pericles and rise of democracy

“Having knowledge but lacking the

power to express it clearly is no better than never having any ideas at all.”

- Pericles

Pericles and the Rise of Athens

The ManDemocracyHis Impact

State of life in Athens

• Defeat of the Persians– Influx of wealth, power

• Entered Golden Age 477 - 431 B.C.• Organized the Delian League

– Included nearly 200 city-states– Athens became the center

• A man named Pericles became leader

Pericles

• Born in 495 B.C.• From powerful,

political family• Fought Persians at

Salamis• Intelligent, an

inspiring speaker, and skilled politician

• Soon became a great leader of Athens

Pericles

• Came to power after Cimon ostracized from Athens– Cimon favored

Oligarchic ideals

• Elected strategos - in charge of military– 29 years

• Built walls between Athens and Piraeus

Pericles and Democracy

• Increased number of salaried public officials– Encouraged participation

• Direct democracy evolved– Direct democracy: a form of government in which

citizens rule directly and not through representatives

Democracy in Athens

Athenian Direct Democracy

ASSEMBLY18 and older males

Made executive decisions - to war, grant citizenshipSome legislating, some trials

The Council (of 500)Executive committee for the Assembly

Served for 1 year, presidency rotated monthlyAdmistration to the state - treasury, foreign issues

The CourtsJurors picked from a pool of 6,000 people

Over 30, full citizensTrials - representing voice of the people

AthensDirect DemocracyThree Branches

The Assembly - Ekklesia• Assembly involvement based on attendance• Open to every 18+ male citizen• Responsible for:

– Making executive announcements– Electing some officials– Some legislating (making and passing laws)– Held some trials (this role shifted to courts)

• Ten fixed meetings per year• Voting process

– Speeches addressing both sides of an issue– Vote by hand count, majority rule

The Assembly

The Council (of Five Hundred)

• 500 members– 10 different geographic groups “prytanies”– 50 members from each

• The presidency of the boule rotated monthly between geographic groups– Boule = month, 10 months in their calendar

• Epitastes - selected to run the council meeting, assembly for one single day

The Council (of Five Hundred)

• Responsibilities– Execute wishes of the assembly– Administration of the State: key to treasury,

worked with foreign ambassadors, key to city– Served as an executive committee for the

assembly– Oversaw activity of magistrates– Coordinated activities of various boards– Selected members for its own boards: issues

ranging from religious to naval

• Little ability to pursue own initiatives

The Courts - Dikasteria of Heliaia

• Centered around jury courts, “dikastes” = juror

• Jurors must be 30+ and full citizens

• Large juries– Selected from a

panel of 600 from each tribe

– 6,000 total possible

• Two kinds of suits– Dike -smaller, private suit

• Minimum jury size was 201

– Graphe - large public suit• Minimum jury size was 501

– Really important public suits

• Increased in increments of 500

• Could have thousands of jurors

The Courts

• Jurors under oath• Must represent the

word of the people• People represented

themselves in court• Cases lasted no

more than a day• Could not appeal• Some crimes had

instant punishment

The Impact of Pericles

• Very proud of Athens• Around 444 B.C.

became main ruler• Dominated the Delian

League• His goals:

– Make Athens a naval power

– Make Athens beautiful

Pericles Builds Naval Power

• Used money from Delian League

• Impact of strong Navy:– Safety– Access to trade– Access to resources– Used power to

acquire provinces

Pericles Beautifies Athens

• Sought truth and beauty• Used Delian League money for gold, ivory, marble• Contracted artists, architects, workers

For next class…

• Quote identification essays• Be working on:

– Terms– Dionysian Theater Project