How Did Democracy Develop in  Ancient Athens


Introduction


The Greeks did not start out as democratic. They built this unique system of government which was different than every other form of government known to the world at the time.

This unit is a study of Athens, a small city-state, and its large effect on history.

What made a city state different than a country, empire, or kingdom?

Around 1000 BCE Greece was a collection of independent city-states (poleis). Each city ran as if it were a country. It had its own army, navy, coins, customs, and laws. A city-state was composed of a city centre, farmland, and a harbour. The most significant city-states were:

  • Athens
  • Sparta
  • Argos
  • Corinth

Athens and Sparta were rivals but their common interests were

  • the Olympic Games 
  • Delphi (the centre of the Greek religious world) and the Greek gods 
  • language 
  • at times, battles against Persia (Iran). 

The city-state of Athens developed the Greek language, culture and is one of the places that developed the system of government that has become known world-wide as democracy.



Legendary Athens was ruled by kings or monarchs. As the kings became less powerful, the nobles or oligarchy (group of powerful people) ruled Athens. They made the laws which were not written down, formed the police, and made the punishments for breaking the law. The poor had no power. The oligarchy of nobles called the Council of 100, met on the Areopagas (Mars Hill) to appoint archons. The archon was the chief judge in a Greek city-state. (A year “without an archon,” was called a year with “anarchy.”)


One year, the Areopago (because they met on the Areopagas) appointed Draco in 621 BCE, to write down the (Draconian) laws. This weakened the nobles’ power since they were now ruled by law.

The next step toward democracy in Greece was the appointment of Solon in 594 BCE to reform Draco’s laws. His purpose was to help the wealthy and poor get along. He created a Council of 400, with 100 members from each of the four tribes of Athens. This Council balanced the power of the Areopago (nobles). Solon gave citizens a right to appeal from a decision of a judge which meant that the oligarchs were for the first time accountable to the people.


Peisistratus in the mid-500s BCE was a noble who redistributed power and land toward the poor, encouraged growing olives, and offered business loans so that farmers could make more money. Peisistratus encouraged people to visit his large library and wrote down the stories of Homer that we read today. People became wealthier and more educated, so they had more time for politics. Peisistratus allowed free speech for the first time. People could criticize the government or leaders openly, without fear of arrest or losing money.


In 507 BCE, Cleisthenes came to power. His reform of establishing the Boule, became the basis of democracy in Athens. He divided Athens into 10 districts (demes).

Democracy comes from the sea and not from farmers in the Athenian mind. The Athenian public speaking platform (bema) faced the sea. This is because in 480 BCE, the Greeks fought the Persians (Iranians) at Salamis. The Athenians sent out a “wooden wall” of ships or triremes. Anyone could join the crew of a trireme, even the poor. Because the poor fought so well and helped win a major battle, the hoi polloi (majority of the people) were more respected.  This gave them more power. To celebrate their victory, the Athenians built the Parthenon and various buildings that are still standing and have become famous symbols of Greece today.


In 462 BCE Ephialtes weakened the power of the nobles or Areopagos. He divided the authority of the oligarchs among the boule (Council), the Ecclesia (called out ones - assembly of the people), and the courts. Positions were filled by lottery, rather than by representative election. This meant that all Athenian citizens could have a direct voice in the day-to-day running of the government. Court cases were no longer judged by the experienced, wealthy, and powerful, but by huge juries of everyday Athenians.