Key principles of democracy The term democracy indicates a form of government where all the state's decisions are exercised directly or indirectly by a majority of its citizenry through a fair elective process. When these factors are met a government can be classified as such. This can apply to a multitude of government systems as these concepts transcend and often occur concomitantly with other types. The word democracy originates from the Greek δημοκρατíα from δημος meaning "the people," plus κρατειν meaning "to rule," and the suffix íα; the term therefore means "rule by the people." The term 'democracy'—or more precisely, the original (ancient Greek) version of the word—was coined in ancient Athens in the 5th century BC.
It was a group of democratic city-states. Since Athenians were already democratic they decided to let Athens be the capital of Greece and run government issues. Once Athenians start to tax other city-states Sparta grows weary of the Athenians rule. This is what started the Peloponnesian Wars between Athens and Sparta (other city –states also helped). Now just like in the first war Sparta couldn’t do it alone; so they asked the Persians to help conquer Athens.
In Athens, Greece, Aristotle was a Greek philosopher who wrote a book called Politics, describing the laws and the type of government the people of Athens lived under in 350 B.C. These two ancient civilizations were 1,430 years apart from each other. In those 1,430 years, one can conclude that politics and laws would have advanced since the time of Babylon. By the time of Aristotle, the Greek laws were far less harsher than those of Babylon. In the Code of Hammurabi, used in Mesopotamia, almost every law that was broken was punishable by death.
In his commentary of Xenophon’s ‘Hellenica’, George Carkwell argues that Sparta originally lost her power from 394 BC, after the naval victory of the Persian and Greek fleet. The combined Persian and Greek fleet was under the command of the Athenian Conon and Pharnabazus. They defeated the Spartan navy led by Pisander. Following this significant defeat, Spartan ‘harmosts’ were expelled through the Aegean and this led to the Lacedaemonian maritime empire being virtually
The Persians and the Medes appeared in the region east of Mesopotamia around 1300 BCE. Cyrus II united the Persian tribes and overthrew the Median monarch around 550 BCE. He placed the Persians and the Medes in positions of responsibility and retained the frameworks of the Median monarchy. From then, Cyrus, founder of the Persian Empire, ruled as the revered king and conqueror. The Roman Empire had a very different foundation from the Persian’s monarch grounds.
The city of Sparta was empowered by two kings and was run through a hereditary monarchy during the early 9th Century BC and onwards. The dynasty was continued by a Spartan Kings eldest son. However, even though the kings reigned in superiority, they themselves had limitations and privileges. Despite this, a Spartan King had several important roles which made them an essential part of the Spartan society. These included religious, military and judicial roles.
“Cheat Sheet” Key Points of Philosophers, Political Thinkers, and Leaders Key Documents in the Evolution of Democracy Direct democracy was established in Athens, Greece, between 508 B.C.-404 B.C. Citizens voted directly for laws. Plato (b. 428 B.C.) 1.
Alexander assumed throne during the rising of Greece, and its expanding culture. When he became king the Persian Empire was already weakening, and the Greeks had become Persian soldiers, traders and doctors. Alexander also had personal trainer (Phillip of Macedon) who helped him set the base of his foundation as king. Phillip habituated
There were many poleis during the 5th century in Greece, but there were only two of which were the main dominant powers: democratic Athens and the military oligarchy of Sparta. Greek culture achieved prominence through these two poleis. Athens and Sparta desired to be a strong nation and achieved that through very different ways of life. The Spartans’ focus was directed towards the military, while the Athenians were more interested in their wellbeing and culture. The US constitution can be compared to government models of Athens and Sparta.
Greece had Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle. Rome had Marcus Aurelius and Marcus Tullius “Cicero”. Originally Athens had been ruled by kings. Later they held an oligarchy and then held a democracy where the Greek people could vote for their rulers (Gill). In Greece each