Government in Ancient Greece and Rome Essay example

The Athenians had good citizenship because when people were granted citizenship they had a say in the government. Unlike in the Roman Republic when citizens were only elected, ambassadors had a say and most of the time the ambassadors came from wealthy Roman families. This action showed discrimination of wealth against the Roman citizens, meanwhile the Athenians had the freedom of speech and could participate in government actions. One example is taken from Document B, which shares that the Athenian government was fulfilled by “Lottery or by-election and that any citizen who wishes should be allowed to speak” in the Athenian government. What is important to notice is how the government was chosen by lottery.

The government is the primary determinant of a nation's success. A good leadership offers the right direction, management, planning among many other leadership processes that can take the nation to higher levels of growth. The primary aim of every nation is to achieve a higher level of economic growth and development. In all this, the government will determine whether the nation makes the intended goals and objectives or not. This paper contains a discussion of the Athenians and the Roman Republicans forms of government.

There were many different forms of government in the ancient world. From direct democracy, to republicanism, empires and dynasties, there was a lot of variety. Still, there was no one form of government in the ancient world that was better than the rest. One of the forms of government in the ancient world was dynasties.

In classical Greece there were two major city-states, but both had different government systems, there was the oligarchy of Sparta and the democracy of Athens. The interests of the Greek people were better served by the democracy of Athens. The people who were considered citizens of the state all had the right to participate in government and had a voice in the political life of Athens. In Athens every citizen would have to take part in public services and the government provided them with payment for their services. Although in Athens there were slaves, they were treated very well compared to the Spartan slaves they could eventually buy their freedom and were protected by legislation.

To begin with, both of their ways that they chose the officials were similar but also differed. The Athenian Government and the Roman Republic both had the citizens of each side choose the officials, but they both had a difference in limitations on how they chose the officials. In Athens, the citizens would vote for the officials, but the people who were official citizens were the ones who were 18 or over, born in Athens, and had to be males. This means that outsiders, slaves, or women could not vote because they were not considered citizens. Additionally, the Athenian Government system for voting was organized with citizens by the name of demes or demos; who belonged to tribes and where combined with others of the same area to make a larger group, which in turn were combined to form ten tribes. (Gill, thoughtco 2017). In contrast, citizens of Rome had to be over 15 years old, male slaves could also vote if they were granted freedom, the women were considered citizens but had no voting rights. The

In Greece, monarchies were found when the Mycenaeans ruled Greece during the period 2000 to 1100 BC. Monarchy is defined as a system of government where a single ruler has supreme power. The word “monarchy” comes from the Greek words “monos” meaning “single” and “archo” meaning “rule”. This single ruler, known as a king, ruled for life and passed the rule on to his heir when he died. The most famous monarchy was that of King Alexandra of Macedonia who ruled all of Greece from 336 BC.

oligarchy, and democracy. I will discuss what type of governments each refers to and finally

Two of the greatest civilizations of the ancient world were the civilizations of Greece and Rome. These two civilizations were especially significant from the time periods prior to the Roman Republic. These two civilizations both affected Europe and the Mediterranean regions including the rest of the world around them. Though the two civilizations differed in location, they also had many aspects that were very similar. One of these includes the government, with both showing the beginnings of the representative government. Another aspect between these civilizations was the military with similar strategies, tactics, and organizational similarities.

The Greek democratic and Roman republic governments each had their own positive and negative aspects making them similar, yet exclusively different. Both have had tremendous influences on governments in our modern world. Rome was a republic where the leaders were chosen through voting, while Greece practiced a more direct democracy in which the citizens participated in the crucial decision-making within the government. This paper will attempt to diagnose the fundamental similarities of each government coupled with the not so obvious differences. Based on the evidence from each type of government, it is clear that each were similar and different in numerous ways, in particular the way each government

However, in order for this to happen the Athenian citizens were to cooperate with the system. The assembly which was part of the Athenian government had several tasks to take care of which included: making administrative declarations, electing individuals into official positions, creating a constitution, and punishing those who committed crimes. The idea of how much an individual will get paid, who can serve in public offices, and who possesses authority were all dealt with in an arbitrary fashion. This is to give everyone an equal opportunity. People were penalized for misconduct. The laws were to be followed strictly according to the Rule of Law. Those who served in high positions were able to run for election as many times as they desired. “They did not have a salary because it prevented them from running for office simply to acquire money” (Hunt 82). These improvements drove the Athenian Empire towards democracy. A change from power in the hands of the archons to power in the hands of jurymen was implemented.

     The ancient Greek and Roman civilizations of Europe began to progress toward a more civilized order of society. As there were no previous establishment to base their ideals on, it was understandable that there were some difficulties in their progression as a society. Although the ancient Greek and Roman governments fell, both had similar paths of creation, conquest, and destruction.

The story of ancient Rome is a tale of how a small community of shepherds in the central Italy grew to become one of the greatest empires in history, and then collapsed. According to Roman legend. Rome was founded in 753 B.C. By 275 B.C., it controlled most of the Italian Peninsula. In the A.D. 100’s, the Roman Empire covered about half of Europe, much of the Middle East, and the northern coast of Africa. The empire then began to crumble, party because it was too big for Rome to govern.

The reforms of Cleisthenes established the basis for the Athenian democracy. All citizens enrolled in ten tribes and each tribe chose 50 members by lottery each year for a new council of 500 people. These 500 people had the responsibility to take care of foreign and financial affairs. There was also an assembly of all male citizens, and they had the final authority in passing laws through free and open debate. In Sparta there were two kings who led the army and ruled their city-state. There were five ephors elected each year and they were responsible for the education of the youth and the behavior of citizens. There was also a council of elders that consisted of two kings and 28 citizens over the age of 60. They decided on issues to present to the assembly who were also all male citizens. There was no debate on resolution to these issues, only voting.

Literature (Roman writers and how their works were similar to or different from Greek works)- Greece was a very contentious place; during the time of it's independence Greece was perpetually wracked by conflict between the different cities and also within them. After Alexander there were a lot of warring successor kingdoms, and when they weren't fighting each other the royal families were much given to fratricide. Rome, on the other hand, maintained a far more continuous tradition of governance with far fewer interruptions. It was a contentious place too. Even so, Rome did a much more effective job of dominating its neighbors. Alexander's empire outlived him by only four years. There were still Caesars in Rome 520 years after Julius Caesar

one essential conviction, expressed in the word democracy itself: that power should be in the hands of the people. Although democracy today has been slightly inefficient in this idea, with the wealthy, elite class challenging this right, “it nevertheless claims for itself a fundamental validity that no other kind of society shares….” To completely understand the structure of democracy, one must return to the roots of the practice itself, and examine the origins in ancient Greece, the expansion in the Roman Empire, and how these practices combined make what we recognize as today’s democratic government.