Address the question of how Greek democracy ended.
The Greek democracy, which began as a result of the political reformation by Cleisthenes, was indeed an envy of its era and the pride of the Athenian people. Being a clever political leader, Cleisthenes established a system, which he called demokratia, or “rule by the people”. This political reformation, which consists of three bodies- the ekklesia, the boule, and the dikasteria lasted for almost two centuries before its dramatic demise (Ancient Greek Democracy, 2010).
However, the eventual demise of the Greek democracy did not occur as a surprise as various catastrophic events affected the continuity of the system. One of such catastrophic event that occurred in Greece was the Peloponnesian war. Apparently, the Peloponnesian War brought a massive financial crisis to the Athenian government. As a result of this crisis, wealthy aristocrats were under severe pressure to maintain and sustain their status in the society at the detriment of the poor. The freedom and bond created by democracy, which they pledge to defend were abandoned; thereby, creating two classes of people in the Athenian society- the wealthy class
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The poor class of the Athenian majority bored the brunt of the negative impact of the financial crisis. Salaries of workers became difficult to come by and citizens could not afford the basic necessity of life. All the benefits that come with democracy- freedom to participate in the assembly, the unity of purpose, and the future of a sustainable life suddenly disappeared. Even the wealthy aristocrats who were in government were no longer sure of their allegiance to the Athenian government. The poor people who make up the majority of the population completely lost interest in the system; democracy was in deep
Ancient Athens allowed all of its people to vote and participate in the community.(Doc A) If there is a man of low class or low wealth wanting to vote or be a part of the community, they would not say no to that person. (Doc A) For example, if there was a man in Ancient Athens who was of low class I society and wealth, he would be able to still vote on laws or be part of his community and his financial problems would not
In turn, this political equality enabled all citizens to become involved. As a result of the freedom within one's private life, citizens of Athens kept to the law in matters regarding public life. Pericles discusses the Athenians' deep respect and commitment to upholding the laws in which the representatives, whom the people elect, create. With limited legal restrictions on what citizens can and cannot do, free enterprise flourished as well; living in such a dominant, prosperous state such as Athens opened up many international economic options. Through obeying the laws, regulations, and customs set forth by elected officials and supported by Athenian culture, as well as serving their country, the people of Athens stood to gain profit.
Pericles takes time to laud democracy as a form of government. He believes the division of political power equally amongst citizens inevitably leads to laws that benefit the Athenian people as a whole. This in turn increase overall equality, and by extension, social mobility. Such a government is a just government in the eyes of Pericles, and thus, a shining example of Athenian superiority. “[Athens’] administration favors the many instead of the few; this is why it is called a democracy. If we look to the laws, they afford equal justice to all in their private differences; if no social standing, advancement in public life falls to reputation for capacity, class considerations not being allowed to interfere with merit; nor again does poverty bar the way, if a man is able to serve the state, he is not hindered by the obscurity of his condition.” (2.37.1).
How has democracy changed since athens golden age? When you think of American democracy you first have to think of athenian democracy because they were quite similar in many ways for example. Both americans and athenians believed that a government should be fair and ran by not just one person or leader but that citizens should have a say in what happens. Another thing similar to american and athenian democracy was that speeches or oration was an important way for people to gain popularity and to also to inspire,persuade, or entertain people, to be a part of a government public speaking is essential it helps people better understand what someone wants to do and it will persuade people either in a good or a bad way so in both american and athenian
The Greek historian Thucydides says that Pericles, an important political figure in Athens, gave a eulogy for the Athenians who had died in the first year of the Peloponnesian War. The speech that Pericles gave talked about all the great characteristics of Athenian society. According to Pericles, Athenian democracy allows citizens the freedom and power to participate in government. Pericles states that “no one, so long as he has it in him to be of service to the polis, is kept in political obscurity because of poverty. The freedom which we enjoy in our government extends also to our ordinary life.” This quotation shows that everybody, of any social class, is allowed to participate in political and governmental issues. No matter how poor you may be, you are not allowed to be kept away from politics in Athens if you can be helpful to the government. Pericles also states, “Power is in the hands not of a minority but of the whole people; this is why it is called democracy. This statement indicates that the power in Athens is spread amongst all the citizens, instead of giving all the power to one group, which describes the entire purpose for democracy.
Compare and contrast Thucydides’ and Socrates’ analyses of the fate of Athenian democracy in war, of why the Athenians went to war, and of how and why they failed.
