Dbq On Ancient Athens

Democracy means a government ruled by the people. Athens were not a democracy because they only allowed 12% of citizen men to vote nobody else could unless they were citizen men. (Doc C) In a true democracy people would have equal say, but the athens did not let women vote or people that weren’t citizens. In ancient athens people couldn’t express their thoughts, if a majority of others disagreed with the idea they could banish the person.

In Document A created by various sources there is chart that explains how to get a citizenship in Rome and Athens. The chart shows that Romans gave away citizenship more than Athens, and they had more regulations. The only people who could not obtain a citizenship in Rome were slaves and freed slaves. Whereas in Athens the only one on the chart to obtain citizenship without work or training was a, free native-born adult male, and in order to get that his parents had to be free born Athenians. Although free native-born male children could obtain citizenship they had to get a education and have 2 years of military training. The facts on the chart show that in Rome everyone, except freed slaves and slaves, mattered to a certain extinct.The extinct

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.

Was ancient Athens truly democratic? Some may say yes and some may say no. But the answer is yes. The reasons are these. “ Fear is our chief protection against this, teaching us to obey the magistrates and the laws.” (Doc. A) This was one of the many statements Thucydides gave during his speech for Pericles’s funeral. The quoted statement essentially meant that during Thucydides time (460 – 395 BCE) there were laws and government rules that had to be followed. Men, women, and even slaves obeyed the laws and government rules because they thought they made sense and had no other reason to disobey. In that case, they wouldn’t have the need to be angry at their neighbors if they were too loud. This document written by Aristotle is a great example

Democracy, the form of government in which there is a rule by the people, is said to have originated and thrived in the classical period of Athens, from 500-350 B.C.. Democracy inherently gave all that were considered citizens power to participate in politics. That being said, it is highly debated as to how much power the people, also known as the demos, exercised in this democracy. Many practices and informal institutions can be said to have limited the power of the demos. The democracy in Athens could be said to have been a democracy in theory yet not in practice, as can be proven through a variety of primary sources recounting Athenian political institutions and practices. Such primary sources that can demonstrate this include Herodotus’ History, Thucydides History of the Peloponnesian War, and Demosthenes’ Oration Against Eubulides.

In the past week I have read different documents about the Ancient Athens and whether or not it was a true democracy. To sum up all the documents my hypothesis was true. I believed they weren't a true democracy. Athens wasn’t a true Democracy because Demokratia was ruled by male citizens only which made up 12% of the population. Women, slaves, and foreigners weren't allowed to vote.

Democracy is defined as a government ruled by common people. The power of the should be in the hands of the largest class which is the poorest. The political system of ancient Athens was a Democracy, which involved all of its citizens.This system was divided in three parts: the ekklesia( a sovereign governing body who wrote the laws) the boule(representatives from the Athenian tribes) and the dikasteria, (the courts in which citizens argued cases in front of selected jurors). Every men could participate in the political process, being selected by lot to fill even the highest offices and being paid for pub- lic service. Four times a month proposals were debated and decisions were made openly so and any citizen could speak to the issues of the day.

When evaluating the government of ancient Athens, some might say that it was a democracy, however, it can be better described as an oligarchy: a form of government in which a small group of people has the power and control (Doc. D by Mogens Herman Hansen). A democracy takes all the citizens’ opinions and thoughts into account, unlike an oligarchy that only takes the male citizens’ opinions and thoughts into account. Thus, Athens is more similar to an oligarchy than a democracy. The people of Athens also decide as a whole what the best government for their city-state was, as opposed to a democracy where the people elect representatives to make decisions for them and their city-state. Athens could be seen as not a true democracy because of the lack of basic democratic rules and methods such as what they define democracy as, who is able to vote, and how they vote.

Democracy. A democracy is a government which all the people of the state are involved in making decisions, such as voting for representatives. So was there a democracy that was set by the Athens? Or was it an oligarchy that represents how everyone is supposed to live. Although many say the athens lived a democratic life, the evidence says it itself, they didn’t.

“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new,” said Socrates, a famous Greek philosopher. Athens was one of many city-states in Ancient Greece. This city-state had a form of government that was for the people to have a say. Athens had great geography that was advantageous for them. Athens also had many achievements culturally such as architecture and philosophy.

In Doc D, paragraph two, While in the Doc C chart it explains that Ancient Athens was democratic because according to the article,”It is more democratic by being government by the people instead of government by those elected by the people.” But on the other hand it’s less democratic because of “narrowing down the concept of demos to mean the adult male

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

Democracy is defined as “rule by the people”. The last paragraph of Document B says that the Athens elected all government officials through lot, not voting by the people. This is one reason that Ancient Athens cannot be considered truly democratic.

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

Many things make a great civilization. “Great” meaning an advanced stage of human social development. Many great civilizations have lots of art, poetry, theater, and a government where the people rule. A great civilization almost always consists of a well educated population and results in a unified community.