Throughout history, the concept of democracy has gone through radical transformations and changes. Democracy originated in Ancient Greece, Athenian democracy is generally considered the first reference of classical democracy. The emergence of democracy is usually related to Cleisthenes’ constitution of Athens, which came into existence in 508/7 BC. A specified description of it was given by historians as Herodotus (484?–425 BC), Thucydides (460–395 BC), Plato (428–348 BC), Aristotle (384–322 BC), and Plutarch (45–125). Its main feature was the great participation by citizens in political life and their active work in the three branches of power.
In the People’s Assembly, regular meetings were held to discuss the most important questions. Large juries responsible primarily for important political missions like evaluating the legality of actions,-particularly of the Assembly- would meet almost every day. In addition, 700 magistrates were given important powers. Almost all Athenian officials were selected for one-year terms. Moreover, they were selected from the citizenry by drawing lots. Elections were considered an attribute of oligarchy and were avoided as much as possible.[Hansen 1991].
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The reasons behind introducing political elements of participation by the people were to provide social consensus and stabilize the state on one hand. Since Athens had witnessed the rule of both aristocracy and oligarchy, tyrannies both good and bad, and political confusion with disloyalty, foreign interventions. In a continuous state of war with neighbors and constant struggle for power, neither regime provided political or economic stability. Athenian leaders successively introduced elements of political participation by the people to enhance people's consent and in an attempt to stabilize the state.
On the other hand, Athens had great lawmakers and philosophers. The laws of Solon of 594 BC became the basis of the Athenian state for centuries and together with Cleisthenes’ constitution gave the inspiration for the first Roman law of the Twelve Tables of 450 BC which became the basis of the constitution of the Roman Republic. [Twelve Tables 2012]. The Athenian intellectuals influenced political thought which made democracy also became a political ideology [Hansen 1991, pp. 73–74].
The Athenian philosophers, such as Plato and Aristotle, have written about politics. Aristotle even wrote about the first-ever mathematical model of social decision making with which he illustrated the rationale of democracy and distinguished it from aristocracy and oligarchy.
As mentioned Cleisthenes’ democratic constitution is considered the first step to Athens' democracy by which democracy emerged in Athens in 508/7 BC. However, the path to democracy was not straight nor easy: The history shows gradual steps introducing democratic elements one by one.
About 100 years ago, in the 7th century BC, Athens was ruled by magistrates formed by eupatridai (‘well born’), that is, the top clans. The most important questions were discussed in the Areopagus, an aristocratic council of elders with great political, juridical, supervisory, and religious powers. All the Areopagites were archons (‘rulers’, holders of the highest magistrates; the word has the same meaning as hierarchy, monarchy, oligarchy, anarchy, etc) [Aristotle 330 BC, Athenian Constitution, 3.1].
As crimes increased due to the big gap between the rich and the poor resulting from unequal economic development, and in order to keep social order, Draco (ca. 650– 600 BC) was selected to compile Athens’ first written code of law in 621 BC.
Moreover, Aristotle mentions that Draco introduced the Citizen’s Assembly, the Council of Four Hundred—distinct from the Areopagus —which became the aristocratic prototype of Cleisthenes’ democratic Council of Five Hundred.
The importance of Draco’s laws should not be underestimated. Previously, the oral laws had been known exclusively to eupatridai who had arbitrarily explained and applied them. Now all the laws were written to become popular with all. More importantly, the aristocrats lost their legislative and juridical monopoly because the laws became obligatory for all. Thus, the rule of law was established which is the most important character of democracy.
However, enslavement for debt increased social tensions, and reducing crimes was unsuccessful. Consequently, in 594 BC Archon Solon (ca. 638–558 BC) was empowered to find a better social compromise.
The laws of Solon came into existence and remained in force until the abolishment of democracy in 322 BC by the Macedonians [Hansen 1991, pp. 30–31]. Solon terminated enslavement for debt and gave freedom to those enslaved. He continued with different political, economic, and moral reforms. The idea of the reforms was to provide different incentives for enterprising foreigners including attaining Athenian citizenship. The election became dependent on wealth instead of birth. While the highest magistrates could only be held by members of the topmost of four property classes: pentacosiomedimni—men worth 500 measures of agricultural produce; hippies—knights, worth 300–500 measures; zeugitae— owners of a yoke of oxen, worth 200–300 measures; and thetes—day laborers and in the case of archons, of the top two. Under these rules, the offices were distributed by lot and, compared to Draco’s regulations, on a larger scale, allowing a greater chance to lower ranks for participation in ruling state's issues.
The major constitutional innovation was the way members were appointed to the Council of Four Hundred; this entirely changed its nature. Instead of selection by lot from the whole of the citizenry as in Draco’s regulation, Solon prescribed drawing a hundred members from each of the four tribes, allowing for proportional representation. In addition, under the new criteria of eligibility, the Council became rather oligarchic, although still under the aristocratic watch of the Areopagus.
