It remains a unique and intriguing experiment in direct democracy where the people do not elect representatives to vote on their behalf but vote on legislation and executive bills in their own right. Participation was by no means open
of Athenian freedom.
The greatest and longest lasting democratic leader
Estimates of the population of ancient Athens vary. During the 4th century BC,
there may well have been some 250,000–300,000 people in Attica. Citizen families
may have amounted to 100,000 people and out of these some 30,000 will have been
the adult male citizens entitled to vote in the assembly. In the mid-5th century
the number of adult male citizens was perhaps as high as 60,000, but this number
fell precipitously during the Peloponnesian War.
If Greeks didn't have as many people, they would get more work done.
There were three political bodies where citizens gathered in numbers running
into the hundreds or thousands. These are the assembly (in some cases with a
quorum of 6000), the council of 500 (boule) and the courts (a minimum of
200 people, but running at least on some occasions up to 6000). Of these three
bodies it is the assembly and the courts that were the true sites of power —
although courts, unlike the assembly, were never simply called the demos
(the People) as they were manned by a subset of the citizen body, those over
thirty.
Yes, wealth played a direct role in just how much power you had in ancient Greece. The Patricians, or wealthy, had slightly more power in making decisions and passing laws.
Only adult male Athenian citizens who had completed their military training as
ephebes had the right to vote in
Athens. The percentage of the population (of males) that actually participated
in the government was about 20%. This excluded a majority of the population,
namely slaves, freed slaves, children, women
and metics. The women had limited rights
and privileges and were not really considered citizens. The restricted movement
in public and were very segregated from the men. Also disallowed were citizens
whose rights were under suspension (typically for failure to pay a debt to the
city: see atimia); for some Athenians
this amounted to permanent (and in fact inheritable) disqualification. Still, in
contrast with oligarchical societies, there were no real property requirements
limiting access
Not really if you were in that position then you would think that that would be sensible.
The central events of the Athenian democracy were the meetings of the assembly (ἐκκλησία ekklêsia). Unlike a parliament, the assembly's members were not elected, but attended by right when they chose. Greek democracy created at Athens was a direct, not a representative democracy: any adult male citizen of age could take part, and it was a duty to do so. The officials of the democracy were in part elected by the Assembly and in large part chosen by lot.
The assembly had four main functions; it made executive pronouncements (decrees, such as deciding to go to war or granting citizenship to a foreigner); it elected some officials; it legislated; and it tried political crimes. As the system evolved these last two functions were shifted to the law courts. The standard format was that of speakers making speeches for and against a position followed by a general vote (usually by show of hands) of yes or no. Though there might be blocs of opinion, sometimes enduring, on crucial issues, there were no political parties and likewise no government or opposition (as in the Westminster system). Voting was by simple majority. In the 5th century at least there were scarcely any limits on the power exercised by the assembly. If the assembly broke the law, the only thing that might happen is that it would punish those who had made the proposal that it had agreed to
Yes Matt, the Athenian government eventually fell during the Peloponnesian Wars. It was weakened by the Persian Wars, but as soon as Sparta truly set it's sights on defeating the every-expanding Athenians they were in danger. The war itself indirectly led to the fall of Athens, during the second and third years of fighting, disease broke out in Athens and devastated the population. It took Sparta and its allies nearly 30 years to destroy the city of Athens. The Spartans also used the help of the Persians.
They do not bear arms, and do
not know them, for I showed them a sword, they took it by the
edge and cut themselves out of ignorance. With fifty men we
could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want.
And that's what people have to do, too--make sure they don't beat themselves.
So many times you have fond here at the University people who were smarter than you. I found them all the way through
college and in football: bigger, faster, harder. They were smarter people than
I. But you know what they couldn't do?
They couldn't outwork me. I ran into opposing coaches who had much better
backgrounds than I did and knew a lot more about football than I did. But they
couldn't work as long as I did. They couldn't stick in there as long as I could. You can outwork anybody. Try it and you'll
find out you can do it.
