates did not care for the idea in general, and Aristotle thought it could, within a state, yield new forms of abuse of power. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. By our understanding it was an oligarchy, not democracy. Democracy, a form of government, allows the people in their own nationality to vote for people in order for them to become representatives as a result to vote on new laws that would affect their own nationality. Some of the strengths of Athenian democracy include making decisions based on the opinions of many rather than a few, giving responsibility to more citizens and making records available for public examination. What are the advantages and disadvantages of a government? They had two kings who controlled the army and religions of Sparta. Geographical formations including mountains, seas, and islands formed natural barriers between the Greek city-states and forced the Greeks to settle along the coast. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. The different city states had their own ideas on social control and values in their government. She or he will best know the preferred format. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. This group of people only included white male citizens, meaning that slaves, foreign born residents, women and some men who hadnt obtained citizenship couldnt vote (Doc D). Some people believe they were more democratic than us today, but I think they were never a true democratic government. What are the pros and cons of Athenian society? Apart from many smaller changes, it was mainly based on the opportunity for all citizens over 20 to take part in governing the country. The goal of a vote was not to decide which special interests could muster the most votes, it was about how to bring together the information and know-how of the citizens to solve public problems. Athens stood out from Sparta as well as the other city-states not only because of its immense population but also because it was the commercial leader of Greece and was home to a great navy. When a new law was proposed, all the citizens of Athens had the opportunity to vote on it. Athenian Values. Text on this page is printable and can be used according to our Terms of Service. The Greek divine beings were On the other hand, direct democracy is not a good chose for America. Web 2.0 has revolutionized the panorama of the information society: users have become information creators and the new web platforms have become relationship venues where new knowledge and ideas emerge. While Athens is widely regarded as the first historical example of a democratic system, some scholars believe that the Roman Empires republic system was more democratic than that of the Greek. The city of Athens was named after their special goddess. Those 500 citizens had to actively serve in the government for one year. Sea travel connected Greece to other societies. Ancient Greece is also known for many things like the birthplace of the first Olympics, beautiful architecture, and famous philosophers such as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. All the sciences, democracy, philosophy etc were originally found in Athens. This article was useful to my essay as it provided detailed information on the gaps in Athenian democracy. Athens on the contrary, was a city that focused heavily on the arts and was a very relaxed and peaceful city to live in. Mainland Greeks moved to Ionia. Compare the advantages and disadvantages for settlers of Greece's physical geography. Advantages: They could raise goats and sheep, could grow olives and grapes for oil and wine, which could favorable trade. Disadvantages: Good farming soil was limited, mountains isolated people. By clicking Accept All, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. 8 What are the advantages and disadvantages of ancient Greece? What else does he accomplish at the same time? In the year 507 B.C., the Athenian leader Cleisthenes introduced a system of political reforms that he called demokratia, or rule by the people. The Athenians established a direct democracy where the people voted directly on the matter at hand. (Ancient Greek Democracy, History.com) The Romans then created their own type of democracy, where the citizens elected leaders to represent the peoples opinion. (Crabill, Ancient Rome) While neither the Athenian nor the Roman democracies were perfect by any means, they both, Whats more, Democracy was rising in Athens. This excluded a majority of the population: slaves, freed slaves, children, women and metics (foreign residents in Athens). The rise and fall of this great nation has to do with war-fare and the conflict between city-states. Its also said that Sparta is the foundation for the governments we now have in the world. It consists of two short words: demos which means either a citizen in a particular city-state or the lower orders, and kratos which means either rule or power - but these two are not of the same meaning. Weaknesses of the Athenian democracy include: The Athenian form of democracy was a contradiction in the sense that it did not allow participation of a large section of the public, namely, women and slaves. The countrys valleys, mountainous terrain, and offshore islands encouraged the development of many city-states. Pros: All citizens got to vote and have their opinion expressed. The Athenian democracy, while it did give more power to the people, still left a lot of citizens out. The term, Democracy, stems from the Greek word demokratia which means rule by the people and it wasnt until around 500 BCE in Athens where the first examples of democracy originated. Disadvantage: Unpredictable sea, need boats to travel. For example, here in the United states which is a democracy, everyone is allowed to vote and have land. In ancient Athens, democracy was about aggregating, aligning and codifying useful knowledge. The answers given may be; a society where everyone votes, or by dictionary definition a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of the state; typically through elected representation. However when analyzing the etymology of the word democracy we come to find out that demos means the people and kratia means rule or power in greek. If they did not fulfill their duty they would be fined and sometimes marked with red paint. WebThe Threshold Of Democracy Athens In 403 B C Reacting To The Past When people should go to the ebook stores, search foundation by shop, shelf by shelf, it is really problematic. Most would find it easier to find more similarities among these two groups of mighty people. 8 Who was not allowed to become a citizen of Greece? They became skilled sailors. Unfortunately, the government makes the people feel powerless to the point where theyre forced to elect a candidate whos not impotent. WebThus, the tyrants of the Archaic age of ancient Greece ( c. 900500 bce )Cypselus, Cleisthenes, Peisistratus, and Polycrates were popular, presiding as they did over an era of prosperity and expansion. 