The Government
and Laws of
Ancient Greece
By Timothy Callery
The History of Athens’ Government
1. City of Athens founded in about 700 B.C.
2. Cleisthenes Born 570 B.C.
3. Oligarchy as Government until Pisistratus in 547 B.C.
4. Monarchy under Pisistratus and his son 547 B.C.-510 B.C.
5. Pisistratus son’s monarchy falls 510 B.C.
6. Athenian government organized by Cleisthenes About 510 B.C.
7. Isagoras seizes power with “The Four Hundred” Assembly in 508 B.C.
8. Isagoras Overthrown by Athenian people in 507 B.C.
9. Cleisthenes brought back to the city and helps organize the democracy of Athens in
507 B.C.
10.Athenian “Golden Age” with Pericles as lead figure in Athens from 470 B.C.- about
450 B.C.
11.Athens surrenders to Philip II and is part of the Greek Empire in about 338 B.C.
Oligarchy
What is an oligarchy, you may
ask?
An oligarchy is a system of government in which the
richest and most powerful citizens rule over the city or
country. The complete definition is “the richest and
most powerful citizens controlled decision-making”
[Our World].
These citizens were called aristocrats. They
took what the peasants who worked in the fields,
shops, and workshops of the city got and made in
return for protection. This is a little bit like an early
version of feudalism, in which only nobles had major
power. Most city-states in the Classical [city-state]
Greek Era had this form of government. Cleisthenes, the
person who used the Greek Solon’s idea of democracy
[who founded Athens’s democracy] was the son of
aristocratic parents.
Monarchy
What is a Monarchy?
A monarchy is a government under
control of one monarch, or simply a king
and/or queen. In Athens, Pisistratus, and then
his son were monarchs. Monarchs who had a
son or daughter passed on power to their child
to keep the family in power. This is what a
monarch wanted to do, so that his family
would stay in power.
The organization of a monarchy was
simple, but strict. A monarch usually also had a
court, which was a group of nobles and close
friends that gave the monarch advice or did a
service to help him or her rule. This was really
the only branch of government besides a court
for trials and cases. Many city-states also had
this form of government.
The First Democracy in
Athens
After Isagoras’ cruel rule over Athens angered
the people, in a stunning event, Isagoras surrendered.
He had banished the aristocrats from Athens, but the
people brought them back for help in organizing their
new government. Cleisthenes, a strong supporter of
Solon’s idea of democracy, helped the people in forming
an organized democracy. No city-state of Greece, or
anywhere in the world had this form of government.
It was a revolution in government, but this idea
of a “government of the people”, or “rule by the people”
[definitions of democracy] needed a lot of work. A full
dissection of the word is demos=people, cratos=
government by. Cleisthenes had to organize a WHOLE
ENTIRE government that would make the people happy
and content. He based most of the government on voting
and people’s decisions. All of the citizens were important
in ALL decisions.
Organization of the
Government
Pynx [Assembly]--The Assembly was where any citizen could speak up and talk about things that they
wanted to change; from the price of rugs, to an important military campaign, to the strictness and existence of
laws. The assembly had about 6,000 people in it, and met about every 9 days. All citizens voted on these subjects
in the assembly, including ostracizing. Ostracizing was when the Athenian assembly used shards of pottery with
names on them, and whoever’s name appeared the most was banished from the city once a year, usually because
the people thought that the citizen was gaining too much power. When they voted on normal matters, they used
certain color stones, preferably grayish white, and dark gray. They threw them in a vase or pot, and when the vote
was over, the pot was tipped over and they counted the votes.
Court/Jury--The Court was where all criminal cases were heard, though, the Athenian court was very
different from our modern court. There were NO lawyers for anyone, but they did have a jury, and usually
organizers/judges who were both paid. The jury voted on how the case’s outcome went, and the judges finalized it.
Usually, the prosecutors would win these crude cases, because there were no lawyers. In Pericles’ funeral speech,
he says that the free, equal, and represented Athenian citizens live “lawless”, even though there were laws, but not
laws like: “You must obey the King’s orders or you will be hanged.” The laws for all citizens were equal.
a. The PeoPle’s CourT- Democratic Court- Faced with less important crimes
b. The Areopagus- Before Democracy- “High Court”- Faced with more important cases
The council [Senate] of the 500- The Council of the 500 was a kind of like our Senate today. The
council proposed laws and decrees for the assembly to vote on. It was organized by ten Athenian districts/tribes
who were in a group of people called a deme with fifty people representing each district chosen by a lottery, or
random choosing of people. The people who were in the council were paid to do this, and they could only be in the
council twice in their lifetime.
PeriCles’ Funeral sPeeCh
Why was it SO important????