Does this mean that Nobles used the "courts" as a way to make money?
he court did not act in the public interest, as with us, but waited until the plaintiff requested service. Moreover, until the case had been decided, the accuser and the accused received the same treatment. Both were imprisoned; and the plaintiff who lost his case suffered the same penalty which the defendant, had he been found guilty, would have undergone.
not require the accuser to prove his case by calling witnesses and having them give testimony. The burden of proof lay on the accused, who had to clear himself of the charge,
Feudal Justice - The Ordeals
Ordeals, however, formed a method of appealing to God, the results of which could be immediately observed.
A form of trial which especially appealed to the warlike nobles was the judicial duel - a trial by combat. The accuser and the accused fought with each other; and the conqueror won the case. God, it was believed, would give victory to the innocent party, because he had right on his side.
Besides the obvious differences in philosophies, there is a very big difference in geography that cause these differences. Ancient Athens was situated somewhat close to the coast; it was only about five miles to the port city of Piraeus (which became part of Athens with the building of the Long Walls), thus it was no more then a few hours of travel from Athens to the coast line, thus greatly increasing the ability to be a trade center. Ancient Sparta however is located at the shortest distance 40 miles from the coast, however the terrain is somewhat rocky and there is no real straight path to the coast line. This would have greatly impeded the ability for Sparta to become a major trading port
Spartan Government
Typically classified as an "oligarchy" ( rule by the few), but had elements of monarchy, democracy, and aristocracy
Two kings were usually generals who commanded the major Spartan armies. While both were capable military leaders one was usually considered the leader of the army. This was done mainly so that in times of war Sparta would still retain a leader if the other were to die in battle. The most famous example was King Leonidas, who famously was able to hold off the enormous Persian Army at the battle of Thermoplyae.Five overseers (ephors) ran the day-to-day operations of Sparta. These overseers held one year terms and were responsible for the education and conduct of all its citizens (The Essential World History, W. Duiker & J. Spielvogel, Second Edition, 2005, p. 76)Council or Senate (apella) of 28 councilmen. These men had to be over 60 years old and served lifetime terms. They acted as judges and proposed laws to the citizens' assembly.All Spartan males over age 30 could join the Assembly where they could show their support/dissent by shouting.
Athens Government
Typically classified as a “limited democracy.” Also considered the “birthplace of democracy.”
Athens held the first democratic state, developed in 507 BC.Principally made up of elected officials:Council of 500 made most of the main administrative decisionsThe Assembly was open to all citizens. This body passed laws and made policy decisions.Although many nations throughout time have modeled their governments on the principles of Athenian Democracy, it was not perfect. Only men were able to participate in the democratic assemblies, and this was only 10-20% of the population. Women, children, slaves and foreigners were not allowed to participate
oilets, or garderobes as they were called, usually were situated so that they opened over the moat.
An awful lot of life in a castle went on in the great hall. There was a fire and shelter in the hall. People ate and slept in the great hall. Very often, certainly in smaller castles, before sophisticated domestic arrangements evolved, you would have found the lord and lady sleeping at one end of the great hall in a sort of screened-off area. So medieval men and women didn't have much privacy.
medieval men didn't really bathe terribly often. People might have wiped their hands and faces from time to time.
lords and ladies would have been slightly cleaner and sweeter-smelling than most of their subordinates.
If you were a lord or lady, if you were the constable or the constable's lady, then you would have had a private room.
Very often in the great hall there was a central fire. Later on there were proper fireplaces, but a central fire with a hole in the roof was standard.
He had a number of people who worked beneath him. There was the garrison, whose members vary in status, including knights, men-at-arms, archers, and engineers. You also had grooms, watchmen, porters, cooks, and scullions, who did all the washing up in the kitchen.
So the constable was the person whose job it was to look after the castle in the lord's absence.
private fortress. Most of the time the castle operated as a small, large, or medium-sized household.
Spartans lived in harsh conditions, without luxuries, to make them tough fighters.
Sparta had its own system of government which was very different from the other city states. Rule was shared between two kings, the Gerousia and the Assembly.
