Athenian democracy
Vocabulary Philosophy: means love of wisdom Oligarchy: political regime were only a small amount of people govern Direct Democracy: when citizens participate directly in governmental decision making Politics: governing as connected to the debate between those in power and those who want power Heritage: an inheritance.
Free Time During the 5th century BCE Athens was a prosperous city The slaves and metics took care of most of the work This left the citizens( especially the rich ones) with a lot of free time So they would go to the Agora and have discussions These conversations promoted ideas and reflection This led to progress in philosophy and politics Free Time
Politics Athens left behind an important political heritage Athens was a direct democracy Government was made up of 4 parts: 1) Ekklesia: where all citizens voted on laws by show of hands, elected magistrates and strategoi and decided on peace or war 2) Boule; drawn by lot they administered the city and prepared laws to be voted on 3) Strategoi: Military leaders that were elected by the Ekklesia 4) Heliaea: court of 600 members drawn by lot and served for 1 year Politics
How it worked The Ekklesia met 4 times per month on the pnyx hill Not every citizen attended every session It depended on their work or the Agenda posted at the Agora a few days before the assembly Voluntary attendance guaranteed the citizens would take part in the debates There needed to be 6000 citizens for the debate to begin How it worked
Philosophy Citizens spent a lot of time observing nature and thinking They questioned themselves and the world and wondered about man’s place in the Universe The people who answered these questions were called philosophers They believed that by trying to answer these questions they could learn to govern and live wisely They were interested in the human condition, society and how it worked and education Socrates, Plato and Aristotle were among the greatest philosphers of this era Philosophy