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 siezes 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 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 his
son were monarchs. This is an example of a
monarch who had a son or daughter and
passed on power to their child. This is what
a monarch wanted to do, so that his family
would stay in power. This is especially what
Pisistratus wanted to do during his reign
over Athens. The monarch usually 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. Many citystates also had this form of government.
The First Democracy in
Athens
After Isagoras’ cruel rule over Athens angered
the people, and 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 and organized democracy. No citystate 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.
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. All citizens voted on these subjects in
the assembly, including ostracizing. Ostracizing was the Athenian assembly used
shards of pottery with names on them, and whoever’s name appeared the most
was banished from the city, usually because the people thought that the citizen
was gaining too much power.
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.”
Bibliography
. “Greeks: Crucible of Civilization”
. Our World Textbook
.PBS “Greeks: Crucible of Civilization”
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