The rise of democracy

Assembly

A group of citizens in an ancient Greek democracy with the power to pass laws.

Citizen

A member of a democracy, who has certain rights and responsibilities.

Aristocrat

A member of the most powerful class in Ancient Greek society

Monarch

A single ruler, such as a king, or queen, or emperor, who holds all the power in a country or empire.

Democracy: All citizens share Power

Around 500 BCE, the people of Athens decided to try governing themselves. They developed democracy, or " rule by the people." In a democracy, all citizens share in the ruling power. Ancient Greek democracy was different from democracy today. The government of Athens was a direct democracy. In this type of government, every citizen can vote on every issue. Unlike Athens, the united states is a representative Democracy. In this type of government, people vote for representatives who decide issues in their name. How did democracy work in Athens? the city had an Assembly, or lawmaking group. Any free man could speak in the Assembly and vote on a new law or a proposal to go to war. Free men also ran the city's day to day business. Not all greeks believes that democracy was a good type of government. Powerful speakers sometimes persuaded ordinary citizens to vote unwisely. Often the Assembly reversed important decisions after just a few weeks. Because of problems like these, most city states returned to earlier forms of government, such as dictatorship and oligarchies. By the idea that people should rule themselves would survive. In time, the ideal democracy would become one of the great gifts of ancient greece to the modern world.

Intro

Because settlements were separated from each other, they developed in different ways. One important way was how they governed themselves. In this chapter, you will learn how ancient Greek communities tried different forms of government. The ancient Greeks knew they had many things in common. For example, they all spoke the same language. But they didn't think of themselves as one country. Instead, every Greek identified with a hometown that he or she called " the city." the city included both a settlement and its surrounding farmland. Most greeks were fiercely proud of their cities. Each city had it own laws, its own army, and its own money. Most important, each city had its own form of government. For this reason, ancient Greek cities are called city-states. You will discover why unhappiness with one form of rule led the greeks to try another.

Oligarchy: a few people share the power

By 800 BCE most greek city states were ruled by small group of wealthy men. These men were called Oligarchs, from a greek word that means "few." Oligarch: one of several people who rule a country or empire together, sharing the power. In an oligarchy, the ruling power is in the hands of a few people. Most Greek oligarchs were aristocrats, men who had inherited land from their families. A few were wealthy merchants. Compared to the poor, oligarchs had very comfortable lives. They spent their days hunting and taking part in chariot races. In the evenings, they lay on couches and drank wine. They had parties where slaves and hired professionals entertained guests with music, dance, and acrobatics. Meanwhile, the poor had to work all day in the fields. The hardworking poor saw the difference between their lived and the easy lives of the wealthy, and they thought it was very unfair. To make matters worse, the oligarchs ignored the needs of most of the people. They passed laws the poor didn't like, and they used the army to force people to obey them. Many of their laws protected and increased their own wealth. In some city states, oligarchs passed laws forcing farmers to sell themselves into slavery if they couldn't pay their debts. Under the oligarchs, the rich became richer while the poor became poorer. Many people who weren't wealthy eventually came to hate the oligarchs. Eventually the poor turned to leaders who promised to improve their lives. Backed by the people, they used their soldiers to throw the oligarchs out of power.

Tyranny: one person Takes power by force

During the mid 600s BCE, people in many Greek city states turned to men who promises to change the government. The men who forced the oligarchs out of power were called tyrants. In a tyranny, the ruling power is in the hands of one person who isn't a lawful king. A tyranny is different from a monarchy in 2 ways. First, a tyrant cannot claim that he has a legal right to rule. Secondly, a tyrant's son doesn't usually inherit his father's power. Tyrants usually took and kept control by force. But that doesn't mean they were always unpopular. Most Greek tyrants were military leaders who gained support of the people by promising them more rights. And once they were in control, many greek tyrants ruled well. They made changes that helped the poor. Some canceled the debts of poor farmers. others were hostile towards aristocrats and may have taken away their land. Other tyrants, thought, didn't use their power to help the people. Hippias, the last tyrant in the city state of Athens. is one example. Along with his brother, Hipparchus, Hippias ruled well at first. Then two enemies of the brothers murdered Hipparchus. After that, Hippias ruled more harshly. He paid spies to report anyone who criticized him. As his rule became more and more unbearable, he was finally forced to leave power. Soon Athens would try another form of government, one that shared the power among all citizens. Tyrant is a person who seized power illegally.

Monarchy: one person inherits power.

From about 2000 to 800 BCE most Greek city states were ruled by a monarch, or king. In a monarchy, the ruling power is in the hands on one person, usually a king. Greek settlements didn't have queens. At first, Greek kings were chosen by the people of a city state. When the king died, another leader was selected to take his place. Eventually though, kings demanded that their power go to their children after their death, usually the oldest son. Ina monarchy, then, rulers inherit their power. Kings of ancient Greece had many powers. They made laws and acted as judges. They conducted religious ceremonies. They even led armies during wars. They used armed soldiers to punish people who disobeyed the law or didn't pay their taxes. Kings had councils of aristocrats to advise them. The words aristocrat is formed from a Greek word that means "best." To the Greeks, the "best" people were wealthy men who has inherited large pieces of land. At first, council of aristocrats had no real power. But kings depended upon aristocrats for help during wars, since only the wealthy could afford horses and armor. The aristocrats soon realized that, as a group, they were stronger than the king. They wanted a share in the king's power. In some city states, aristocrats insisted that the king should be elected instead of inheriting his crown. Then., they said the king could rule for only a certain amount of years. Eventually, aristocrats in most city-states overthrew the monarchy and took the power for themselves. By 800 BCE, kings no longer ruled most of the city states. Agesilaus II was king of the city-state of Sparta