This newfound alliance initially benefited Athens. Pericles, (born c. 495 bce, Athensdied 429, Athens), Athenian statesman largely responsible for the full development, in the later 5th century bce, of both the Athenian democracy and the Athenian empire, making Athens the political and cultural focus of Greece. Throughout the siege, Sulla got regular reports from spies inside Piraeustwo Athenian slaves who inscribed notes on lead balls that they shot with slings into the Roman lines. In this way, the 500 members of the boule dictated how the entire democracy would work. He was chief historical consultant for the BBC TV series 'The Greeks'. But where Athenion failed, Mithridates was determined to succeed. This executive of the executive had a chairman (epistates) who was chosen by lot each day. To subscribe, click here. About the same time that the Pontic army was sweeping across the province of Asia, Athens dispatched the philosopher Athenion as an envoy to Mithridates. In Athenian democracy, not only did citizens participate in a direct democracy whereby they themselves made the decisions by which they lived, but they also actively served in the institutions that governed them, and so they directly controlled all parts of the political process. World History Encyclopedia. This money was only to cover expenses though, as any attempt to profit from public positions was severely punished. Cleisthenes introduced democracy in Athen (500c BCE) Democracy of Athens. Demagogue meant literally 'leader of the demos' ('demos' means people); but democracy's critics took it to mean mis-leaders of the people, mere rabble-rousers. Seven noble Persians conspire to overthrow the usurper and restore legitimate government. Less than two years separate these scenes. Others were rather more subtly expressed. Little more than a hundred years later it was governed by an emperor. The first concrete evidence for this crucial invention comes in the Histories of Herodotus, a brilliant work composed over several years, delivered orally to a variety of audiences all round the enormously extended Greek world, and published in some sense as a whole perhaps in the 420s BC. Sullas solution: rob the Greek temples of their treasures. Traditionally, the concept of democracy is believed to have originated in Athens in c508 BC, although there is evidence to suggest that democratic systems of government may have existed elsewhere in the world before then, albeit on a smaller scale. These groups had to meet secretly because although there was freedom of speech, persistent criticism of individuals and institutions could lead to accusations of conspiring tyranny and so lead to ostracism. Over time tyrants became greedy and cruel. The military impact of Athenian democracy was twofold. Related Content 500 BC Athens decided to share decision making. The name of "democracy" became an excuse to turn on anyone regarded as an enemy of the state, even good politicians who have, as a result, almost been forgotten. In 1964 an Ohio woman took up the challenge that had led to Amelia Earharts disappearance. The capital would be sending no more reinforcements or money. He and his allies then retreated to the Acropolis, which the Romans promptly surrounded. Antiphon's regime lasted only a few months, and after a brief experiment with a more moderate form of oligarchy the Athenians restored the old democratic institutions pretty much as they had been. When Athenion returned home in the early summer of 88, citizens gave him a rapturous reception. But geometry worked against him. As the Pontic general Archelaus persuaded other Greek cities to turn against Romeincluding Thebes to the northwest of AthensAristion established a new regime in Athens. Cleisthenes changed Athenian democracy becuase he redefined what it was to be a citizen and so removed the influence of traditional clan groups. Inevitably, there was some fallout, and one of the victims of the simmering personal and ideological tensions was Socrates. Realizing the citys defenses were broken, Aristion burned the Odeon of Pericles, on the south side of the Acropolis, to prevent the Romans from using its timbers to construct more siege engines. Under this system, all male citizens - the dmos - had equal political rights, freedom of speech, and the opportunity to participate directly in the political arena. Chronological order of government in ancient Athens. Our publication has been reviewed for educational use by Common Sense Education, Internet Scout (University of Wisconsin), Merlot (California State University), OER Commons and the School Library Journal. Democracy in Ancient Greece is most frequently associated with Athens where a complex system allowed for broad political participation by the free male citizens of the city-state. It only hastened Athens' eventual defeat in the war, which was followed by the installation at Sparta's behest of an even narrower oligarchy than that of the 400 - that of the 30. If you join your strength to me, my power shall reach the combined power of all of you. Then March 86 BC, shouts and trumpet blasts rend the night air as Roman soldiers, swords drawn, run through the city. In this case there was a secret ballot where voters wrote a name on a piece of broken pottery (ostrakon). Since Athenians did not pay taxes, the money for these payments came from customs duties, contributions from allies and taxes levied on the metoikoi. During the Classical era and Hellenistic era of Classical Antiquity, many Hellenic city-states had adopted democratic forms of government, in which free (non- slave ), native (non-foreigner) adult male citizens of the city took a major and direct part in the