Athenian Democracy Dbq Analysis

Athens was not truly a democracy. The definition of democracy states that it is a system of government by the whole population. In ancient Athens the only people that were eligible to make decisions were citizen men. Women did not have the right to vote which contradicts the definitions of democracy. Only twelve percent of the Athens population were able to vote meaning that eighty-eight percent were left powerless. Metics were not even eligible to vote and they were a key part of Athens economy.

Ancient Athens prided itself upon being a democratic society, but was it really? It's true that it was ruled by the people, however only a small percentage of people. Document C states that only 12 percent of people actually vote. And who are those 12 percent? The 12 percent of the whole population that voted was men whose parents were both citizens of the city (see Document B). Slaves, women, and resident foreigners were barred from voting.

The unifications of distinctive cities was justified by the communication and diffusion of various beliefs that brought the empires together (Doc. 3, 4 & 7). Under the Athenian laws, a philosopher by the name of Plato interpreted the gods of Athens to be the ones who have established the laws. The belief in the gods such as Zeus and Athena explains how the Athenians lived their life under the god’s “reign”. The gods initially settled laws and ideologies for the citizens of Athens to follow. In doing this, Athens is unified through one common belief in their gods and justified their actions through it (Doc 3). The philosopher, Han Fei, believed order and prosperity is only achieved by negative punishment when needed. He communicates that superiors

Ancient Athens was truly democratic because everyone should have the equal justice of everyone else because we should all have equal rights. Also, an example is in document A: Our constitution favored the many instead of the few. This is why it is called a democracy. If we look to the laws, they give equal justice to all. I believe that everyone should have the rights to vote, not only men.

Democracy; coming from the Greek word, Demokratia, meaning rule by the people. Today’s definition of democracy is that it is a government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system. If this was the definition back in the times of ancient Athens, they were nowhere near democratic. Yes, for the most part, Athens was ruled by the people, but more often than not the power of the people would be taken away or restricted. Athenians were not democratic because of this reason.

Ancient Athens was not truly democratic because most of the people of ancient Athens could not vote. According to Document C, “Citizen men: 29,900; 12% of the population; Ability to vote: Yes” (P.7). In other words, only citizens were allowed to vote and there were less than a quarter of the people. This proves that ancient Athens was not truly democratic because the government only let the citizens who were men, and women, couldn’t vote at all. This type of government in ancient Athens influenced society because a lot more people couldn’t vote, so they couldn’t express their opinions and weren't happy with the laws, which was a negative thing for the government.

There are multiple reasons why ancient Athens was not a Democracy in its truest sense. In Document A of the Athenian constitution, it clearly states.. “ Our constitution favors the many instead of the few,’’ however, if that were accurate, why could only twelve percent of the population vote (Document C).The Philosopher, Plato, concluded that women should have the same education and hold all positions in society (Guided Reading Activity 1-2 question 10); this is the very same conundrum that the American government had to face back in the 1920’s (Amendment 19), and it still has not been completely addressed to this day. If the Athenian constitution had favored the many as it claimed than 100 percent of the population should been allowed to vote.

Government was a form of order among both the Athenian Democracy and the Roman Republic. It lead to a simple unification as a whole, causing their separate civilizations to prosper. It allowed the citizens to become a part of leadership that wasn’t so enforced from the beginning of civilization. Through agreements as a society joined together, they established firm laws and developed different systems that each reaped their own benefits. Each had similar yet contrasting outcomes through organization and development, leading to a new perspective for both governments. However, despite the fact both had exceptional ideas of government, the Athenian Democracy stands out as more prominent because they gave quality citizenships, they gave the opportunity for common men to participate in affairs, and they strictly enforced

Democracy is thoroughly known as the power of the people in which that citizens are able to control their own cities and or states without an overruling government. Many civilizations follow the rules of democracy, one of these civilizations include the ancient Greek state Athens. Research from ancient Athens philosophers; Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle has shown that Athens is a so called democratic government. Aristotle stated in his writing “The Athenian Constitution” that, “ The franchise is open to all men who are citizen birth by both parents.” (Document B) Due to Aristotle's intelligent appearance towards others, people soon found Athens as a truly Democratic state. Although there are many that disagree with this point, strong studies

I think that the ancient Athens was a democratic city. The reason that I believe that it’s a

Democracy is a government in which it is ruled by the eligible people of its society. Three men Draco, Solon, and Cleisthenis had a part in introducing democracy to Athenian society. Draco devised a legal code that was based on the idea that rich and poor Athenians were all equal under the law. Not long after, Solon laid the foundation for democracy by dividing the Athenian citizens into four groups based on wealth. Cleisthenes broke the power of the nobility by arranging Athenian citizens into ten groups based on where they lived rather than wealth; he allowed all citizens to propose laws so they could go up for debate and passage; he also assembled the Council of 500.

During the Golden Age in Greece, many things changed. Things that changed were the diversity of political views and the social doings of the Athenians and the organization of the Athenians economy. With the Golden Age, many groups worked together that wouldn’t normally interact. The biggest example of that is the relationship between Athenians and their democracy.

Athens is the home of democracy. It is the first known example of where people began to govern themselves. The democracy of Athens slowly developed around 500 BC, during the Classical

It is believed that Athenians established the term democracy. Athens was the most famous city in Greece and followed a system of popular government- rule by the people. Also, Rome adapted the system of popular government but they renamed it a ‘republic. Romans never adopted a representative government based on democratically elected representatives. It is questionable

During the dawn of the Greek civilization, rulership consisted of one king that rule the entire occupied land. Such system included only family members, tribe members, and wealthy individuals to receive whatever good the empire had to offer. It took many years until new reforms came about in regards of rulership. The Athenian democracy was developed by the efforts of the leaders and philosophers who were encouraged to think and answer the why freely. Although it was called a democratic system, only male citizens had the opportunity to participate. In this essay, I will discuss how the Athenian democratic system was developed, why, and the efforts of the Greek thinkers in developing the Athenian democracy. Additionally, we will have the