Why Did Sparta And Athens Obtain The Right To Participate In Public Life

In the Athenian Assembly citizens spoke by age, not wealth or position (Doc. F). Even though Athens was exclusive about who could be a citizen, they were inclusive in who could participate. Being inclusive with government was good for Athens because the decisions would represent the whole community rather than only some of the people. Alternatively, in Rome, they were inclusive about who could be a citizen, but exclusive about how much they could participate. For example, the Roman Senate made all of the decisions for the community. The Senate was made up of all upperclassmen who inherited their seats from past generations of family (Doc. G). This made for a bad system of government because all decisions were at risk of being biased toward the elites. Also, the final decision might not represent the opinions of all the people, but only those serving in the Senate. In the Athenian Assembly, choices represented the people but in Rome, the choices in government were all at risk of being influenced by the upper

How did people in Athens and Sparta obtain the right to participate in public life and make decisions affecting the community?

For individuals in Sparta during the classical Greek period, life was simple. Men were meant to be warriors and women were meant to breed warriors (Brand, 2003). The population of Sparta was made up overwhelmingly of slaves, leading to a military political system. According to Brand (2003), most of the political decision making was done by the Gerousia. The Gerousia consisted of 30 wealthy Spartan aristocrats, who had survived war to the age of 60 (no small feat, when the expectancy was 35 and you could be killed for having a deformity as a baby). Two of these positions were reserved for the two kings of Sparta. The Gerousia was typically conservative and

Spartan government also allowed for its citizens to participate in decisions that would affect the community on a whole. If you were a free male citizen, you were part of the Assembly. The Assembly had monthly meetings and would pass laws and make decisions regarding war. To be considered eligible for the assembly, a Spartan man must first join a Syssitia. A Syssitia was a small group (about 15) of Spartan men who would share meals with each other. At the age of 20 a Spartan man would try to join a Syssitia. This required a vote of yes from all members of the Syssitia the Spartan man was trying to join. Failure to join a Syssitia would result in loss of citizenship and the ability to participate in the Assembly (Brand).

Abstract In this paper, we are going to discuss the Greece Polis, talking about democracy and Dictatorship, we will compare Sparta and Athens comparing and answer the following questions: How did people in Athens and Sparta obtain the right to participate in public life and make decisions affecting the community? Who held public office?

For example, the officers in Athens, either being the top level executives such as the Ten Annually Elected Generals or the lowest local officers, were elected by the Popular Assembly. All Athenian citizens were able to take part in the decision making process and vote for the candidates of the offices. Only the majority of the Assembly could form the final decisions. This is in great contrast to the other forms of government we have discussed previously.

The Greece period is said to be an era of war and conflict as well as a period of political and cultural achievement. Some of the biggest achievements of the classical period are that it brought forward a historian like Herodotus, the philosopher Socrates and the physician like Hippokrates. With the help of the classical period one of the most used modern political system was also found called demokratia which means that the common people are the rulers. After the Persians were defeated and the autocratic tyrants were overthrown, the new Athenian political reforms were brought which allowed any individual of age 18 to join the assembly and new laws were made which were best for the people. Every member of the assembly was sworn under these very laws to serve the people.

The first evidence of democracy, government in which the citizens had a say in the rulings, was discovered in Ancient Athens. However, the direct democratic system seemed so successful that it overshadowed the Athenian’s views towards the power of their government. Through close examination of the writings of Sophocles and Plato, one can discover the that the Athenian’s thoughts regarding the governing power, evolved during Classical Athens’s 200 year span. Although at a glance the government of Ancient Athens did not seem to progress much during it’s time, a deeper look at Sophocles’ Antigone, written in 441 BCE, and Plato’s Crito, written in 360 BCE, reveal that the Athenian attitudes toward the authority of the state appeared to evolve even within eighty years.

Classical Athens and Rome, both innovated the way of government by creating the first forms of government in which the people have power. Classical Athens was known as the first civilization to use a direct democracy in which the people governed. Male citizens above the age of 30 (12% of the population) were the only part of the Athenian population that could take part in the government of Athens. The Greeks also relied on the lottery to elect the council and the court. These lottery machines were called the kleroterion. The use of the kleroterion made sure that rulers did not pick jury members based on a bias and gave more power to the people. Using the kleroterion, male citizens above the age of 30 all had a chance of serving in the Athenian government at one point in their lives. After the male citizens were selected by the lottery they would serve a one year term until it expired. Although these terms might seem short, the jobs of those elected were very important. The Assembly voted on the most important topics from voting to foreign policies. Moreover, the Council of 500 decided on what problems should be presented to the assembly. Finally, the third branch also known as The Courts decided on whether or not something was legal. The Courts also consisted of a jury similar to the one of the judicial branch. Unlike a representative republic which was later used by the Romans, the Greeks had plenty of free time to invest in direct democracy, hence, they didn’t need to

How did people in Athens and Sparta obtain the right to participate in public life and make decisions affecting the community?

Daniel Mechenko HIS 1001 Professor Trumbach Paper 2 Sophism For many years, ancient Athens had been governed entirely by aristocrats with peasants contributing little to nothing to politics due to the imbalance of power. However, after the birth of democracy, which was implemented by Solon, the Aristocrats did not have as much power at their disposal relative to previous era. Peasants acquired the right to vote for their leaders, and because of this, an individual looking to obtain political power had to be a proficient orator in order to sway the citizens of Athens to elect him as a public official.

n the beginning of this section, the Athenians are made to look better than the Spartans when they are ready and willing to fight the Persians again while the Spartans remained at home. The Athenians sent a messenger to the Spartans saying, “You agreed with us to oppose the invader in Boeotia, but you broke your word and allowed him to invade Attica…However, your immediate duty is to…put your army in the field,” and the Spartans reluctantly and after some time put their army in the field (556). Later, the Athenians military roles are highlighted when the Megarians were being pressed by the Persians and needed assistance, “nobody was willing to go except the Athenians” (562). When decided which troops would get to hold one of the wings, the

After the wars, Athens emerges as the center of all activity amongst each city-state in Greece. One of the key features within the Athenian society was the arrangement of public assembly and the rule of the people, democracy. In the assemblies, any male citizen could actively vote

It was the despots who educated the general population their rights and power. By the start of the fifth century BC, Athens had developed as the primary majority rule government ever. In the vicinity of two and three centuries previously this, the Athenian rulers had cleared a path for authorities called "archons," chose by the nobles. In this way a highborn type of government was built up.

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.