Athenians were the first ones to give power to someone who they think will actually be good for that job, and not simply due to noble blood or force. Athenian democracy was also the first to emphasize individualism. It was the idea that the job should be given to the best. After the Persian war a man named Pericles ruled Athens. He created what is known today as direct democracy where you specifically pick your leaders as it differs from Rome’s republic where you elect people to represent you.
Paper 3 “1” In Ancient Greece there was the Spartans and the Athenians. The Spartans had a oligarchy type of government while the Athenians had a democracy type of government. The Athenians democratic government was decently equal and pretty advanced for its time. During this time war was popular, but Athens decided to focus more on comfort and civilization then their military. Sparta put a military attitude in its society and made it the first priority to have a powerful army.
A Spartan's life was centered on the state, because they lived and died to serve the state. Although the competing city-states of Sparta and Athens were individually different as well as governmentally diverse, they both managed to become dominating powers in Ancient Greece. The political power of Athens is based on economic power. Democracy is based on middle class economic power. In slow evolution towards democracy, as their trade increased, Athenian craftsmen and merchants had enough money to purchase their own weapons.
The Spartans were really close to them on the other hand, this led to them having an open shot to Athens with little in their way. The Athenians had ships, but that didn’t stop Lysander from get into Athens and ending the war. xxii. The conflict after the war was mainly caused by the amount of power that the Spartans had. It caused Persia to help Athens for freedom and it also caused the city-states to revolt from Spartan control.
There were three different regime in ancient Greek society. Firstly, Sparta maintained a strong militaristic regime under aristocratic leadership. However, they had weak trading activities and merchants were managing by some milirary rules. Secondly, Athens the most famous city-state, was about the size of the state of Rhode Island. Athens ruled
The Greeks and Romans were two strong societies that brought great things to the Mediterranean. These two societies although always thought to be the same, were far more different than alike in a number of ways from the way they lived to how they treated women. The Roman society adopted many things from the Greeks, but always adding their own beliefs or style. One difference was the styles of governing. The Greeks were a democratic society, believing that the power should be given to a group of men instead of only a single leader.
He does not narrow it down to what we might call ‘civil servants’ but also includes people who have to perform jury duties, take part in assemblies etcetera. According to Aristotle his definition of citizenship works best in a democracy because that form of constitution offers enough public functions, and thus enough chances, to become a citizen. Aristotle realizes very well that although this point of view would work very well in his home polis of Athens, it would not work at all in e.g. Sparta where taking part in public office had a more ad hoc character. To overcome this Aristotle changes his basic rules.
Much is discussed of what ‘the good life’ is to Aristotle: to achieve happiness and pursue virtue. The polis, or Greek city-state, according to Aristotle, is the highest form of political association. Only by being a citizen of a polis can a person fully pursue a life of good quality, which is the end goal of human existence. In the excerpts from Book 3, Aristotle begins by defining the state and the citizen. He then describes various forms of government, arguing that any form of government is vulnerable to corruption, which prevents the government from advancing the public good.
Greece had the first known democracy. The Greeks affected many of our current constitutional rights. In both the US democracy and the Athenian democracy where political power can be exercised by the citizens. Pericles had three goals, to Strengthen Democracy, Hold strength in the empire, and to glorify Athens. Pericles stated that he wanted all citizens to have an equal opportunity to serve the public.
Since the foundation of democracy is based upon the concept of a government that is created by the people to serve the people, the range of participants must not be limited by factors such as social class. In “Pericles’ Funeral Oration,” Thucydides describes Athenian democracy by asserting that their “constitution is called a democracy because power is in the hands not of a minority but of the whole people,” (73). While the wealthy upper class of historical societies have always been dominant in swaying society to their will, democracy serves to make sure that the interests of everyone else have just as much pertinence when it comes to politics. Although elites may believe that the poor should not have a say because their agenda will serve to bring society down, if someone is contributing or wishes to contribute to