Most citizens Spartans were either Perioeci (citizens who paid taxes, served in the army and were protected by Spartan laws) or Helots (people from lands conquered and ruled by Sparta who had no rights).
The Helots
Spartan citizens were given land which was farmed for them by the Helots. The Helots were treated as serfs (slaves) and had to give half their crops to their Spartan master.
The 14th century was a time of great crisis; the plague, the Hundred Years war, and the turmoil in the Catholic Church all shook people’s faith in government, religion, and their fellow man. In this dark period Europeans sought a new start, a cultural rebirth, a renaissance.
Humanistic education, based on rhetoric, ethics and the liberal arts, was pushed as a way to create well-rounded citizens who could actively participate in the political process. Humanists celebrated the mind, beauty, power, and enormous potential of human beings. They believed that people were able to experience God directly and should have a personal, emotional relationship to their faith. God had made the world but humans were able to share in his glory by becoming creators themselves.
Prior to the Renaissance Period, art was largely commissioned by the Catholic Church, which gave artists strict guidelines about what the finished product was to look like. Medieval art was decorative, stylized, flat, and two-dimensional and did not depict the world or human beings very realistically. But a thriving commercial economy distributed wealth not just to the nobility but to merchants and bankers who were eager to show their status by purchasing works of art
while Italy’s trade with Europe and Asia produced wealth that created a large market for art.
Perspective. To add three-dimensional depth and space to their work, Renaissance artists rediscovered and greatly expanded on the ideas of linear perspective, horizon line, and vanishing point.
Vanishing point: The vanishing point is the point at which parallel lines appear to converge far in the distance, often on the horizon line. This is the effect you can see when standing on railroad tracks and looking at the tracks recede into the distance.
Shadows and light. Artists were interested in playing with the way light hits objects and creates shadows. The shadows and light could be used to draw the viewer’s eye to a particular point in the painting.
Realism and naturalism. In addition to perspective, artists sought to make objects, especially people, look more realistic. They studied human anatomy, measuring proportions and seeking the ideal human form. People looked solid and displayed real emotions, allowing the viewer to connect with what the depicted persons were thinking and feeling.
Viking is used in a general way to describe the people of Scandinavia during the medieval period
The Scandinavians were also explorers, farmers, fishermen and merchants -- not just Vikings
Vikings were actually made up of several different groups, including the Danes, the Swedes and the Norwegians, who were themselves often broken into small petty kingdoms.
The Greek City-State
Ancient Greece was made up of city-states. A city-state was a major city and the surrounding areas. Each city-state had its own rule and government. Sometimes the city-states fought each other. Athens and Sparta were the two largest city-states and they had many wars and battles.
Types of Government
There were three main types of government:
Democracy - A government ruled by the people, or assembly. Officials and leaders were elected and all citizens had a say.
Monarchy - A single ruler like a king. In Athens this ruler was called a Tyrant.
Oligarchy - When the government is ruled by a small group.
Over time some city-states, like Athens would change governments. Sometimes they were ruled by Tyrants and, at other times, they were a democracy.
Ancient Greece
Government
History >> Ancient Greece
The Ancient Greeks may be most famous for their ideas and philosophies on government and politics. It was in Greece, and particularly Athens, that democracy was first conceived and used as a primary form of government.
The Greek City-State
What this means is that all the citizens voted on all the
Democracy in Ancient Greece was very direct
aws. Rather than vote for representatives, like we do, each citizen was expected to vote for every law.
In order to vote, you had to be a citizen. However, not everyone who lived in Athens was a citizen. Only men who had completed their military training were counted as citize
here were three main bodies of the government: the Assembly, the Council of 500, and the Courts
painting, sculpture, and architecture. Paintings became more realistic and focused less often on religious topics.
began in northern Italy
Arab scholars preserved the writings of the ancient Greeks in their libraries. When the Italian cities traded with the Arabs, ideas were exchanged along with goods. These ideas, preserved from the ancient past, served as the basis of the Renaissance.