Another contribution to Salon was introducing measures to increase political participation, which was seen as a moral obligation. As Aristotle illustrated, Solon introduced a special law to deal with those who didn't participate illustrating that whoever when civil strife prevailed did not join was not to be a member of the state. [Aristotle 330 BC, Athenian Constitution, 8.5]
However, Many of the rich turned against Solon because of the cancelation of debts, and the poor were also discontent because they had wished for a complete redistribution of all property. Consequently, Solon’s social compromise failed because neither side was completely satisfied and, in spite of seen democratization, the social tensions were raised.
The following years witnessed the whole society fragmented into three fractions with different political ideologies. The first one was the party of the Men of the Coast, and they were thought mainly to aim at the middle form of the constitution. Another was the party of the Men of the Plain, who wanted the oligarchy; the third was the party of the Hillmen, which had appointed Peisistratos as its head, as he was considered to be an extreme advocate of the people. [Aristotle 330 BC, Athenian Constitution, 13.4–5]
Peisistratos ended the division in a coup, thus establishing an unconstitutionally gained tyranny in 561 BC. Peisistratos, the Tyrant of Athens, ruled until his death in 527 BC. Contrary to the known understanding, a tyrant- in the classical sense- was not necessarily an oppressive ruler, but literally meaning ‘one who takes power by force’. In that sense, Peisistratos ruled the Athenians without affecting the order of offices or changing the laws. He governed the city according to its established constitution and organized all things fairly and well’ [Herodotus 450–420 BC, Book 1, 59.6]. He was an advocate for the lower class, he faced the aristocracy, decreased their privileges, confiscated their lands, and redistributed them to the poor. Moreover, He also established a traveling court to serve local justice throughout the city-state.
He was seen as moderate more than tyrannical. He made many reforms to support the poor including organizing the public sector, he made special attention to the cultural life of Athens. Peisistratos was seen by [Aristotle 330 BC, Athenian Constitution,13.4] as ‘an extreme advocate of the people’ (in Kenyon’s translation ‘extreme democrat’). His tyranny was better, and more friendly than the previous legitimate governance.
After his death, his two sons-Hippias and Hipparchus, governed with the same style as their father. In 514 BC, two young aristocrats, Harmodius and his lover Aristogeiton, having been sexually insulted by Hipparchus, attempted a coup to overthrow the tyranny by killing both brothers. However, their attempt failed, only succeeded at killing Harmodius. After the unsuccessful coup, Hippias started greater repressions until he was taken into exile in 510 BC.
In 508/7 BC a democratic constitution was designed upon Cleisthenes’ initiative (Boedeker and Raaflaub 1998, Finley 1973). Its greatest innovation was taking power from the aristocrats and giving it to the common which marginalize the power of untrusted nobles. More importantly, Cleisthenes protected democracy from a new tyranny through a mechanism called ostracism [Aristotle 330 BC, Athenian Constitution, 22.1]
The final result is that after the rule of aristocracy and oligarchy, good and bad tyrants, and political confusion, all within about 100 years, Athens has finally come to democracy.
As for the origin of the term ‘democracy’, it existed in the 6th century BC[Hansen 1986, Hansen 1991, pp. 69–71]. However, the political system introduced by Cleisthenes was called isonomia (equality of political rights) and not democratic. The more aggressive word demokratia (rule of common people, or even of the low class) was first applied to Athens late in the 5th century by Herodotus: ‘Cleisthenes . . . who gave the Athenians. their democracy’[Herodotus 450–420 BC, Book 6, 131.1]. The most important goal of this constitution was to prevent political instability and to protect himself and the state from future tyranny. He attempted to increase the political participation of the people by dividing the state into ten tribes instead of four so that more may have the chance to be part of the government. Under Cleisthenes’ constitution, the Ekklesia (People’s Assembly) became the legislative body of Athens. It was the general meeting of all citizens —that is, males of Athenian origin over the age of 20[Anderson 1974, Hansen 1991, Hyland 1995]. Cleisthenes found a new organ of state, the Boule or Council of Five
Hundred. Its role was to set the agenda for the Assembly and to appoint collective magistrates from its members. The Council itself was administered by the Executive Committee of Fifty. The people’s courts — with large juries of 201, 501, and sometimes up to 5001 jurors- were charged primarily with political functions like judging the legality of actions. Thus, laying down the division of power into three branches.
However, the membership of these bodies was by selection and not election. One of the reasons for selection by lot instead of the election was the belief that elections only provide suitable results if voters share some common values, like civil virtue in the case of the aristocracy. Only some positions were by-elections like the election of military generals.
Ostracism is one of the best means introduced by this constitution aimed at preventing a new tyranny or a fraction of the state. It aimed to punish unpopular politicians, and disturbers of the peace, for ten years, however without loss of status or property.
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