Athenian Government Prior To Democracy
ATHENIAN GOVERNMENT & DEMOCRACY
ATHENIAN GOVERNMENT & DEMOCRACY
Ever wonder where and how democracy began? According to an article entitled “Athenian Government Prior to Democracy”; ancient Athens is credited with having developed one of the first democracies on this earth (1). Blackwell states that the name democracy comes from “demos-people and kratos-power”, meaning “power of the people” (2). Mills states that Athenian democracy did not come about easy, yet it was through the efforts of continuous reorganizations that democracy came to the Greeks and history says that the intent of these reorganizations was to allow for all citizens over 20 years of age to take part in governing the country (99). Early rulers …show more content…
The goal of the Athenian people was to establish a form of leadership that enabled them to have more input and control while reducing the tenure of its leaders. This began with the elimination of “hereditary” leadership and brought about the change of requiring kings to be elected every ten years (Mills 94). One of the last and most significant changes during the Monarchy government was the elimination of the office of king thereby eliminating the ruling of one person with significant power (Mills. 94). This benefitted the Athenian people as during this period each king had a group of nobles who served under him and there riches grew which culminated in a powerful body called the “Areopagus”. Areopagus was the name of the hill that the nobles met on and it was from this group that the oligarchy would develop (Ancient Athens 1). Oligarchy: a government where a small group of people exercise control for corrupt and selfish purposes (Merriam- Webster: online …show more content…
He gave all free men living in Athens and Attica the power of citizenship enabling them to participate in all parts of the government (Ancient Athens 3). He abolished the old tribal organization of Athenian society which included dividing the citizens into one of ten new tribes, each of which supplied fifty men for the boule (Connolly & Dodge 25). The new council held administrative and executive power in the city-state and allowed citizens over the ages of 30 to become a member of the council with council selections occurring every year by lot (Bardi 13). The council was then a part of a yearly Assembly held to discuss and address matters of the city-state. These reforms were intended to eliminate the role of aristocracy, eliminate financial differences and mix
ATHENIAN GOVERNMENT & DEMOCRACY
Ever wonder where and how democracy began? According to an article entitled “Athenian Government Prior to Democracy”; ancient Athens is credited with having developed one of the first democracies on this earth (1). Blackwell states that the name democracy comes from “demos-people and kratos-power”, meaning “power of the people” (2). Mills states that Athenian democracy did not come about easy, yet it was through the efforts of continuous reorganizations that democracy came to the Greeks and history says that the intent of these reorganizations was to allow for all citizens over 20 years of age to take part in governing the country (99). Early rulers …show more content…
The goal of the Athenian people was to establish a form of leadership that enabled them to have more input and control while reducing the tenure of its leaders. This began with the elimination of “hereditary” leadership and brought about the change of requiring kings to be elected every ten years (Mills 94). One of the last and most significant changes during the Monarchy government was the elimination of the office of king thereby eliminating the ruling of one person with significant power (Mills. 94). This benefitted the Athenian people as during this period each king had a group of nobles who served under him and there riches grew which culminated in a powerful body called the “Areopagus”. Areopagus was the name of the hill that the nobles met on and it was from this group that the oligarchy would develop (Ancient Athens 1). Oligarchy: a government where a small group of people exercise control for corrupt and selfish purposes (Merriam- Webster: online …show more content…
He gave all free men living in Athens and Attica the power of citizenship enabling them to participate in all parts of the government (Ancient Athens 3). He abolished the old tribal organization of Athenian society which included dividing the citizens into one of ten new tribes, each of which supplied fifty men for the boule (Connolly & Dodge 25). The new council held administrative and executive power in the city-state and allowed citizens over the ages of 30 to become a member of the council with council selections occurring every year by lot (Bardi 13). The council was then a part of a yearly Assembly held to discuss and address matters of the city-state. These reforms were intended to eliminate the role of aristocracy, eliminate financial differences and mix