Greek Democracy Research Paper

Athens had a democratic government while Sparta had an oligarchy type government. In Athens free adult males over twenty who had Athenian parents were the only ones who had a say in the government. These males made up the people’s assembly which voted on who held office and laws. In order for any of the men to be eligible for public office they had to at least have an annual income

Women in ancient Athens had roles in society that in some ways are similar to the roles and expectations of women in our culture today. They had more rights than many women of their time, but their freedoms were still limited. Women of Athens accepted their role however, unlike women today who are much more outspoken. While this was the norm back then, much of it would never be deemed acceptable now.

The Greeks where the first democracy in the world. There government was made up of six thousand members all of witch where male citizens. They voted on problems that needed to be solved and if a law was to pass a majority vote was needed. Now in the United States also has a democracy. Instead of having six thousand people voting and making the decisions all the people vote on a representative that makes the decisions in the country.

Both of these civilizations were patriarchies, causing a suppression of women throughout ancient Athens and Egypt. According to Turner:

Throughout history, the roles of women and men have always differed to some degree. In ancient Greece, the traditional roles were clear-cut and defined. Women stayed home to care for children and do housework while men left to work. This system of society was not too far off the hunter gatherer concept where women cared for the house and the men hunted. Intriguingly enough, despite the customary submissive role, women had a more multifaceted role and image in society as juxtaposed with the rather simple role men played. Morals for the two were also different. Men obviously had the upper hand with women being the traditional passive.

In ancient Greece, there was one dominant city-state, or Polis as the ancient Greeks called it, and this was Athens. It was a beautiful society that enjoyed art and literature very much and valued things like wholeness and excellence. However, one thing the Athenians did not value was women. They were deemed inferior by men, and treated more as a decoration rather than a human being.

Women in the society of Ancient Greece were expected to be very emotional and nurturing to their children. They are also defined as very dependent and weak creatures. On the other hand, men in Ancient Greece were expected to be strong and intelligent.

The Greeks were very well managed and they developed a government for themselves. The Ancient Greece practiced democracy and the American society is practicing democracy also. Ancient Greece was a direct democracy, meaning not everybody was allowed to vote. The males could vote, but the

Throughout the time and history most societies have deemed that men are superior to women. One era in which this train of thought was prevalent was Ancient Greece. Although the Greeks valued freedom and participation in society, that concept did not extend to women. However, the treatment of women varied greatly between the two city-states: Athens and Sparta. Women in Sparta had more rights, freedom, and equality with men than their counterparts in Athens.

Greek women were slightly higher than women in other ancient pagan societies. It was true that were almost at the same level with the slave and were under the authority and control of their husbands, both by custom and by law. Increasing the city-state was an important factor affecting the status of women in Greece. From the city-state was supreme, all individual wishes were subordinate to it. Freedom was not automatic, but had to be understood, mass education was rudimentary and even in the first century were women, rich enough to own slaves who could not read or write. Greece suffered the sexes be at different levels of culture ".

Women of Athens and Sparta It is surprising that two of the most successful and powerful Greece city states treated women so differently. Sparta was a city state that focused on military power whereas Athens focused on government and education. Even though these city states were only about 100 miles apart if we examine them we find that they are very different in how women are expected to act. Athens’s women were treated as second to men in almost all aspects and had very little freedom.

Ancient Greece was the first to establish a democracy. In Greek democracy, every citizen was expected to participate or receive a punishment, but they had to be citizens, only twenty percent of Athenians were considered citizens, so only the free men could enjoy the rights and responsibilities that

Women's lives were similar in many parts of ancient Greece, but the Greeks themselves singled out the city state of Sparta as being greatly different. The women of Sparta were granted an equal stake in the success or failure of their state. With their fathers and

Greek democracy was best developed in the city-state of Athens from where the very word “democracy”, meaning “the rule of the people” stems. People ‘ruled’ by electing officials through lot and making important decisions by majority rule. Democracy was direct, meaning that the Athenians “allowed the whole citizenry to assemble in the central eklisia, or the equivalent today of the main city hall, to vote on important issues” (Makedon 1995). In this sense, Athenian democracy differed from representative democracy that is currently prevalent in most states, in which officials are elected through democratic vote and then given authority to make decisions for the people. In Athens, elected officials were paid, but the pay was very low so that it compared with the wages of the poorest citizens and only covered the compensation of their time and effort.

Ancient Greek society was ahead of its time politically speaking. Indeed they iniciated the concept of democracy. Of course, this democracy did not include everyone in Greece; male citizens dominated society and had full legal status. They were divided in three classes depending on wealth. Females on the other hand had few rights, they were obliged to stay at home and bear children. Once married to a man chosen by their father, women were under the authority of their husband. Divorce were tolerated under three conditions : Repudation by the husband, he did not need justification and had to return the dowry; the wife could leave the family home but it would bring shame on her; finaly the bride's father