Athenian Attitude Towards Government

Athenian Attitudes Toward the Authority of State Through the Eyes of Plato and Sophocles

Ancient Athens was the first model of an established democracy in which the citizens had a say in the rulings. However, the Athenian’s views towards the power of their government are often overlooked because the direct democratic system seemed successful. Through close examination of the writings of Sophocles and Plato, one can discover the that the Athenian’s thoughts regarding the way they were governed, 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
As pointed out by Haemon in Antigone, “the simple citizen… dares not risk [the King’s] scowl to speak his mind” (Sophocles, 365). Citizens followed the laws they disagreed with only because they knew that the state had the power to punish them by exile or death for breaking any laws. This fear motivated people to continue listening to the laws and doing what they were told so they could continue life on this earth. Although the government was a direct democracy in many aspects, the jurisdiction upon breaking a law that one did not believe in was controlled by the state, itself. However, without fear of death, citizens could do as they wished. Antigone was willing to disobey Creon’s new law because she deemed burying her brother an honorable way to die. According to their religion, there are important ceremonies are performed on the dead to show respect and it is an insult to human dignity to forgo such rituals (Department). Antigone was furious that Creon felt he had the right to “call it wicked what the gods call good” (346). In this situation, the will of the gods gave Antigone a worthy reason to disobey the
Instead of listening to “most people,” one should listen to the thoughts of the “good or the wise one” (Plato, 70). Unfortunately, it is nearly impossible to know if a person who knows the correct decision truly exists. The people living in 360 BC seem to have been losing faith in the way the way their democratic government was run. They began to wonder if there was someone who knew exactly how to act and what to do because many things were going wrong in Athens at this time. The Athenians had been in four wars throughout the century which lead many of them to believe that their government might not be as sturdy as it once was. This call for a good and wise being was a cry for help from the Athenians, hoping that stability and a greater focus on the opinions of the citizens would be restored to