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In the United States and other parts of the world, we have the right to vote for people we believe in and it's our responsibility. Being apart of a process where your options count is the definition to a political system known as democracy. Back in ancient times, the world was mainly ruled by tyrants and kings. It's clear how different the idea of democracy actually is. But where did democracy originated? In this essay, I will talk about the beginnings of democracy in Ancient Greece and when the first examples of democracy occurred, how it developed into a true form of democracy, and why democracy is important.
Back in Ancient times, the world was run in a different way. One form of an extreme political system is Monarchy, which is Greek for ‘rule by one’ and this position is usually inherited within a family. Greek city-states were oligarchie, but around the 5th century BC in the Greek city-state of Athens, Greek pioneers set up an experiment of direct democracy, rather than having a representative democracy. This city state was one of “the first recorded and most important democracies in ancient times” (Cartledge, 2018). I believe that the citizens of Athens wanted to try something new because they didn't agree with the forms of political systems. By having the villages of Athens and the city-state as a whole, the community became increasingly more important to the leaders. They believed the citizens should have the power, but with some expectations. The people really did like this new system, but during this time, the citizens were adult men.
Not everyone who lived in Athens were considered citizens. The women, slaves, and children Athens were not considered citizens and therefore could not participate or vote. I think that the women of Athens at the time should of had the ability to participate in voting. These women could of made Athens a better society, but we have to consider that these were ancient times. Furthermore, every year, there was a drawing of five hindered names that were drawn from a group of citizens of Athens. These five hundred names were part of the Council of 500 and it was part of a body of government. During their one year term, they had the responsibility of creating new laws and adjusting the new laws to their current standards. Nothing they did became a law until the citizens, all adult males, had their chance to participate in voting yes or no. Once the date was posted, citizens had to attend an assembly on the day the vote was taken.
Within the final votes, the majority number of votes ruled. According to history, ancient Athens had the direct form of democracy where all citizens vote on the rules and laws that lasted for roughly one hundred years. Their experiment with direct democracy came to an end after Athens lost a war with Sparta, known as the Peloponnesian War. For a small period of time, Arthens was ruled by a small group of Spartans.
Furthermore, democracy was developed thanks to the ancient Greeks. They were the first to create the government form of democracy. The word democracy is a Greek word that means people (demos) and rule (kratos). From 460 BCE to 320 BCE, the Athens started to use their own version of a political system. Other Greek allies and colonies began to copy their form of democracy. Depending on the population during the period of Athens, any male citizen of Athen could participate in the main democratic body of Athens. Once they were voted in, thanks to the male citizens, they were to meet at least once a month on the Pnyx Hill.
The Pnyx Hill is located in central Athens. The Athenians began to gather in the hill and host their meetings. The Pnyx Hill is considered to be one of the most “most important sites in the creation of democracy” (Greeka, 2019). A simple rise of the hand was the from that any citizen to speak to the assembly and vote. I find it interesting to see how easy it was to vote on something but just raising the hand, unlike today where there is a whole process in order for someone to vote. Those who vote today, at least in the United States, people don’t reveal who they voted for. The final decision was made by the most votes. Within these meetings, nine presidents (proedroi) were elected and they were held in office for one time only. Other issues were also discussed in the assembly. They made decisions in control of the military and finance. If there was a situation where a citizen were to become too powerful and dangerous for the Polis, the assembly could vote to avoid this. A ‘Polis’ is a structure of a community in Ancient Greece. It is translated as ‘city-state’ and was built on a natural acropolis.
The smaller body of government in Athens, the boulē, decided and proposed on what topic needed to be discussed in the assembly. The people within the boulē were 500 who were chosen by voting. In times of crisis and war, the boulē can make decisions without the assembly meeting. Participation was encouraged and in certain periods, the attendance in the assembly was paid for. This was a measure to motivate citizens who lived far away and could not afford the time off to attend. I far as I can tell, the assembly played a major role in making decisions and voting for certain things. It was like the House of Representatives or The Senate that is known as today in the United States.
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