Government in Athens

Birthplace of Democracy Greece is the birthplace of Democracy, a type of government in which people rule themselves The word democracy comes from Greek words meaning “rule of the people”

Rise of the Aristocrats In early Greece, kings ruled the city-state. Later, a group of rich landowners, or aristocrats took power A government in which only a small group of people have power is called an oligarchy

Mo’ Money, Mo’ Problems With the aristocrats controlling $ and now the government, the common people had little say in the government. In the 600s BC, a group of rebels tried to overthrow the aristocrats, but it didn’t work

160 swiftly, wreck it buy a new one… Since the rebellion failed a man named Draco created a new set of harsh laws for Athens These laws were very harsh. Punishing minor crimes like loitering punishable by death.

Draco….out Draco’s laws were believed to be too harsh so a man named Solon created less harsh laws. Under Solon’s laws, all free men living in Athens became citizens: people who had the right to participate in government

Rise of Tyrants In 546 a noble named Peisistratus overthrew the oligarchy Peisistratus became the leader of Athens and was called a tyrant. A tyrant is, a leader who held power through the use of force

Tyrant what, tyrant who? Today the word tyrant is harsh but in ancient Greece the word had a very different meaning Tyrants in Athenian government were usually good leaders with strong armies and support from the people. Peisistratus brought peace and prosperity to the city starting new policies to unify the city, building temples and monuments.

Sippin Haterade After Peisistratus died, his son took over as tyrant Aristocrats were unhappy because their power was gone They convinced a rival city-state to attack Athens and re-claimed their power

Democracy is created Around 500 BC a man named Cleisthenes gained power in Athens. Despite coming from a rich family he felt that, aristocrats had too much influence With the support of the people he overthrew the aristocracy and established the world’s first democracy

Democracy under Cleisthenes All citizens had the right to participate in the assembly, or gathering of citizens that created the city’s laws. The assembly met outdoors on a hillside so everyone could attend

Democracy Cont. During meetings, people stood before the crowd and gave speeches on political issues. They were actually encouraged to do so… After speeches were over the assembly voted usually by show of hands, but sometimes secret ballots

Voting The number of people who voted in assembly changed day to day For major decisions the assembly needed 6,000 people which wasn’t always easy to get Red rope attendance? What do you guess that is?

Too many People What do you think would be a problem with having a 6,000 person assembly? Athenians selected citizens to be city officials These city officials decided which laws the assembly should discuss

Changes in Athenian Democracy Citizens served on juries to decide court cases Juries had anywhere from 200 to 6,000 people Why would you have an odd number of jurors?

Pericles Led the government from 460 BC-429 BC To encourage people to participate in government he started to pay people who served in public offices or on juries He also encouraged the spread of democracy in Greece

Direct v. Representative Democracy All citizens in Athens could participate directly in government What this means is a person’s decision directly affects the outcome of a vote The United States is too large for everyone to gather so we formed another kind of Democracy

Representative Democracy The democracy created by the United States is a representative democracy, or republic In this system, citizens select officials to represent them in government Elected officials then meet to make up and enforce the country’s laws

Representative Democracy Americans elect senators and representatives to Congress who pass laws. We trust our chosen representatives to vote for us.