7 What are some pros and cons of Spartan society? This will only lead to a shift to the left of aggregate demand and is it impossible for the people to pay taxes when the living standards is low. By clicking Accept All, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. Athens is the capital and the largest city of Greece. Sparta and Athens were different in their values, politics, and societies. Each city-state had its own form of government and its own army, and even sometimes its own navy. From the system of creating new laws to the checks and balances that define the American government. The god in charge of Athens was Athena, goddess of wisdom. What are the advantages and disadvantages of ancient Greece? WebThe common man, woman and children were considered subjects, who had no say in how the land was governed or any of the policies that were implemented. For instance the way that these cities were governed and their political procedures and functions were quite different from each other. Only the men truly had a say, and ran ancient Athens. I believe that ancient Athens was not a true democracy. The government was also corrupted and dominated by the elite of the city-state. As stated in the article The Problem with Democracy Today, contrary to other political institutions who holds the power is not clearly stated if the regime is a, Liberal Democracy is a democratic system of government in which individual rights and freedoms are officially recognized and protected, and the exercise of political power is limited by the rule of law. One of the earliest known democracies was in Athens, a city-state in southern, ancient Greece. Also, the so called Ostrakismos made it possible to ban corrupt politicians from athens. They are also carful with who can be a citizen rather then "stingy". This society came to be known as one of the largest nations in Eurasia. Disadvantages: controlled little territory, many rivals/more conflict. Athens has a better government system then the Roman Republic. Any interactives on this page can only be played while you are visiting our website. These factors empowered Sparta and led to the development of an authoritative and potent state. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Who was not allowed to become a citizen of Greece? In ancient Athens only the men were able to vote. The constitution favor many people instead of few people. After investigating the given evidence, it can be determined Ancient Athens did not always vote on important matters and only a small majority of the population could vote. Advantage: They had access to trade, transportation, fish, and water. A tyrants son does not usually inherit his fathers power. It was easy for the Athenians to see who the people are due to the population number at the time. The people of Athens were interested in arts, music, and intellectual pursuits. Sarah Appleton, National Geographic Society. Disadvantages: Not a lot of flat land to farm, Diffcult to travel over land, Diffcult to unite under a single government, limited natural resources. However, they choose the candidates based on the (1)facades they create, which causes the people to become (2)distorted by their seemingly noble intentions. This meant that they may not have represented mass opinion, whereas getting all males over the age of 18 involved in politics increased the likelihood of policies representing what people wanted. Athens government is a democracy which means all citizens get to take part. Athens was a small city compared to Rome that honored and protected citizenship. WebThe ancient civilization of greece was different from many of the civilizations in its time. WebAdvantages And Disadvantages Of Democracy. Athenians elected government officials through lot (Document B). How did geographic barriers affect Shang and Zhou relations with outside peoples? When the two words are put together it forms , meaning rule of the people. (Section 2.3) 2 As the culture center of Greek, Athens had many advantages during the Gold Age. Democracy in Athens the government officials are chosen by sweepstakes and worked for 1 year for proposing and enforcing decrees but didnt have much individual power. WebWidely thought of as the birthplace of democracy, Athens is Greece's central hub and has contributed much to the worlds of art, theatre, architecture, philosophy and politics. After Pericles died Athens could not defeat Sparta in the Peloponnesian War and also couldnt hold the truce that was signed in 421 BC which allowed Sparta to gain overall victory in the, The Democracy of Athens meant that the people rule themselves. The ancient civilization of greece was different from many of the civilizations in its time. Now I will tell you that why direct democracy is not work in America. Spartan. What are the disadvantages of having government? Ancient Greece was comprised of small city-states, of which Sparta and Athens were two. What was the disadvantage of democracy in ancient Greece? some might say the Romans were better. Sparta lacked in education, they were too harsh on the children in military training, and the Spartans didnt allow traveling. Both of these city-states shared similar characteristics such as both would remain the foundation for the Greek political world. This horrible plague killed the Athenian leader Pericles along with many other Athenians, which took a huge toll on their morale. Democracy is the modern day standard for governmental systems. During the times of Ancient Greece, two major forms of government existed, democracy and oligarchy. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. Begin typing your search term above and press enter to search. Australia and New Zealand followed not long after as they began to use the secret ballot system to elect political leaders. WebOne of the main advantages of Athenian democracy was that the archon and his eight assistants were elected annually. What were the limitations of the ancient Greeks? They used to stay in caves located near the sea and their main occupations were hunting, fishing, farming and later on they started sailing and making pots. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". Sparta is far better than Athens on the grounds that their armed force was strong and defensive. When you reach out to him or her, you will need the page title, URL, and the date you accessed the resource. The democracy of Athens developed around 500 B.C.E because of the current uproar of oligarchies and dictatorship. Advantages: protects individual rights, input is taken from many different sources to make a governmental decision, people are the government. Democracy, a form of government, allows the people in their own nationality to vote for people in order for them to become representatives as a result to vote on new laws that would affect their own nationality. Democracy in Athens the government officials are chosen by sweepstakes and worked for 1 year for proposing and enforcing decrees but didnt have much individual power. Democracy (disadvantage) Only the elite or upper class had a role in government, lower class not represented. During 750-500 B.C.E, Ancient Greece is a place that is known for some city-states, called poleis. Sparta and Athens were different in their values, politics, and societies. The weaknesses weighed Sparta down, so here are some of those weaknesses. The Constitution represents the value and principles of democracy and republicanism by stressing liberty and inalienable rights as central values, making the people as a whole sovereign, rejecting inherited political power, expecting citizens to be independent in their performance of civic duties, and vilifies corruption. These two city states shared some common characteristics whilst in some instances they were very different from each other. The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit. When looking at this definition and trying to decide whether the Athenian democratic system was truly democratic, one would have to go with the answer no. Unlike the Romans, Athenians had a strict but fair schedule that allowed them to enjoy citizenship equally. 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