William Shakespeare.
Crusaders returned to Europe with a newfound understanding of the world.
The invention of the printing press encouraged literacy and helped to spread new ideas.
Wealthy families and the church had amassed enough wealth to become patrons.
The development of financial techniques such as bookkeeping and credit allowed merchants to
The reason why Europeans all the sudden are now curious and are now investigating the world around them is that after the black death and the crusades, people became more humanist and farther away from religion, so this causes two things: First, religion was keeping others from wondering what everything is, (since religion would make an answer for the questions people had,) keeping everyone together in one place. Second, Christianity at that time had a pretty bad relationship with Muslims, so now that people aren't letting their Religion tell them what to do, people will go past those religious laws for the sack of curiosity.
Rich families became patrons and commissioned great art. Artists advanced the Renaissance style of showing nature and depicting the feelings of people.
Crusaders returned to Europe with a newfound understanding of the world.
The invention of the printing press encouraged literacy and helped to spread new ideas.
Wealthy families and the church had amassed enough wealth to become patrons.
The development of financial techniques such as bookkeeping and credit allowed merchants to prosper
Since the dark ages are now over, and now it's the "DAWN" of a new age, this could imply that, the "DARK AGES," was the night/hibernation of technology and/or knowledge and information, and now that it is now the "DAWN," we could infer that this could mean that technology and knowledge, are awakening.
This dearth of biographical information is due primarily to his station in life; he was not a noble, but the son of John Shakespeare, a leather trader and the town bailiff. The events of William Shakespeare’s early life can only be gleaned from official records, such as baptism and marriage records.
He probably attended the grammar school in Stratford, where he would have studied Latin and read classical literature.
18 married Anne Hathaway, who was eight years his senior and pregnant at the time of the marriage.
but unfounded stories have him stealing deer, joining a group of traveling players, becoming a schoolteacher, or serving as a soldier in the Low Countries.
wrote derogatorily of him on his deathbed.
In 1594, having probably composed, among other plays, Richard III, The Comedy of Errors, and The Taming of the Shrew, he became an actor and playwright for the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, which became the King’s Men after James I’s ascension in 1603. The company grew into England’s finest, in no small part because of Shakespeare, who was its principal dramatist.
and the best theater, the Globe, which was located on the Thames’ south bank.
By 1596, the company had performed the classic Shakespeare plays Romeo and Juliet, Richard II, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. That year, John Shakespeare was granted a coat of arms, a testament to his son’s growing wealth and fame.
he became a partner in the ownership of the Globe Theatre.
In a million words written over 20 years, he captured the full range of human emotions and conflicts with a precision that remains sharp today. As his great contemporary the poet and dramatist Ben Jonson said, “He was not of an age, but for all time.”
The popular statement, " From here to
Timbuktu." conjures up images of remote, isolated and distant parts
of this earth. Very few people are aware of this ancient city's location,
and fewer still ascribe any kind of civilization to this historic area.
Timbuktu is located in the western African nation of Mali at the edge
of the sahara.
The historic town of Timbuktu is located at the precise point where the
Niger flows northward into the southern edge of the desert. As a result
of its unique geographical position, Timbuktu has been a natural meeting
point of Songhai, Wangara,Fulani, Tuareg and Arabs. According to the inhabitants
of Timbuku, gold came from the south, the salt from the north and the
Divine knowledge, from Timbuktu. Timbuktu is also the cross-road where
"the camel met the canoe." It is to this privilege position
that the city owes much of its historical dynamism. From the 11th century
and onward, Timbuktu became an important port where goods from West Africa
and North Africa were traded.
Goods coming the Mediterranean shores and salt were traded in Timbuktu
for gold. The prosperity of the city attracted both black scholars, blacks
merchants and Arabs traders from North Africa. Salt, books and gold were
very much in demand at that time.
he first constructions in Timbuktu were designed by African architects
from Djenne and later on by Muslim architects from North Africa. Trade
and knowledge were at their height.