management of the affairs of state, such as declaring war, voting . Apparently, some Roman stones had missed the gate and crashed into the Pompeion next door. The World History Encyclopedia logo is a registered trademark. This demokratia, as it became known, was a direct democracy that gave political power to free male Athenian citizens rather than a ruling aristocratic read more, The amazing works of art and architecture known as the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World serve as a testament to the ingenuity, imagination and sheer hard work of which human beings are capable. HistoryNet.com is brought to you by HistoryNet LLC, the worlds largest publisher of history magazines. Inside homes, the Romans discovered a sight that must have horrified even the most hardened among them: human flesh prepared as food. Perhaps more significantly, however, the study suggests that the collapse of Greek democracy and of Athens in particular offer a stark warning from history which is often overlooked. Archelaus was to seize Delos, then solidify Pontic control of Athens and as much of Greece as possible. Over time, however, the Romans had begun to look less friendly. The assembly could also vote to ostracise from Athens any citizen who had become too powerful and dangerous for the polis. But - a big 'but' - it works: that is, it delivers the goods - for the masses. With the help of bodyguards, Athenion pushed through the crowd to the front of the Stoa of Attalos, a long, colonnaded commercial building among the most impressive in the Agora. Ancient Greece is often referred to as "the cradle of democracy.". Sulla attacked again the next morning with his entire army, hoping the wet mortar of the lunettes would not hold. Athens, too, should throw in with this rising power, he asserted. Democracy, which had prevailed during Athens' Golden Age, was replaced by a system of oligarchy in 411 BCE. World History Encyclopedia. Of this group, perhaps as few as 100 citizens - the wealthiest, most influential, and the best speakers - dominated the political arena both in front of the assembly and behind the scenes in private conspiratorial political meetings (xynomosiai) and groups (hetaireiai). Yet, with the advent of new technology, it would actually be possible to reinvent today a form of indirect but participatory tele-democracy. In a new history of the 4th century BC, Cambridge University Classicist Dr. Michael Scott reveals how the implosion of Ancient Athens occurred amid a crippling economic downturn, while politicians committed financial misdemeanours, sent its army to fight unpopular foreign wars and struggled to cope with a surge in immigration. The specific connection made by the anonymous writer is that the ultimate source of Athens' power was its navy, and that navy was powered essentially (though not exclusively) by the strong arms of the thetes, that is to say, the poorest section of the Athenian citizen population. Inside Piraeus, Archelaus countered by building towers for his siege engines. Not All Opinions Are Equal In a democracy all opinions are equal. He sent out another convoy carrying food for Athens, and when the Romans attacked it, his men dashed from hiding inside the gates and torched some of the Roman siege engines. If we are all democrats today, we are not - and it is importantly because we are not - Athenian-style democrats. For more details about how Ober came to . Though Archelaus restored Delos to Athenian control, he turned over its treasury to Aristion, an Athenian citizen whom Mithridates had chosen to rule Athens. Many tried to flee, but Aristion placed guards at the gates. Few areas of the world have been as hotly contested as the India-Pakistan border. Aristion didnt hold out long: He surrendered when he ran out of drinking water. Instead, Dr. Scott argues that the strains and stresses of the 4th century BC, which our own times seem to echo, proved too much for the Athenian democratic system and ultimately caused it to destroy itself. The most comprehensive and authoritative history site on the Internet. Its main function was to decide what matters would come before the ekklesia. Athenian democracy was a direct democracy made up of three important institutions. The heart of this story is a months-long battle featuring treachery and clever siege warfare. Indeed, there was a specially designed machine of coloured tokens (kleroterion) to ensure those selected were chosen randomly, a process magistrates had to go through twice. The boul represented the 139 districts of Attica and acted as a kind of executive committee of the assembly. Blood flows in the narrow streets, as the Romans butcher the Athenianswomen and children included. The Romans drove the rest back into Piraeus so swiftly that Archelaus was left outside the walls and had to be hauled up by rope. Sulla obtained iron and other material from Thebes and placed his newly built siege engines upon mounds of rubble collected from the Long Walls. In a democracy, the Greek historian Herodotus wrote, there is, first, that most splendid of virtues, equality before the law. It was true that Cleisthenes demokratia abolished the political distinctions between the Athenian aristocrats who had long monopolized the political decision-making process and the middle- and working-class people who made up the army and the navy (and whose incipient discontent was the reason Cleisthenes introduced his reforms in the first place). Cite This Work During the 600s B.C., Athens was a small city-state. Buildings in the Agora and on the south side of the Acropolis remained damaged for decades, monuments to the poverty in postwar Athens. The assembly also ensured