The reason Sparta had so many levels of government was because they had to control and limit the kings in case they got too much power. In contrast, Athens was a democracy, which meant that it was ruled by the people. However democracy in ancient Athens was quite different from the way it is practised today. Athens was a direct democracy were every decision was made by a big group of eligible citizens in some cases there were more than 6000 citizens involved. The Athenians also had a council of 500 men called the boule.
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.
De Ste Croix believes that the “prosklema” translated by traditional scholars such as Meiggs as simple “aims” actually had an imperialistic connotation, because prosklema was a “professional aim”. This was to cover up the Athenian ambitions of having a large, powerful, active and rich alliance under its control. This would help explain why many of the actions taken by the league were imperialistic. Both Aristotle and Plutarch mention the oath taken by members and Aristotle says that it was Aristides...”who swore the oaths to the Ionians that they should have the same enemies and friends, to confirm which they sank lumps of iron in the sea”. This oath, sworn between the Athenians and allies indicated that the Athens was to be the hegemon (leader) for as long as the League continued, and the League was meant to be permanent.
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.
However it could be argued that Wilhelm II’s aims to crush socialism in response to Caprivi’s tolerance for Socialism in his years as chancellor disagree with this view as it suggests he is aiming for more of an autocratic state where he holds state control. Another notable factor which suggests Germany was a parliamentary democracy is Wilhelm II could ignore the views of the centre party; failed attempts to previously dismiss them such as the Kulturkampf were a failure because the party’s strong political views are extremely influential, and they have always had a substantial amount of seats in the party. This in turn meant the government was influenced by the parliament. However, there were many events which demonstrate the Kaiser
Athenian Democracy | | |Democracy in Athens was not perfect but it was better than other government systems around in the 5th century. Much of this| |is owed to a few key figures in Athenian history including Solon, Cleisthenes, and Pericles. Initially, Athenian democracy | |was triggered by the economic upheavals that led to Solon’s rise in the 4th century. And later by political upheaval that | |led to first, the overthrow of Pisistratus’ son, Hippias, and second, the rise of Cleisthenes based on his seeking the | |direct support of the people through demokratia. In this way, Cleisthenes moved Athens from an oligarchy to a democracy.
“Democracy; by the sword, principles and the spirit” Democracy is the form of government which derives its power from the people. Democracy came from the two Greek words Demos, ”people” and “kratos” which means power. Etymologically, it means the rule of the people. To me, the Democracy that the Ancient Athenians embraced is a Democracy of the Sword, a collective consciousness of the Ancient Athenian objection to the Socratic idea of a Philosopher King and the desire for political equality. It is apparent on how the Ancient Athenians executed Socrates after the series of attempts of his followers to destroy Democracy.
Pericles was the most prominent politician in Athens from 461 until 429 BC. He encouraged his fellow Athenians to use the tribute money the League collected to underwrite the development of Greek culture. During this time Athens was also known as the “school of Hellas.” Pericles at the time was more of a tyranny than a limited democracy. Sadly, Pericles was a victim of the plague that swept Athens at the beginning of the Peloponnesian War. During the second Persian war,
), the political and economic differences between them would make one think they were on opposite corners of the globe. Politically Athens formed into the first ever recorded example Democracy, whereas Sparta, though it contained democratic components, was primarily ruled as a Monarchial/Oligarchical society. Economically, Athens position on the coast made it a prime spot for trade with the other City-states of Greece, as well as with foreign lands with whom trade would be impossible otherwise. Athenian Marketplaces, called the Agora, were integral to everyday life for the citizens of Athens. If they weren't merchant class workers who peddled their wares at the Agora, any goods they required would be bought there.
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.