The fall of democracy as explained in Brand (2010) began long before Alexander the Great conquered the country. Ancient Greece was a place where wars had no ending. Besides the wars to foreign armies such as the Persians, Greece went through many civil wars. The Spartans left early the Persian war because they were afraid of living the Helots unattended for a long time, fearing a revolution. Athenians on the other hand kept the war going with other allies.
democracy ended in Athens, it did continue on in Rhodes and the legacy of Athenian democracy
The Greek society was a direct democracy with people voting on the issues themselves instead of representatives voting on their behalf. Any male citizen over the age of eighteen was allowed to vote. Like the Romans, the Greek government was divided into separate parts. The Greek government consisted of an assembly, council, and courts, with each requiring a different number of voters present. The people all gather and vote on issues by hand, and this is the simplest form of majority rules. The role of the people is extremely important in how the society and state is governed and run. This early form a democracy was detailed by Pericles funeral oration during the Peloponnesian War. Pericles was an eminent Athenian politician who states in regards to the government of Athens, “Its administration favors the many instead of the few; this is why it is called a democracy (Pericles, “Funeral Oration”, pp. 2)”. Here, Pericles states that the people have all the power and their opinion is highly valued. Likewise, the Romans valued the people’s opinions so highly that they entrusted with them rewards and punishments, vital aspects that held the society together. Pericles also states, “…nor again does poverty bar the way, if a man is able to serve the state, here is not hindered by the obscurity of his condition (Pericles, “Funeral Oration”, pp. 2)”. Here is the essence of democracy, every man no
Edgar Allan Poe’s The Cask of Amontillado is thought to be one of his most popular vengeful short novels. The two main characters, Montresor and Fortunato are re-acquainted friends who meet each other at The Carnival. Montresor has intentionally planned to lure Fortunato to his own death by deceiving him to believe that Fortunato is coming to Montresor's family catacombs to taste a fine wine “Amontillado”. After Montresor leads Fortunato into the crypts, Montresor eventually chains Fortunato up in a secluded section and mortars him behind a brick wall while he is still alive. The story ends with Montresor throwing a flaming torch into the small opening while he continues to put the last brick in place, essentially burning Fortunato alive. Edgar Allan Poe creates conflict between characters Montresor and Fortunato which primarily creates the major theme of revenge in this story. Edgar Allan Poe depicts setting in this novel by portraying death by illustrating human bones, within a cold and damp crypt to contribute to the eerie theme of revenge. Montresor's characterization is expressed through the betrayal of his friend, which adds another element to the theme of revenge in this story. In Edgar Allan Poe’s The Cask of Amontillado, Edgar Allan Poe utilizes conflict, setting, and characterization to create a theme of revenge.
In the fifth-century BC, Athens emerged as one of the most advanced state or polis in all of Greece. This formation of Athenian ‘democracy’ holds the main principle that citizens should enjoy political equality in order to be free to rule and be ruled in turn. The word ‘democracy’ originates from the Greek words demos (meaning people) and kratos (meaning power) therefore demokratia means “the power of the people.” The famous funeral speech of Pericles states that “Our constitution is called democracy because power is in the hands not of a minority but of the whole people.” However, only citizens (free adult men of Athenian descent) could participate in political matters. Women and slaves held no political rights, although they were
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.
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.
For decades there have been an abundance amount of gang activity going on around the world and it continues to grow. Every year there is an increasing amount of teenagers over 600,000 that are rushed to the emergency rooms and taken into hospital care due to gang related injuries (Forster, Grigsby, Unger & Sussman, 2015). Most of these children are very young and have not even enter high school, and others have not even completed middle school. Many of the teens that have been rushed to the hospital have also been involved in some sort of a serious violent gang related activity themselves, and by the age of 17, they would have already been in a physical fight, or would have already been initiated into a gang. In most cases when being initiated into a gang the member awaiting to be apart of a gang must commit some sort of crime, such as theft of a vehicle, or robbery.
China, a big country in terms of economy and total population, has been experiencing a dramatic demographic transition since 1979 when one child policy was implemented. Due to the concern that population growth can pose a threat to China’s economic development not only in the short-term but over the long term as well, the Chinese government adopted the strict birth control program, which is the one child policy. Under the policy, every Chinese family can only have one child, though some exceptions were made. Regulations for ethnic minority families are more flexible that they were allowed to have their second child. Furthermore, the policy was unevenly enforced. The birth control program was implemented more effectively in urban areas, where supervision systems were more complete and people were more willing to limit their family sizes, than in rural areas, which were characterized by strong traditional agrarian needs. In general, the one child policy really hit the goal in that China’s fertility rate and birth rate were found decreasing year by year. However, alongside the declining fertility, new problems emerge, especially the increase of aging populations.