decisions were enforced and officials were carrying out their duties correctly. Cartwright, Mark. Plato realized why democracy failed - even in ideal conditions, such as the direct democracy of ancient Athens. Athens was forced to destroy its main defenses, abolish the Delian League and its fleet was handed over to the Spartans. and the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C. Alexander the Great, for all his achievements, is described as a "mummy's boy" whose success rested in many ways on the more pragmatic foundations laid by his father, Philip II. Ultimately, the city was to respond positively to some of these challenges. Among the enduring contributions of the Greek empire to Western society is the foundation of democratic society. Greek democracy. These bronze coins bore the Pontic symbol of a star between two half-moons. World History Encyclopedia. We would much rather spend this money on producing more free history content for the world. When Athenion returned home in the early summer of 88, citizens gave him a rapturous reception. Athens remains a posterchild for democracies worldwide, but it was not a pure democracy. Those defeats persuaded Mithridates to end the war. Many of its economic problems were gradually solved by attracting wealthy immigrants to Athens - which as a name still carried considerable prestige. Unfortunately, sources on the other democratic governments in ancient Greece are few and far between. 'What', asks the teenage Alcibiades pseudo-innocently, is 'law'? This page has been archived and is no longer updated. However, the equality Herodotus described was limited to a small segment of the Athenian population in Ancient Greece. After all, at the time of writing, Athens was the greatest single power in the entire Greek world, and that fact could not be totally unconnected with the fact that Athens was a democracy. A mass slaughter followed. The Thirty Tyrants ( ) is a term first used Cleisthenes (b. late 570s BCE) was an Athenian statesman who famously Ostracism was a political process used in 5th-century BCE Athens Pericles (l. 495429 BCE) was a prominent Greek statesman, orator Themistocles (c. 524 - c. 460 BCE) was an Athenian statesman and Solon (c. 640 c. 560 BCE) was an Athenian statesman, lawmaker What did democracy really mean in Athens? But why should they be? And its denouement is the Roman sack of Athens, a bloody day that effectively marked the end of Athens as an independent state. It supervised government workers and was in charge of things like navy ships (triremes) and army horses. Seeking to offer a unified theory about Greece's current political and economic crisis, this article unravels the particular mechanisms through which this country developed as a populist democracy, that is, a pluralist system in which both the government and the opposition parties turn populist. History is who we are and why we are the way we are.. Now all citizens could participate in government, not just aristocrats. After all, at the time of writing, Athens was the greatest single power in the entire Greek world By 413, however, the argument from success in favour of radical democracy was beginning to collapse, as Athens' fortunes in the Peloponnesian War against Sparta began seriously to decline. Macedonians under Philip IIfather of Alexander the Greathad defeated Athens in 338 BC and installed a garrison in the Athenian port city of Piraeus. With people chosen at random to hold important positions and with terms of office strictly limited, it was difficult for any individual or small group to dominate or unduly influence the decision-making process either directly themselves or, because one never knew exactly who would be selected, indirectly by bribing those in power at any one time. 'Oh, run away and play', rejoins Pericles, irritated; 'I was good at those sorts of debating tricks when I was your age.'. This being the case, the following remarks on democracy are focussed on the Athenians. The lottery system also prevented the establishment of a permanent class of civil servants who might be tempted to use the government to advance or enrich themselves. S2 ep4: What would a more just future look like? One unusual critic is an Athenian writer whom we know familiarly as the 'Old Oligarch'. (Ostracism, in which a citizen could be expelled from the Athenian city-state for 10 years, was among the powers of the ekklesia.) License. At last, Archelaus saw that the game was up and skillfully evacuated his army by sea. Democracy itself, however, buckled under the strain. Jurors were paid a wage for their work, so that the job could be accessible to everyone and not just the wealthy (but, since the wage was less than what the average worker earned in a day, the typical juror was an elderly retiree). At best it was mere opinion, and almost always it was ill-informed and wrong opinion. Athenian democracy was a system of government where all male citizens could attend and participate in the assembly which governed the city-state. Another is theory (from the Greek word meaning contemplation, itself based on the root for seeing). People rushed to greet him as he was carried into the city on a scarlet-covered couch, wearing a ring with Mithridatess portrait. An early example of the Greek genius for applied critical theory was their invention of political theory, probably some time during the first half of the fifth century BC. At the meetings, the ekklesia made decisions about war and foreign policy, wrote and revised laws and approved or condemned the conduct of public officials. Under Macedonian control, Athens had dwindled to a third-rank power, with no independence in foreign affairs and