Gerousia Dbq

After 507 BCE Cleisthenes changed the rules of voting in Athens so that every mans’ vote counted and therefore put the decisions affecting the community into the hands of the common man although the majority of the office positions were held by wealthy aristocrats. To be considered a “citizen” in Sparta, you had to be: male, could not be a Helot, or Perioikoi, or a slave. There was an assembly of all male citizens, an elder council of men over 60, the Gerousia, and the Ephors that consisted of 5 magistrates. The Gerousia, was an elite elder council of 30 men and was the Spartan equivalent of the senate. The Gerousia was made up of the wealthier and more conservative men. When one of the 30 seats became available in the Gerousia, it was the assembly who chose the man to fill the Gerousia vacancy. The Ephors were elected each year for one, one-year term by the members of the assembly. The assembly consisted of all male Spartan citizens. Becoming an Ephor was the only way to for non-aristocratic citizens to gain political power. The assembly passed laws and was responsible for making decisions concerning war, but it was the Ephors and the Gerousia that selected which matters would be decided by the assembly and the Ephors and the Gerousia could veto the decisions made by the Assembly so the Ephors and the Gerousia generally monopolized the city-states decisions.
They also controlled or owned the best land. Although the wealthy monopolized the political and economic power in both Sparta and Athens, Athens eventually allowed more and more decisions to be voted on by common