rnm e nt in Athe n s Aris t ocrats Demo c racy was b o rn i n A n cient Greece in the city of Ath e ns Dem o cracy is a f o rm of ID: 463300
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Slide1
Gov
ernment in AthensSlide2
Aris
tocratsDemocracy
was
b
o
rn
i
n A
n
cient
Greece in
the
city
of
Ath
e
ns.
Dem
o
cracy
is
a f
o
rm
of
a
g
over
n
m
e
nt
in
wh
i
ch
p
e
o
p
l
e rule
th
e
mselves.
However,
Ath
e
ns
was
rul
e
d
f
irst
by
kings, a
n
d
th
e
n
by an
olig
a
rchy
of
ari
s
tocr
a
t
s
, or
rich l
a
n
d
own
e
rs.Slide3
Oligarchy
Early
Ath
e
ns
w
a
s gov
e
rned
by
a small
group
of p
o
w
e
rful aristocrats.
Th
i
s type
of gov
e
rnment is ca
l
l
e
d
an ol
i
garch
y
. Oli
g
archy
m
ea
n
s “ru
l
e
by a fe
w
.”Slide4
Rebellion
In the 600s BC
a
group
of rebels
t
r
ied to over
t
hrow
the
aristocra
t
s.
The rebell
i
on failed
and
Draco
gained
power
in At
h
ens. Draco
was a s
t
rict
leader
and
was very unpopula
r
.
H
i
s
success
o
r,
So
l
on,
ruled
th
a
t all
f
r
ee men were
ci
t
izens
who
had
a rig
h
t
to par
t
ic
i
pate in
governmen
t
.
But it was
too late;
people
were
t
ired of the aristocracy.Slide5
Draco
Draco w
as
the
f
irst
to co
d
ify Ath
enian laws or codes. These new codes were so stringent and harsh they became known as “Draconian measures.”
H
i
s
first
act
w
as
a
g
re
a
t a
n
d
u
n
e
x
p
e
cted
o
n
e,
for he
pr
o
cl
a
im
e
d
th
a
t
hen
c
e
forth
no
o
n
e
m
igh
t be
ma
d
e
a sl
a
ve b
e
ca
u
se
h
e
w
as
u
n
a
b
le to
p
a
y h
i
s d
e
bts.Slide6
Tyrant
Peisistratus overth
rew
the
o
l
ig
a
rchy
and became a leader of Athens by force.Peisistratus was the first tyrant. Though that word has a ne
ga
tive
meaning today, some Greek tyrants were good leaders.Peisistratus led well and Athensflourished under his care.But after he died rebellious aristocrats regained control of Athens.Slide7
Tyranny
Peisistratus overthrew
the ol
i
garchy
in
546 B
C
,
a
nd Athens became a tyranny. Tyranny means “rule by a tyrant”–a strong leader who has power.Slide8
Athe
ns Creates DemocracyA
le
a
d
e
r n
a
m
e
d
Cleisthenes introduced democracy to Athens in 500 BC.Though he was an aristocrat himself, hedid not supp
ort
the
aristocracy.He overthrew the aristocratic leadersusing popular support.Slide9
Democra
cyAround
500
BC Athens
bec
a
me
a democrac
y
. Democracy means “rule by the people.” For the first time in history, a government was based on the votes of its free citizens.Slide10
Athe
ns Creates DemocracyUn
d
er
h
i
s rule
a
l
l citize
ns had the right to participate in the assembly that created laws.The assemblies were held outdoors an
d an
yone
could give a speech before votes were taken. This could be messy. Either too many people would come to an assembly or not enough.Eventually the Athenians began to sel
e
ct city
o
f
fici
a
ls
to
m
ake
d
e
cisio
n
s.
Cit
i
zens were
eve
n
tu
a
lly
al
l
owed
to
d
e
cide
court cases
by
serving
on
j
u
ries.Slide11
Democra
cy in ActionA
n
ci
e
nt
Ath
e
ns
w
as the birthplace of democracy–the system of government in which the people rule themselves. Democracy
was
p
erhaps the greatest achievement of ancient Athens. In time, it became the Greeks’ greatest gift to the world.Slide12
Pericles
Citizens
grad
u
al
l
y
gained
mo
re power.Athenian democracy reached its heightwith Pericles, who led the government from460 to 429 BC.Still, democracy all but ended when Athens was conquered by Macedonia in the 330s BC.
The Macedonian
king
did not like anyone other than himself making laws.Though the city council kept operating in a limited way, a new Greek king in 320 BC abolished even that right.Slide13
Ancient
Democracy Differs from Modern
Democracy
Alt
h
o
u
gh
citizensh
i
p was very limited, Athens had a direct democracy, in which every citizen could participate and the majority
rule
d.
The
United States operates as a representative government, in which citizens elect people to represent them.Slide14
Democra
cy Then and Now…In Athe
n
ian
Direct
D
e
mo
c
rac
y
…In American RepresentativeDemocracy…All citizens met as a group to debate and vote directly on every issue.
Citize
n
s
elect representatives to debate and vote on issues for them.There was no separation of powers. Citizens created laws, enforced laws, and acted as judges.There is a separation of powers. Citizens
ele
c
t
s
o
me
peo
p
le
to
c
r
eate law
s
,
others
to
enforce
law
s
,
and others
to
be
judges.
Only
free
male citizens
c
o
uld
vo
t
e.
W
omen
and
slaves
c
o
uld
not
vo
t
e.
Men
and
women
who
are
citizens have
the
rig
h
t
to
vo
t
e.