Answer to Question #213835 in Sociology for NINI

Question

Discuss what is meant by democracy in ancient (Greek) times. (4)

Answer 1

The Ancient Greece Democracy

Democracy system of governance was introduced in ancient Greece in 507 B.C. It was invented by Cleisthenes, who was the leader of the Athenians. It was introduced as an arrangement of political rebuild the bore the meaning of "rule by people." The word democracy was derived from the Greece word "demokratia" (Sealey, 2021). Demo means people, and kratia means "power." From the naming itself, everyone could tell that it was a movement to enhance people's power in leadership, decision making, law & policymaking, enforcement of the law, and administering justice.

The arrangement was made up of three independent bodies. The first one was the ekklesia, a sovereign body in charge of making laws and taking control of foreign policy. The second one was the boule which was a council that consisted of representatives of the ten Athenian communities (Economou & Kyriazis, 2019). Lastly, there was the dikajia which was the court of law. This is where residents argued their disputes in the presence of jurors who were lottery-appointed.

While the Athenian “demokratia” only lasted for about two hundred years, it remains one of the most remarkable inventions that Greece has ever brought to the current world. It is from this invention where other representative governments started forming. various countries in the current world enjoy democratic leadership’s thanks to this invention by Cleisthenes, who many refer to as "The Father of Democracy."

The "demokratia" brought on board various changes in the decision-making and election of leaders. Before its invention, the people of Greece existed in two major groups, which were based on social and economic class. There were the Athenian aristocrats. This is the group that had taken the monopoly of controlling politics and decision-making. The working class and the middle class also made the defense forces, i.e., the navy and the army (Economou & Kyriazis, 2019). The "demokratia" brought about the end of this difference and the beginning of a system that made all people equal before the law.

However, this equality is limited to a small portion of the Athenian people in ancient Greece. For instant, during the 4th century, the Anthem had about one hundred thousand citizens. To have Anthem citizenship, you had to be an Athen where both your parents were Athen too. Apart from that, about ten thousand foreigners and one hundred and fifty slaves resided in the same land. Out of all that population, only men who were above eighteen years of age and were citizens of Athens were allowed to go to elections (Frey, 2017). Therefore that means only around forty thousand people out of that whole population would participate in demos. Much as the "demokratia" was a good invention and a great move, it still had a long way to go to achieve full inclusivity in equity. However, it was a significant step ahead.

 

 

 

 References

Sealey, R. (2021). 5 Demokratia. In The Athenian Republic (pp. 91-106). Penn State University Press.

Economou, E. M. N., & Kyriazis, N. C. (2019). Democracy and economy: an inseparable relationship from ancient times to today. Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

Frey, B. S. (2017). Proposals for a democracy of the future. Homo Oeconomicus, 34(1), 1-9.