.Pericles’ Funeral Speech shows that the Athenian people, in theory, were
some of the best-treated, and most equal people in the world at the time
.Pericles says that Athens should be a leader in revolutionary ideas and
systems that make their city-state great [their government overall, is the
best in Greece because it promotes rewards, excellence, and equality to all
people]
.This equality can give opportunities in life that other Greek citizens couldn't
have
.Thus, the opportunity is one for new ideas, products, systems, and other
things that are welcome, unlike in other Greek states
.This equality gives the Athenians the ability to be involved politically, and in
many other ways
.The speech of Pericles at his funeral is really an overview of Athenian ethics
, because it shows the equality, flexibility, and opportunity in Athens
Demosthenes, Lycurgus, and Plutarch Quotes
.“The things which in the main uphold our democracy and preserve the city’s prosperity [wealth] are three in number: first the system of
laws, second the vote of the jury, and the third the method of prosecution by which crimes are handed over to them [the juries].”-Lycurgus
. “The …. power that calls together the Council, draws the people into the Assembly, fills the juries, and makes the old archons resign readily
to the new, and enables the whole life of the State to be carried on and preserved…is the laws and the obedience that all men yield to the
laws; since, if once they [the laws] were done away with and every man were given license [freedom] to do as he liked, not only does the
constitution [the government] vanish, but our life would not differ from that of the beasts of the field.” –Demosthenes
. “Solon wanted to leave all the courts in the hands of the well-to-do, as they were, but wanted to give the common people a share in the rest
of the government of which they had before been blocked. So, Solon divided up the citizens into four classes: the first class were those who
made five hundred measures a year… the second class were those who were able to keep a horse or who made three hundred measures a
year…the third class were those who made two hundred measures a year. All the rest were called the Thetes. They were not allowed to hold
any political office, but took part in the government only as members of the assembly and as jurors.”
“This last privilege …proved to be of the very highest importance, since most legal disputes came into the hands of these jurors…. Every
dispute was laid before them, so that they were in a manner the masters of the law…. Moreover, thinking it was his duty to help the weak
majority of people, Solon gave every citizen the privilege of suing on behalf of anyone who had suffered a wrong or a crime.”-Plutarch
ALL three of these quotes from Ancient Greeks show what the Athenians valued, why they
valued it, and why Athenian government was well-liked by the people.
QUOTE 1: This quote reveals that the Athenian wealth was kept alive by the choices and votes made by
the people, who would know what was going on in the common city, and that the laws were equal.
QUOTE 2: This quote shows that the Athenian democracy, even thought of as mob-rule by other citystates, actually kept the government together better and gave people the chance to participate and help
in governmental decisions. It also shows that the Athenians weren’t reluctant to follow the law, because
the laws were equal.
QUOTE 3: The final quote on this page shows how all of the four Athenian social classes were able to
participate in the court, which helped it, because it wasn’t as biased [unfair] when it had no jury.
.[Upper Left] The prison cell where Socrates, the philosopher who questioned
Athens in its most troubling time in the Peloponnesian War. He was sentenced
to death by a jury after the war.
. [Upper Right] The Ostraka which were the shards of pottery that were used
when voting who to ostracize.
Summary Notes on PowerPoint
.List of Athens’ branches of government- Assembly, Courts, and Council of
500
. Demos=people, and cratos=government by
. Two different courts- Areopagus, and “Low Court”
. Pericles’ funeral speech represents the Athenian government’s equality,
flexibility, and opportunity
. Cleisthenes helped organize Athenian Democracy
. Democracy was a revolution in the world because “Never before did the
people be able to control their own destiny”- “Greeks: Crucible of
Civilization
. Isagoras was last non- democratic leader of Athens
. Pisistratus was the most famous monarch of Athens
. Athens’ original government was an oligarchy
. Monarchy- one single leader who passed on power to offspring
. Oligarchy- aristocrats ruled over the city and made all decisions
PowerPoint Presentation Mini-Quiz
[OH NO!!!!]
1. What were the two different courts of Athens?
2. What was it called when you voted to “kick” somebody out of
the city?
3. What was Athens’ original government?
4. What ruler of Athens was overthrown by the people, which
caused the people to want a democracy?
5. What were the three branches of government in Athens?
6. What aristocrat formed Athens’ democracy?
7. Who’s funeral speech symbolized Athenian Government and its
qualities?
8. What three final qualities were they?
9. What does demos-cratos mean? Hint- two phrases
Bibliography
. “Greeks: Crucible of Civilization”
. Our World Textbook
. PBS “Greeks: Crucible of Civilization” Site
. Pericles’ Funeral Speech
. Mr. Baskin’s Notes on Athenian Democracy
. Mr. Baskin’s Essay on Athenian Democracy