Timbuktu became a celebrated center of Islamic learning
and a commercial establishment. Timbuktu had three universities and 180
Quranic schools. These universities were the Sankore University, Jingaray
Ber University and Sidi Yahya University. This was the golden
age of Africa. Books were not only written in Timbuktu, but they were
also imported and copied there. There was an advanced local book copying
industry in the city. The universities and private libraries contained
unparalleled scholarly works. The famous scholar of Timbuktu Ahmad Baba
who was among those forcibly exiled in Morocco claimed that his library
of 1600 books had been plundered, and that his library, according to him,
was one of the smaller in the city.
The booming economy of Timbuktu attracted the attention of the Emperor
of Mali, Mansa Mussa (1307-1332) also known as “Kan Kan Mussa.”
He captured the city in 1325. As a Muslim, Mansa Mussa was impressed with
the Islamic legacy of Timbuktu. On his return from Mecca, Mansa Mussa
brought with him an Egyptian architect by the name of Abu Es Haq Es Saheli.
The Emperor also brought Arabs scholars to Timbuktu. To his great surprise,
the Emperor has found that these scholars are underqualified compared
to the black scholars of Timbuktu
Mansa Mussa's pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324 had made Mali known worldwide.
The great rulertook 60,000 porters with him. Each porter carried 3 kilograms
of pure gold, that is, 180,000 kilograms or at least 180 tons of gold
(Reference: Volume IV UNESCO General History of Africa, pages 197-200).
He had so much gold with him that when he stopped in Egypt, the Egyptian
currency lost its value and as result, the name of Mali and Timbuktu appeared
on the 14th century world map.
As a result, Rome's culture still has an impact in the Western world today. The basis for much of Western culture comes from Ancient Rome, especially in areas such as government, engineering, architecture, language, and literature.
This meant that Rome's leaders, such as senators, were elected officials that served for a limited amount of time, not kings who were born into leadership and ruled for life. They had a complex government with written laws, a constitution, and a balance of powers. These concepts became very important in forming future democratic governments, like the United States.
split Rome into two empires. One was the Western Roman Empire and was ruled out of the city of Rome. The other was the Eastern Roman Empire and was ruled out of Constantinople (today's Istanbul in Turkey). The Eastern Roman Empire would become known as Byzantium or the Byzantine Empire.
The fall of Rome generally refers to the fall of the Western Roman Empire. It fell in 476 AD
Colosseum and the Roman Forum.
Circus Maximus, a huge stadium built for chariot races, could seat around 150,000 people.
A monastery was a building, or buildings, where people lived and worshiped, devoting their time and life to God.
The people who lived in the monastery were called monks. The monastery was self contained, meaning everything the monks needed was provided by the monastery community. They made their own clothes and grew their own food. They had no need for the outside world. This way they could be somewhat isolated and could focus on God. There were monasteries spread throughout Europe during the Middle Ages.
only people in the Middle Ages who knew how to read and write. They provided education to the rest of the world.
Take politics for example: apart from the word itself (from polis, meaning city-state or community) many of the other basic political terms in our everyday vocabulary are borrowed from the ancient Greeks: monarchy, aristocracy, tyranny, oligarchy and - of course - democracy.
There's a theory that the word demokratia was coined by democracy's enemies, members of the rich and aristocratic elite who did not like being outvoted by the common herd, their social and economic inferiors.
By the time of Aristotle (fourth century BC) there were hundreds of Greek democracies. Greece in those times was not a single political entity but rather a collection of some 1,500 separate poleis or 'cities' scattered round the Mediterranean and Black Sea shores 'like frogs around a pond', as Plato once charmingly put it.
cities that were not democracies
power was in the hands of the few richest citizens
monarchies, called 'tyrannies' in cases where the sole ruler had usurped power by force rather than inheritanc
most stable,
most long-lived,
most radical, was Athens.
origin of the Athenian democracy of the fifth and fourth centuries can be traced back to Solon,
flourished
600 BC.
was a poet and a wise statesman
but not - contrary to later myth - a democrat.