an insignificant military. I wish to receive a weekly Cambridge research news summary by email. Mithridates, who came from a Persian dynasty, ruled a culturally mixed kingdom that included both Persians and Greeks. History is a guide to navigation in perilous times. His short and vehement pamphlet was produced probably in the 420s, during the first decade of the Peloponnesian War, and makes the following case: democracy is appalling, since it represents the rule of the poor, ignorant, fickle and stupid majority over the socially and intellectually superior minority, the world turned upside down. Athens, for example, committed itself to unpopular wars which ultimately brought it into direct conflict with the vastly more powerful Macedonia. Athens transformed ancient warfare and became one of the ancient world's superpowers. The . Fighting ensued, and the Athenians then took steps that explicitly violated the Thirty Years' Treaty. In 229, when the Macedonian King Demetrius II died, leaving nine-year-old Philip V as his heir, the Athenians took advantage of the power vacuum and negotiated the removal of the garrison at Piraeus. Second, was the metics who were foreign residents of Athens. It was this revived democracy that in 406 committed what its critics both ancient and modern consider to have been the biggest single practical blunder in the democracy's history: the trial and condemnation to death of all eight generals involved in the pyrrhic naval victory at Arginusae. Soon after, Roman soldiers overheard men in the Athenian neighborhood of the Kerameikos, northwest of the Acropolis, grousing about the neglected defenses there. With Athens under his thumb, Sulla turned back to Piraeus. "There are grounds to consider whether we want to go down the same route that Athens did. Therefore, women, slaves, and resident foreigners (metoikoi) were excluded from the political process. In the late 500s to early 400s BCE, democracy developed in the city-state of Athens. When that failed, the Romans settled in for a long siege. The island had many Roman and Italian residents and relied heavily on the Roman trade. Neither side gained an advantage until a group of Romans who had been gathering wood returned and charged into battle. Read more. With Athens running short of food, Archelaus one night dispatched troops from Piraeus with a supply of wheat. According to the writer's dramatic scenario, we are in what we would now call the year 522 BC. 'What? Democracy inevitably fails because it is predicated not on merit but on popularity. He also helped himself to a stash of gold and silver found on the Acropolis. Its economy, heavily dependent on trade and resources from overseas, crashed when in the 4th century instability in the region began to affect the arterial routes through which those supplies flowed. The famous Long Walls that had connected the two cities during the Peloponnesian War had since fallen into disrepair. It argues that it was not the loss of its empire and defeat in war against Sparta at the end of the 5th century that heralded the death knell of Athenian democracy - as it is traditionally perceived. In despair, many Athenians kill themselves. After suitable discussion, temporary or specific decrees (psphismata) were adopted and laws (nomoi) defined. In 621 BCE Draco wrote the law code in order to ease discontent in . Some Rights Reserved (2009-2023) under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license unless otherwise noted. Dr. Scott argues that this was caused by a range of circumstances which in many cases were the ancient world's equivalent of those faced by Britain today. He disappears from the historical record; Aristion must have deposed him. was part of the first Persian invasion of Greece. Canada, The United States and South Africa are all examples of modern-day representative democracies. More loosely, it alludes to the entire range of democratic reforms that proceeded alongside the Jacksonians read more, The Battle of Marathon in 490 B.C. To protect their money, some Athenians buried coin hoards. His election as hoplite general quickly followed. S2 ep 3: What is the future of wellbeing? In an effort to cope, Athens began to create a system of self-regulation, described as a "giant Neighbourhood Watch", asking citizens not to trouble its overstretched bureaucracy with non-urgent, petty crimes. Out of all those people, only male citizens who were older than 18 were a part of the demos, meaning only about 40,000 people could participate in the democratic process. Sulla called a halt to the pillage and slaughter. In the later parts of the Republic, Plato suggests that democracy is one of the later stages in the decline of the ideal state. In tandem with all these political institutions were the law courts (dikasteria) which were composed of 6,000 jurors and a body of chief magistrates (archai) chosen annually by lot. The answer lies in a dramatic tale starring the demagogue Athenion, a mindless mob, a tyrant, and a brutal Roman general. When the Romans destroyed the Macedonian Kingdom in 168, the Senate awarded Athens the Aegean island of Delos. READ MORE: Why Greece Is Considered the Birthplace of Democracy. First, was the citizens who ran the government and held property. They note that wealthy and influential peopleand their relativesserved on the Council much more frequently than would be likely in a truly random lottery. As soldiers carted away their prized and sacred possessions, the guardians of Delphi bitterly complained that Sulla was nothing like previous Roman commanders, who had come to Greece and made gifts to the temples. The group made decisions by simple majority vote. Nor did he do