Athens – Birthplace of Democracy
-
-
-
Athens was the largest of the citystates and a leading cultural centre
of Greece.
Located in south-eastern Greece in
an area called Attica and named
after the goddess, Athena.
By about 500 BCE, Athenians
introduced a new form of
government.
Unlike earlier governments based
on rule by kings (monarchy),
TYRANTS, or a privileged few
(oligarchy), Athens was controlled
by its citizens.
In DEMOKRATIA (democracy),
every citizen had a voice determining how the city-state was run.
Every year, a council of five hundred men were selected by lot each year to manage
the government, and any citizen, rich or poor, could hold public office.
Regular political meetings were held at which time every citizen was allowed to attend,
make speeches and vote.
Citizens held assemblies to discuss political issues with at least six thousand people
needed in order for a meeting to take place.
During the meetings, debates were heard and proposals were voted on.
All government policies depended on the votes of the assemblies.
Comparing Democracy – Then and Now
Athens – THEN
Male Citizens could vote.
Women could not vote.
Council members were chosen by drawing
lots.
Jurors, made up of ordinary citizens, heard
legal cases.
Democracy - NOW
Sparta – Oligarchy
- Sparta was located in southern Greece in a peninsula
called the Peloponnesus.
- Unlike Athens whose people cherished democracy,
individual freedom and creativity, Spartans focused
on building up their military, strength and a
maintaining a skilled, disciplined army.
- To reach these goals, all male citizens of Sparta
became full-time soldiers and every aspect of their
life was dictated by the city-state.
- Sparta was ruled by an OLIGARCHY, a government
controlled by a few wealthy citizens.
- Only about 10% of the people in Sparta were citizens, the majority were HELOTS,
people whose ancestors had originally inhabited the area.
- The Helots were slaves who farmed the land for their Spartan masters.
- Spartans became strong, ferocious warriors to ensure that the Helots would not revolt
against them.
In Argument of Democracy – Persuasive Speech Writing Assignment.
Not all city-states had a democratic government. In fact, many Greeks outside of
Athens though that the Athenian’s ideas about government and freedom of speech
were dangerous. Spartans especially feared and hated the concept of democracy.
Write a short speech either defending Athenian democracy OR describing why you
think the Athenian form of government could be dangerous to a city-state’s well
being. 10 Marks: 7 – Content (evidence of knowledge, persuasiveness of
argument), 3 – Mechanics (sentence structure, grammar, vocabulary).
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________