Forms of government in Ancient Greek city-states
Anonymous student
University of the People
HIST 1421
Ancient Greece consisted of a lot of independent city-states, and each of these states had their own form of government. The most known ones were: monarchy, aristocracy, tyranny, oligarchy, and democracy. Between 2000 BCE and 800 BCE, almost all city-states were ruled by monarchs. From about 800 BCE to 650 BCE, the most popular forms of government became oligarchy and aristocracy. Later on, from 500 BCE, a democratic experiment in Athens became a good example for some other Greek city-states who adopted this new form of government. Oligarchy and democracy were equally popular. Tyranny happened once in a while whenever some strong person became
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Initially, these people were usually former advisors who used to serve a monarch ("Types of Government in Ancient Greece", n.d.). What’s the difference between oligarchy and aristocracy? Aristocracy is a Greek word that is translated as “rule of the best”. Plato considered aristocracy the best form of government when philosophers rule as they know best for the good of the people ("Aristocracy", n.d.). Oligarchy is also a Greek word that means “rule of the few”. People belonging to this group of a few may not be the best. What often turned out is that the wealthiest took control of the government. That is why Aristotle named oligarchy as “rule of the rich” ("Oligarchy", …show more content…
According to his opinion, a society decays when it passes through each government in this order (oligarchy → democracy → tyranny). Plato didn’t like direct democracy for the fact that common people didn’t know philosophy, and, therefore, couldn’t make good decisions but often made unwise decisions. In fact, they were often manipulated by demagogues, who, in order to get power, act by pleasing the crowd even if public opinion is not a good idea. Plato calls such demagogues tyrants. From this and from what I have observed in our modern world politics, I can conclude that modern democracy is nothing else but a tyranny in a hidden form. Can our leaders be guided by philosophy? What philosophy will that be? How will they be able to make a
This is also problematic because crime will be the alternative for those who have nothing to live for. “It’s plain, therefore, I said, “that in a city where you see beggars somewhere in the neighborhood thieves, cutpurses, temples robbers, and craftsmen of all such evils are hidden. ”(552d bloom). By having a regime as bad as an oligarchy society the results of why those individuals who fall short of the elite classes isn’t always a result of their family ties. If education and more resources were available for them they could potentially be leaders and society and have a pure and quality life.
Thebes each had a spell of oligarchy. As Carr notes, during the Archaic Period, oligarchies were nearly
Oligarchy comes from the Greek words “oligos” meaning “few” and “archo” meaning “rule”. Essentially “oligarchy” means “rule of the few in their own interests and not in the interest of the majority or the public good.” (Melville, 2011). Melville states that oligarchy was a “degeneration” of aristocracy as stated by Aristotle. Oligarchies were the most common form of government in the Ancient Greek city-states. In Sparta, the Gerousia (council of twenty-eight men over sixty-year of age together with the two kings) was an elite assembly dominated by the wealthier members of Spartan society. The Gerousia approved all laws that were submitted to the popular assembly for vote. The Ephors were a group of five men who were elected annually for a single term of office. The Ephors usually deferred to the guidance of the Gerousia (Brand, n.d.).
He convinced people to overthrow the democratic government. He was pled guilty of treason and executed in 399 BCE. From 404 to 403 BCE, thirty Tyrants tried to stop the democracy expansion. Thirty Tyrants also spread violence and terror among democratic supporters. Plato’s speech, “the ship,” is dated in the document 2 as this document provides the indirect form of explanation and description about the current situation.
aristocratic social structure is similar to the government that we have in place today. They had a select
It was usually a tyranny, a form of monarchy or a select group of people. The Greek states could either be ruled by a single individual, such as monarchs and tyrants, or a select group of people, an oligarchy, or every male citizen, which was a democracy. Also the idea of a democracy was regarded as the Greeks' greatest contribution to civilizations of today. But actually monarchies were rare and often not distinguished from a tyranny unless the hereditary ruler was really kind and ruled in the interest of his people rather than himself. But tyrants were not necessarily considered evil, rather they were considered rulers that were just looking out for themselves.“The most famous monarchies were the states of Macedonia and Epiros, where the ruler shared power with an assembly of people” (Cartwright). The Ancient Greek government went through a lot of changes, but, unlike the government, the military stayed
Government throughout history and throughout different cultures has changed from one system to another. People fight for power, and a steady government means usually means more prosperous times. When bad times come, power levels may increase, overthrows are enacted, and sometimes the system itself changes. Societies often go about this differently, and patters may be hard to find. However, one thing that history seems to show is that rich people dominant the government. Social classes have always been a part of society, and those who already have more money, education, and resources tend to be the one’s ruling over those who have less. Most people who rule are given extra resources and valuable because they rule. But the pattern that is seen throughout history shows people who already had much, getting power, instead of an average person getting to power, then becoming rich.
Oligarchy is the practice of a small group of people governing the states.1 Democracy is a system of government by the whole population, or all the eligible members of a state.2 The word Democracy comes from two Greek words, demo, which means people, and kratos, which means power, literally translating into the power of the people.3 The main influential form of government in the United States ¬¬¬was democracy. Democracy was created by a magistrate in Athens named Solon in an attempt to ease social tensions between the poor and the rich citizens in Athens. The Athenians as a whole appointed Solon, who was appointed the task of easing tensions and created laws based on balance, justice and good order, which gave power to the
Second, the definition of an aristocracy is “a government or state ruled by an aristocracy, elite, or privileged upper class (Dictionary.com, 2017).” Ancient Greek city-states that had an aristocracy included Athens, as well as Sparta. Both city-states had a period of their history ruled by an elite class (Brand, n.d.). The form of governance most like aristocracy are oligarchies, since the definition of the two is almost identical. The form of governance most unlike aristocracy are probably the democracies, because there are more people involved in democracies, and they don’t include as much of a concentration of power or a concentration of wealth.
Oligarchy was the other form of government used in the polis. Oligarchy means “the rule of a few” (McKay et al, Western Society, 70). Only citizens who met a minimum property requirement were able to participate in the government. Most Greeks preferred oligarchy over democracy since it was more politically stable.
Monarchies in Greece were hereditary. Kings often had many advisers and officials from the upper class to help them make decisions. Depending on the citystate,8ers had varying amounts of power. Oligarchy-The natural isolation of the Greek city-states meant they each developed independently. Eventually, the people overthrew the kings, and around 800 BCE they established oligarchies, or governments where only a few people hold power.
In Aristocracy, the leaders are of a wealthy family, also rich with knowledge*. They are believed to be chosen for the "skill" of wise decision making for the fate of their land. Oligarchy is when a group of people work together to make a decision, much like having more than one president in office, having equal power over a country. Democracy is when the voice of citizens determines leadership. While America is believed to run in a Democracy, it often runs the route of a Republic, where electoral voters take in opinions of the people, yet only their opinion stands and is truly taken
In Aristotle's Politics, he focuses much on the regimes of an oligarchy and of a democracy. Democracies exists when the free and poor, being a majority, have authority to rule, and have an equal share in the city. Oligarchies exists when the few wealthy and better born have authority and grant benefits in proportion to a person's wealth (1280a:10-30;1290a:5-10).
Usually, that one person is a king and is referred to as a monarch (MaoningTech, 2017). The only ancient Greek state that was a monarchy was Corinth (Wells, n.d) An aristocracy is a form of government in which power is held by nobles. Unlike Oligarchy, it doesn’t matter whether you are rich or powerful.
Aristocratic Government – the rule by few elites. Its success is depended on the people that rule. It however degenerates into oligarchy which is when men of property take over government.