anything to help defend his own cause, so that more of the 501 jurors voted for the death penalty than had voted him guilty as charged in the first place. Enter your email address, confirm you're happy to receive our emails and then select 'Subscribe'. This is a form of government which puts the power to rule in the hands of . They denied specifically that the sort of knowledge available to and used by ordinary people, popular knowledge if you like, was really knowledge at all. Not all the Anatolian Greeks wanted to do the dirty work: the citizens of the inland town of Tralles hired an outsidera man named Theophilusto kill for them. The opposing forces clashed bitterly for a long timeAppian records that both Sulla and Archelaus held forth in the thick of the action, cheering on their men and bringing up fresh troops. The one exception to this rule was the leitourgia, or liturgy, which was a kind of tax that wealthy people volunteered to pay to sponsor major civic undertakings such as the maintenance of a navy ship (this liturgy was called the trierarchia) or the production of a play or choral performance at the citys annual festival. Although this Athenian democracy would survive for only two centuries, its invention by Cleisthenes, The Father of Democracy, was one of ancient Greeces most enduring contributions to the modern world. The Greek system of direct democracy would pave the way for representative democracies across the globe. An important element in the debates was freedom of speech (parrhsia) which became, perhaps, the citizen's most valued privilege. With the Persians closing in on the Greek capitol, Athenian general read more, The story of the Trojan Warthe Bronze Age conflict between the kingdoms of Troy and Mycenaean Greecestraddles the history and mythology of ancient Greece and inspired the greatest writers of antiquity, from Homer, Herodotus and Sophocles to Virgil. 2023 A&E Television Networks, LLC. The second important institution was the boule, or Council of Five Hundred. When it is a question of settling private disputes, everyone is equal before the law; when it is a question of putting one person before another in positions of public responsibility, what counts is not membership of a particular class, but the actual ability which the man possesses. Some 2,000 of Archelauss men were killed. The two either supported the Romans or were currying favor with the side that they expected to win. "In many ways this was a period of total uncertainty just like our own time," Dr. Scott added. This, fortunately, did not last long; even Sparta felt unable to prop up such a hugely unpopular regime, nicknamed the '30 Tyrants', and the restoration of democracy was surprisingly speedy and smooth - on the whole. Originally Answered: Did Athenian democracy failed because of its democratic nature? - Melissa Schwartzberg. So what we have in Herodotus is a Greek debate in Persian dress. These challenges to democracy include the paradoxical existence of an Athenian empire. Modern representative democracies, in contrast to direct democracies, have citizens who vote for representatives who create and enact laws on their behalf. It is a period of history that we would do well to think about a little more right now - and we ignore it at our peril.". Then, early in the first century BC, a political crisis engulfed Athens when its eponymous archon, or chief magistrate, refused to abide by the Athenian constitutions one-term limit. Whether they produced battlefield images of the dead or daguerreotype portraits of common soldiers, []. Sulla had the tyrant and his bodyguard executed. With the city starving, its leaders asked Aristion to negotiate with Sulla. Instead, Dr. Scott argues that this period is fundamental to understanding what really happened to Athenian democracy. This complex system was, no doubt, to ensure a suitable degree of checks and balances to any potential abuse of power, and to ensure each traditional region was equally represented and given equal powers. (Only about 5,000 men attended each session of the Assembly; the rest were serving in the army or navy or working to support their families.). Athens, humbled in recent years by the Romans, can seize control of its destiny, Athenion declares. Submitted by Mark Cartwright, published on 03 April 2018. It survived the period through slippery-fish diplomacy, at the cost of a clear democratic conscience, a policy which, in the end, led it to accept a dictator King and make him a God.". A Greek trireme For only $5 per month you can become a member and support our mission to engage people with cultural heritage and to improve history education worldwide. (According to Plutarchs Life of Sulla, the tyrant Aristion and his cronies were drinking and reveling even as famine spread. Mark is a full-time author, researcher, historian, and editor. The ancient Greeks have provided us with fine art, breath-taking temples, timeless theatre, and some of the greatest philosophers, but it is democracy which is, perhaps, their greatest and most enduring legacy. He also said that the ability to govern and participate in government was more important than one's class. Persuasive speakers who seemed to offer solutions - such as Demosthenes - came to the fore but ultimately took it closer to military defeat and submission to Macedonia. Books We are committed to protecting your personal information and being transparent about what information we hold. Perhaps the most notoriously bad decisions taken by the Athenian dmos were the execution of six generals after they had actually won the battle of Arginousai in 406 BCE and the death sentence given to the philosopher Socrates in 399 BCE.