Athenian Democracy

Is it really “rule by the people?”

Pericles: The First Citizen of Athens

• Ruled from 495-429 BCE • Introduced reforms in Athens

that strengthened democracy• Head of the Athenian Empire

(one city-state, or "polis," that had political, economic, and cultural control over most of Greece)

• Began a building program on the Acropolis (the religious center of Athens)– Built the Parthenon from 20,000 tons of marble– Financed from tribute paid by members of the Delian

League (including city-states, like Sparta and Thebes).

Rule by “some” of the people• Direct democracy• Any male citizen of Athens, 18 years or older, could

debate important laws in the pynx (assembly meeting place)

• About 1 out of 5 Athenians were citizens• 3 Main Branches:– The Assembly– The Council – The Courts

Ostracism• Ostracism literally means “judgment by shards”• Exiled from Athens for 10 years• Under strict supervision in the agora (marketplace),

citizens would scratch a name onto their pottery shard

• A quorum (minimum number) of 6,000 citizens required

Kleroterion

Thoughts on Democracy

• “Liberty and equality is achieved when all persons share in government” - Aristotle

• “Dictatorship naturally arises out of democracy, and the most aggravated form of tyranny and slavery out of the most extreme liberty.” - Plato