Democracy in Ancient Athens The Birthplace of Democracy

Exactly how Ancient? The ancient city of Athens refers to a time more than 2500 years ago.

Who were the Ancient Athenians? Greece is a mountainous country. As a result, communities were isolated from one another by the rugged landscape. Because of this isolation, each ancient Greek city developed its own style of government, its own laws, and built up its own army. These independent communities are known as city- states.

Who were the Ancient Athenians? Some of the city-states were controlled by rich and powerful rulers called tyrants. Tyrants are rulers who seize power and govern in a harsh cruel way. The Athenians were different by developing a system of government that allowed citizens to participate in making important decisions. Other city-states eventually followed suit at a later time.

Athenian Social Structure Citizens Metics Slaves

Citizens Children of parents who were born in Athens. Only male citizens could participate in voting and governing the city. Men became citizens when they finished military service at age 20. Women could not participate at all.

Metics Residents of Athens born outside the city-state. Not allowed to own land or become citizens.

Slaves Owned privately or by the city-state. Many slaves were people who had been taken prisoner when their city-state was attacked by the Athenians. Slaves could not become citizens.

Athenian Democracy Citizens are allowed to rule themselves. Majority rule was fair. (A decision was supported by more than half of the votes) Only male citizens had the right to belong to the Assembly and vote. Women, slaves, and metics were denied voting rights. Slavery was perfectly acceptable in Athenian Society. The Common Good was the most important thing. Individual and minority rights were of no importance.

How were Athenian Citizens Involved in Decision Making? Athenian Democracy The Assembly The Council of 500 The Court

The Assembly Meetings took place about 40 times a year (every 8-10 days) Thousands of citizens would attend For a vote to grant citizenship on a non- Athenian, at least 6000 members needed to be present Private concerns were brought to the Assembly as well as public concerns.

Key Words Pnyx: a large open area at the top of a hill where the Assembly would meet Direct Democracy: People vote directly to make decisions rather than having representatives Decree: a decision made by people in authority Pillar: supports or holds something up

The Assembly Every member has an equal right to speak Voting was most often a show of hands Every citizen’s vote counted equally Sometimes, stones were used to vote

The Council of 500 The full time government of Athens Known as the boule and met in the Bouleuterion at the agora. Term was 1 year Citizens were divided into 10 tribes and 50 members from each tribe over the age of 30 served on the council Each tribe was in charge of the Council for 1/10 of the year.

The Council of 500 Membership was made democratic by: Council positions were chosen by lottery A citizen could only serve twice on a council The chairman only had his position for 24 hours The council planned the agenda for Assembly meetings Council discussed and voted on decrees that they would present for approval to the Assembly.

The Council of 500 There were always 50 members of the Council on duty at all times to help the chairman deal with emergencies. They lived in the Tholos near the agora.

Key Terms Lottery: names are drawn by chance from a large number of choices Agenda: the list of topics that will be discussed at a meeting Tribe: a political group Orator: someone who speaks in public

Courts When an Athenian felt they were wronged, they could bring their issue to the Court. Sometimes magistrates would set a fine as punishment. Sometimes, they would send the case to trial. Any male citizen over 30 could be chosen for jury

Key Terms Magistrate: a government official who works for the court; served for 1 year term Defendant: the person who is accused of a crime in a court case Plaintiff: the person who brings a complaint about another person to court Klepsydra: water clock used to time the speeches of the plaintiff and defendent.

Courts A jury usually had 501-1500 people. Jurors were chosen by lottery the day of the trial. Women could take part in cases before a magistrate, but a woman who was a defendant in a jury trial needed to have a male citizen speak for her. Metics could be involved in legal cases, but they could not serve on juries.

Courts The plaintiff and defendant had to be able to speak well to convince the jury of their position and often hired speech writers. When both sides were heard, the jury would vote innocent or guilty and then vote on the punishment if guilty.