Compare Greco-Roman And Judeo-Christian Influence On Democracy
Kiran Garewal
September 2017
Modern World History Key Assignment #1
Prompt: Compare and contrast Greco-Roman and Judeo-Christian influence on democracy considering the role of the individual, government, and their contributions in a well written essay of 3-4 pages
Nowadays, democracy is a very prevalent form of government but it wasn’t always this way. Monarchies, aristocracies, and oligarchies used to be the only main styles of governing, until Athens became the first democracy and Rome the first republic. The religions of Judaism and Christianity also provided many democratic ideals, such as the equality of all.
Ancient Greece was not originally a unified nation; it was a loosely connected collection of city-states. Most were monarchies, …show more content…
Soon after, Solon became the leader. He outlawed slavery based on debt and made four classes of citizens – this time divided by wealth, not ancestry. Only members of the top three classes could hold public office, but all citizens could vote in the assembly. Citizens were all resident, free, adult males. He also set up the Council of Four Hundred, which prepared topic to be discussed by the other council, and introduced the notion that any citizen could report someone that they think broke a law. Democracy was started in order to have isonomia, an ancient Greek term meaning “equality of all.” With only about 10% of the Athenian population being citizens, and only some of even those able to hold public office, this clearly wasn’t yet achieved, and it is nothing like the modern democracies today. Still, the concept of the general public being able to participate in their governments was very new and this was already a huge step forward.
In 508 BCE, Cleisthenes became the leader of Athens. He reorganized the assembly to balance the power of the rich and the poor
More than 2000 years after democracy first began in Athens, in 1789, the United States became the first modern democracy. According to Freedom House, in 2013, 122 of the 195 nations were electoral democracies and 75% of the world’s population lived in countries classified as “Free” or “Partly Free.” 1 We have come a long way from the early democracies in Greece and Rome, with much more equality and many more rights, but it is possible than none of this would have happened without the influence of these societies and Judaism and
September 2017
Modern World History Key Assignment #1
Prompt: Compare and contrast Greco-Roman and Judeo-Christian influence on democracy considering the role of the individual, government, and their contributions in a well written essay of 3-4 pages
Nowadays, democracy is a very prevalent form of government but it wasn’t always this way. Monarchies, aristocracies, and oligarchies used to be the only main styles of governing, until Athens became the first democracy and Rome the first republic. The religions of Judaism and Christianity also provided many democratic ideals, such as the equality of all.
Ancient Greece was not originally a unified nation; it was a loosely connected collection of city-states. Most were monarchies, …show more content…
Soon after, Solon became the leader. He outlawed slavery based on debt and made four classes of citizens – this time divided by wealth, not ancestry. Only members of the top three classes could hold public office, but all citizens could vote in the assembly. Citizens were all resident, free, adult males. He also set up the Council of Four Hundred, which prepared topic to be discussed by the other council, and introduced the notion that any citizen could report someone that they think broke a law. Democracy was started in order to have isonomia, an ancient Greek term meaning “equality of all.” With only about 10% of the Athenian population being citizens, and only some of even those able to hold public office, this clearly wasn’t yet achieved, and it is nothing like the modern democracies today. Still, the concept of the general public being able to participate in their governments was very new and this was already a huge step forward.
In 508 BCE, Cleisthenes became the leader of Athens. He reorganized the assembly to balance the power of the rich and the poor
More than 2000 years after democracy first began in Athens, in 1789, the United States became the first modern democracy. According to Freedom House, in 2013, 122 of the 195 nations were electoral democracies and 75% of the world’s population lived in countries classified as “Free” or “Partly Free.” 1 We have come a long way from the early democracies in Greece and Rome, with much more equality and many more rights, but it is possible than none of this would have happened without the influence of these societies and Judaism and