Solon's constitutional reform package that laid the basis on which democracy could be pioneered
Cleisthenes was the son of an Athenian, but the grandson and namesake of a foreign Greek tyrant
also the brother-in-law of the Athenian tyrant, Peisistratus,
eized power three times
before finally establishing a stable and apparently benevolent dictatorship.
Interesting insight on the beginning of democracy.
nder this political system that Athens successfully resisted the Persian onslaughts of 490 and 480/79
victory in turn encouraged the poorest Athenians to demand a greater say in the running of their city
Ephialtes and Pericles presided over a radicalisation of power that shifted the balance decisively to the poorest sections of society
he democratic Athens that won and lost an empire,
built the Parthenon,
eschylus, Sophocles,
Euripides and Aristophanes
laid the foundations of western rational and critical thought
was not, of course, without internal critics
when Athens had been weakened by the catastrophic Peloponnesian War (431-404) these critics got their chance
n 411 and again in 404 Athenian oligarchs led counter-revolutions that replaced democracy with extreme oligarchy
oligarchs were supported by Athens's old enemy, Sparta
mpossible to maintain themselves in power
democracy was restored
'blips' such as the trial of Socrates - the restored Athenian democracy flourished stably and effectively for another 80 years
There were no proper population censuses in ancient Athens,
total population of fifth-century Athens, including its home territory of Attica, at around 250,000 - men, women and children, free and unfree, enfranchised and disenfranchised. Of those
250,000 some 30,000 on average were fully paid-up citizens -
adult males of Athenian birth and full status
second key difference is the level of participation.
representative
we choose politicians to rule for us
Athenian
democracy
was direct
and in-your-face.
most officials and all jurymen were selected by lot.
This was thought to be the democratic way, since election favoured the rich, famous and powerful over the ordinary citizen.
mid fifth century, office holders, jurymen, members of the city's main administrative Council of 500, and even Assembly attenders were paid a small sum from public funds to compensate them for time spent on political service away from field or workshop.
eligibility
adult male citizens need apply for the privileges and duties of democratic government, and a birth criterion of double descent - from an Athenian mother as well as father -
Athenian democracy did not happen only in the Assembly and Council. The courts were also essentially political spaces, located symbolically right at the centre of the city.
defined the democratic citizen as the man 'who has a share in (legal) judgment and office'.
Athenian drama,
was a fundamentally political activity as well,
One distinctively Athenian democratic practice that aroused the special ire of the system's critics was the practice of ostracism -
potsherd
rom the Greek word for
decide which leading politician should be exiled for ten years
on a piece of broken pottery.
voters scratched or painted the name of their preferred candidate
6,000 citizens had to 'vote' for an ostracism to be valid,
biggest
political
risked being fried
For almost 100 years ostracism fulfilled its function of aborting serious civil unrest or even civil war
Power to the people, all the people, especially the poor majority, remained the guiding principle of Athenian democracy.
The law followed in a feudal court was largely based on old Germanic customs. The court did not act in the public interest, as with us, but waited until the plaintiff requested service. Moreover, until the case had been decided, the accuser and the accused received the same treatment. Both were imprisoned; and the plaintiff who lost his case suffered the same penalty which the defendant, had he been found guilty, would have undergone.
The burden of proof lay on the accused, who had to clear himself of the charge, if he could do so.
Ordeals, however, formed a method of appealing to God, the results of which could be immediately observed. A common form of ordeal was by fire. The accused walked barefoot over live brands, or stuck his hand into a flame, or carried a piece of red-hot iron for a certain distance. In the ordeal by hot water he plunged his arm into boiling water. A man established his innocence through one of these tests, if the wound healed properly after three days. The ordeal by cold water rested on the belief that pure water would reject the criminal. Hence the accused was thrown bound into a stream: if he floated he was guilty; if he sank he was innocent and had to be rescued. Though a crude method of securing justice, ordeals were doubtless useful in many instances. The real culprit would often prefer to confess, rather than incur the anger of God by submitting to the test and ordeals.