1. Why would people risk their lives for democracy?
“Democracy is the only system that persists in asking the powers that be whether they are the powers that ought to be.”
 Sydney J. Harris
Why would people risk their lives for democracy?

2. Athens Builds a Limited Democracy
Essential Question: How do the Ancient Greek views of law, reason and faith, and the duties of the individual influence Western political thought?
Athens Builds a Limited Democracy
government- a political system for exercising authority.
democracy- a government controlled by its citizens, either directly or through representatives.
Greek civilization began about 2000 BC.
Isolation => self government, basic political unit in Greece.

3. Athens= most powerful city-state to emerge
Essential Question: How do the Ancient Greek views of law, reason and faith, and the duties of the individual influence Western political thought?
Athens= most powerful city-state to emerge
Monarchy until 683 BC, => Aristocracy- a government in which power is in the hands of a hereditary ruling class or nobility.
Assemblies elect 3 nobles to rule city-states.
Citizens- adult male residents, granted certain rights and responsibilities

4. Essential Question: How do the Ancient Greek views of law, reason and faith, and the duties of the individual influence Western political thought?
The Reforms of Solon
Farmers in debt sold crops, land then themselves into slavery => political and economic crisis.
Solon outlaws slavery based on debt and cancels the farmers debts, prevents civil war.
Solon establishes 4 classes of citizen based on wealth rather than heredity.
Top 3 classes could hold office, lower class could still vote in the assembly.

5. The Reforms of Solon cont.
Essential Question: How do the Ancient Greek views of law, reason and faith, and the duties of the individual influence Western political thought?
The Reforms of Solon cont.
Athens still a limited democracy ruled by the nobility.
Only 1/10 of population were citizens and eligible to participate.
No citizenship for women, slaves, and foreign residents.
Creates a fairer code of laws and the right of citizens to bring charges against wrongdoers.

6. The Reforms of Cleisthenes
Essential Question: How do the Ancient Greek views of law, reason and faith, and the duties of the individual influence Western political thought?
The Reforms of Cleisthenes
Conflicts continued between landowners and farmers.
New leaders appealed to the poorer masses and gained power by giving land, voting rights and citizenship to them.
Cleisthenes reorganized the assembly making Athens closer to a full democracy.
Council members chosen by lot, or randomly to allow all citizens the opportunity to participate.
Cleisthenes= founder of democracy in Athens

7. Changes in Greek Democracy
Essential Question: How do the Ancient Greek views of law, reason and faith, and the duties of the individual influence Western political thought?
Changes in Greek Democracy
The Greeks defeat the attacking Persian empire => new sense of confidence and freedom.
Athens comes out as the strongest city state and heads the Delian League, an alliance of 140 city states.

8. Pericles Strengthens Democracy The Golden Age of Greece
Essential Question: How do the Ancient Greek views of law, reason and faith, and the duties of the individual influence Western political thought?
Pericles Strengthens Democracy
The Golden Age of Greece
Jurors paid => allows for poorer citizens to take part.
direct democracy- a government in which citizens rule directly rather than through representatives.
“Our constitution is called a democracy because power is in the hands not of a minority but of the whole people.”

9. Athens is defeated, Delian League disbanded, Greece weakened.
Essential Question: How do the Ancient Greek views of law, reason and faith, and the duties of the individual influence Western political thought?
Golden Age < 50 years.
Athens and Sparta fight = Peloponnesian War (remember reading Ulysses in 7th grade?)
Athens is defeated, Delian League disbanded, Greece weakened.
King Philip II of Macedonia invades Greece => end of Greek democracy.
Philip and his son Alexander the Great rule the Greeks by monarchy.
monarchy- a government in which power is in the hands of a single person

10. Greek Philosophers Search for Truth
Essential Question: How do the Ancient Greek views of law, reason and faith, and the duties of the individual influence Western political thought?
Greek Philosophers Search for Truth
Great thinkers used logic and reason to investigate the nature of the universe, human society, and morality.
Philosophers- lovers of wisdom, seekers of truth
2 main assumptions:
The universe is put together in an orderly way and is subject to absolute and unchanging laws
People can understand these laws through logic and reason.

11. Essential Question: How do the Ancient Greek views of law, reason and faith, and the duties of the individual influence Western political thought?
Socrates
examine most closely held beliefs
Use question and answer approach= Socratic Method
Teacher of Plato
Found guilty of not recognizing the gods recognized by the state and corrupting the youth.
Forced to commit suicide by drinking hemlock poison.

12. Essential Question: How do the Ancient Greek views of law, reason and faith, and the duties of the individual influence Western political thought?
Plato
Author of The Republic
A perfect society would be governed by the wisest not the richest or most powerful.
Created a private academy of learning that focused on posing problems for others to solve.

13. Create the Lyceum, a school to rival Plato’s academy.
Essential Question: How do the Ancient Greek views of law, reason and faith, and the duties of the individual influence Western political thought?
Aristotle
Student of Plato
Author of Politics
Man is by nature a political animal; it is his nature to live in a state.
Create the Lyceum, a school to rival Plato’s academy.
Voluntary associations, speakers to lecture and debate current topics.

14. Greeks set up standards or politics and philosophy.
Essential Question: How do the Ancient Greek views of law, reason and faith, and the duties of the individual influence Western political thought?
Greeks set up standards or politics and philosophy.
Use natural laws, not superstition to explain the world.
Did not want an authoritative leader so democracy was created.
Citizens actively participate
First to use three branches of government
Legislative (law making), Executive (law enforcing), and Judicial ( law disputing)