Athens experienced significant changes and developments during the 5th century BC as a result of the Persian Wars. The noticeable rise to power of Athens as being the hegemon of the Delian League, which was referred to as The Athenians and their Allies during the fifth century, sparked their control of the powerful Athenian Empire. Athens peak in political, economic and cultural concepts highlighted their dominance and growing influence over the Greek city-states, consequently resulting in their democratic reforms. The increased status of thetes had an impact on the modifications of the Athenian government systems. The influence of certain individuals, including, Solon, Cleisthene, Ephialtes and Pericles, introduced ostracism, redeveloped citizenship laws, and weakened the …show more content…
Understanding the foundations of democracy will allow for a greater knowledge of why these democratic reforms occurred. The three archons and six additional officials called thesmothetae were elected to become the dominant political force in the polis. A fragment of an inscription broken from a large marble block is engraved with a list of archons of Athens, providing archaeological evidence that inscribes influential chief magistrates such as Miltiates, the commander of the battle of Marathon, and Cleisthenes, the later initiator of certain democratic reforms. The three chief magistrates included, the archon polemarch who was the supreme military commander, the archon basileus who was responsible for religious functions, and the archon eponymous who was in charge of civil administrations. Each were responsible for different specific functions that supported the control of the Athenian Empire by establishing laws and policies that further initiated the democratic reforms of Athens. The recently
When the Persian menace faded, some city-states attempted to leave the Delian league due to the exorbitant "membership fees," but Athens refused and attacked them. So, at the start of the Delian league, everything was bright and all the city-states were equal. After a while, all of the power and financial resources transferred to Athens, and the league was governed as if it were one of their manageable sponsors. All of this contributed to Athens becoming a powerful city-state and ushering in the Golden Age. The more powerful Athens became, the more enemies it
Was ancient Athens truly democratic? Democracy is a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state. I do not believe that in the 4th to 5th century BCE ancient Athen were democratic for many reasons.
The economy of Ancient Athens went through many changes throughout their ancient history. Their economy evolved from a mostly subsistence economy in 7th century B.C. to primarily a trade based economy in 5th century B.C. The Athenian political leader Solon implemented many economic reforms during his reign, many which were intended consolidate the lower and middle class farmers in Athens. Eventually Athens power economy would thrive leading to a high standard of living for Athenian civilians, due in large part to Athen’s strong navy, trade with other civilizations around the Mediterranean, discovery of the Silver mines, and their control of the Delian league. Solon was a political leader that implemented many economic reforms while he was
In Ancient Greece,four reformers changed they way Athens lived their daily lives. Their names were Draco, Solon, Peisistratus, and Cleisthenes. The reformer that believed to have put the most positive impact onto the Athenian government is Peisistratus, the mentee of Solon. Peisistratus was known as the champion of the poor for all he did and the new reforms and laws Peisistratus added on to their government. He gave the poor jobs so they had a way to make some money for them to provide for themselves and reduce taxation, which have helped a lot for most.
According to Brand (n.d.): Athens and Sparta societies are two of the most successful and influential city-state of Ancient Greece. While Athens has a democratic, Sparta on the other hand ruled in the oligarchic structured political system. Attica cultivated the Athenian society as Peloponnesian Peninsula, set as the birth of Spartan community. Athenian society beyond being a democratic government, class-based system is present.
One of the most important results of the Peloponnesian Wars was the beginning of philosophy. After the Peloponnesian Wars ended people came up with new ideas about life and what it consisted of. These concepts altered the way many people lived and caused great conflict among Athenians. As different opinions were being formed the word was being spread throughout more people, leading to a movement that changed Greek society completely. When people began forming new ideas and philosophies it started to cause a rift between the citizens and introduced new traditions to open the doors for rational thought and reasoning.
The high tide of Athenian democracy came under the leadership of the statesman Pericles. Under the leadership of Pericles, Athens became the most sophisticated of the poleis, with a vibrant community of scientists, philosophers, poets, dramatists, artists, and
The Delian League was originally formed in 476 BCE as an offensive and defensive alliance against Persia during the Greco-Persian Wars. The League consisted of Greek states that would pay tribute to Athens in order to maintain the Athenian fleet and protect the city-states (Viscusi). Meanwhile, during this time, Pericles gained more influence over the people as the leader of the democratic faction, after the issues with Cimon regarding Sparta. The situation would lead to Cimon’s ostracization and cause greater rivalries between Athens and Sparta (Eddy). Because of this, Pericles gained control and used the League’s treasury to benefit Athens instead of its original purposes, by introducing measures to enhance the city.
The ephors were made up of five members and was very influential. It could be said that this was the most powerful branch of the government. They carried out the legislative, judicial, financial, and executive duties. They were elected annually by the assembly and any qualified adult male Sparta could stand in for election. Finally there was the Demos or the assembly of the
Government is arguably the most complex and most controversial topics in the world. Governments are constantly changing to fit the needs of the modern world. Look at the U.S., we must constantly change what worked for our founding fathers in order to keep our modern society stable. Every government decided on their personal criteria during their creation. My criteria are a collection from the best parts from the most efficient governments in history.
Each Polis had a patron deity and was named after their patron deity, Athens’s deity being the Goddess of Wisdom and of War, Athena. Athens was one of the largest city-states in Greece, the city-state that came second to Athens being Sparta, but it is one of the most well-known city-states due to having features of its own that were not seen in any other city-states and one other feature that it gave us that is still present today, known as Democracy. An example of one of these distinctive features, according to Polis, was introduced during the classical period, “In about 508-507 B.C., Cleisthenes prevented Athenian aristocrats from controlling the assembly by limiting citizenship” (“Polis”, 1998). By doing this, citizenship was no longer controlled by the rich, making it easier to become a part of Athenian society. But Cleisthenes did not stop there, proposing even more reforms, as according to Polis, “He also instituted the Council of 500, whose members were chosen by lot from male citizens 30 years of age or older” (“Polis”, 1998).
Not only did Athenians have freedom, but at a certain time, they had exceptional power for the city. Over a few centuries, Athens became one of the wealthiest and most powerful city-states in Greek due to its growth of overseas trade. Also, because of the large fertile land making Athens become the producer and exporter of wine and oil. However, with all this wealth came social and political issues, usually between the wealthy aristocrats, who are descendants of the Athenian families that had ruled the city-state. Due to one of these issues, democracy was instituted.
The concept of leadership was prevalent in the ancient world. It had a place in the way the people of ancient times governed their lives. Greece, and especially Athens, is the cradle of democracy in the western civilization. Athens owes the first penal and civil law code to Draco. An outstanding statesman and poet called Solon acted in Athens at the same time as Draco.
It was a leading commercial center. This led to both economic and military strength. The Persian War also radicalized Athenian politics, which resulted in the growth of democracy. Democracy had grown over time in Athens” (Week 2: Section 7: Athenian Democracy).
His exaggerated description of the Athenian government shows how people perceived the city-state at its height. By saying that the Athenian political structure “does not enter into the rivalry with the institutions of others” and that “[Athens is] an example to them”, he is encouraging the citizens to believe that democracy is the one true form of government (Thucydides, 37). Although there were other forms of government, including Sparta’s oligarchical government, it seems that the Athenians believed their form of government was the best. This provoked surrounding city-states to implement democratic aspects. Democracy began to spread more and more throughout the western world, and although many countries have shifted between democracy and other forms of government, the basis for democracy that Athens laid continues to influence the modern