Democracy is the modern day standard for governmental systems. The assembly met on the hill of the Pnyx to make these important decisions. Democracy (disadvantage) Only the elite or upper class had a role in government, lower class not represented. One of the earliest known democracies was in Athens, a city-state in southern, ancient Greece. 6 What are the pros and cons of democracy in ancient Greece? The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". The Pros And Cons Of Ancient Athenian Democracy. WebThe term democracy, like many other political terms, was first discovered in Ancient Greece. Socrates did not care for the idea in general, and Aristotle thought it could, within a state, yield new forms of abuse of power. The most common governments in the city-states consisted of monarchies, oligarchies, dictatorships, and sometimes democracies. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Mountains covered about three-fourths of ancient Greece. 8 Who was not allowed to become a citizen of Greece? This caused some to view them with hostility which sparked the conflicts between Athens and Sparta that lead to the Peloponnesian War. Children were tortured to become strongerand all men would be fighting and stealing things just to survive. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. What were the advantages and disadvantages of the city-state model of government in Greece? Each year 500 names were chosen from all the citizens of ancient Athens. Both Athens and Sparta hold historic value for Greece and the world. And they only let men vote which means that only 12% in ancient Athens can vote.In Athens no one had freedom of thought and expression either. Draco organized laws by putting them in a written code, letting everyone know what the laws were and, The name comes from demos-people and kratos-power, so literally power of the people. Athens has a better government system then the Roman Republic. For example, here in the United states which is a democracy, everyone is allowed to vote and have land. Since the Spartans were only concerned with being great warriors, the Athenians became the cultural center of Greece during the Hellenic period. Even girls were trained to become soldiers because for the Spartans there is no such thing as inequality; women can do the job of mem. The ancient Greeks were the first to create a democracy. Advantage: They had access to trade, transportation, fish, and water. This form of government is called direct democracy. Now, there are a lot of people was worried about the system, because there are too many problems of their government. Its also said that Sparta is the foundation for the governments we now have in the world. This is why we give the ebook compilations in contribution to our knowledge of ancient Greece--its politics, philosophy, and literature, from Homer to Plato. During the Archaic Age, Sparta was solely focused on fighting wars and training their children for these wars. During that year, they were responsible for making new laws and controlled all parts of the political process. Monarchy (advantage) Middle class realized that they could make changes (leads to democracy) Tyranny (advantage) Athens was a democratic state that was peaceful and where women were open to culture and democracy. Sparta lacked land area and was forced to seek other land in the fertile plain of Messenia. An outstanding statesman and poet called Solon acted in, The name comes from demos-people and kratos-power, so literally power of the people. Aristotle once said, The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet. Athens was established in 3000 BC, while Sparta was respectively established in 431 BC. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". Unfortunately, the government makes the people feel powerless to the point where theyre forced to elect a candidate whos not impotent. National Geographic Society is a 501 (c)(3) organization. Athens The first reason is because Our constitution favors many instead of the few, this is also why it's called a democracy. These reasons include Pericles rise to power, the different members of government and their powers, and the changes in the idea of a democracy. Spartan women are better than Athenian women because they have more rights, these rights coclude of being able to marry anyone they wish to. Athenian democracy also was cumbersome and operated slowly. Spartas government was said to have a mixture of the major types of government which is oligarchy, monarchy, and democracy. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Democracy. Spartas only ace was its military way of life and war tactics. Pros. The advantages of Greeks geography is that they had protection from invaders and some disadvantages were that they had a hard time farming and traveling. Athens had a geographic advantage because they were very superior. together can be a bad action taken by the government. What are the disadvantages of having government? Greek city-states all were very similar but had differences. Each city-state had its own form of government and its own army, and even sometimes its own navy. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". Together it means rule by the people. + PRO: Though harder to find, more affordable options exist. Logically enough, the English word itself is derived from older Middle French or Middle Latin equivalents. The people of Athens were interested in arts, music, and intellectual pursuits. Athenian democracy also had one-year term limits. Oligarchy (disadvantage) Over time, middle/lower classes realized they still had little to no say in government Tyranny (disadvantage), Start studying advantages and disadvantages of government in ancient greece. It also means its citizens come first in order of importance. The rule of the people is the definition of Democracy. Democracy Cons: Cons: Only citizens got to vote. The Athenians were stronger because they had a better geography, government, cultural achievements, and I would rather live in the Athens. Athens was more inviting and had many more fun things to do, which is why Athens is a better place to live. Compare the advantages and disadvantages for settlers of Greece's physical geography. What are the advantages of the ancient Greek system? So there are some representatives want to use the direct democracy like some old country such as ancient Greek. The geography of the region helped to shape the government and culture of the Ancient Greeks. What is democracy? In Document 2, an excerpt from The Spartan Constitution by Aristotle theres a quote that states they praise Lacedaemon because it is made up of oligarchy, monarchy, and democracy.. This quote tells exactly what type of government Sparta had. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. Only the men truly had a say, and ran ancient Athens. 4 What are the advantages and disadvantages of having mountains cover ancient Greece? In Sparta, Boys were taken from parents at age seven and trained in the art of warfare. It is a center for economic, political, financial and culture life in Greece. Its population was over five times as great as the other small city-states. They were only given a cloak - no shoes or other clothes, and not enough food so they had to steal (to learn survival skills). The city of Athens was named after their special goddess. Disadvantages: Not a lot of flat land to farm, Diffcult to travel over land, Diffcult to unite under a single government, limited natural resources. What was the disadvantage of tyranny in ancient Greece? While Athens is widely regarded as the first historical example of a democratic system, some scholars believe that the Roman Empires republic system was more democratic than that of the Greek. Every city-state had their own coins, government, and laws. The first inhabitants of Attica (the wider area of Athens), of who we are aware, lived during the Neolithic Period (6,000-2,800 BC). In addition, citizens had the chance to spend time acting as council representatives, which gave them power and direct involvement with decision making. While both Athenian and Roman form of democracy was a major step away from autocratic rule, but they both had their drawbacks. What are the limitations of a majority rule democracy? Athens had a geographic advantage because they were very superior. Thus, a key part of democracy is that the people have a voice. WebCompare the advantages and disadvantages for settlers of Greece's physical geography. The Spartan government is made up of kings and elders only. Beginning with contrasts in government, Sparta, was an Oligarchy where most of the power was shared between two kings. These factors empowered Sparta and led to the development of an authoritative and potent state. Government failure. They did have officials to run the government, however. Two of the biggest city-states were Athens and Sparta. Self- Government/Democracy: "Rule by the people." Representative democracy is a government in which citizens vote for representatives who create and change laws that govern the people rather than getting to vote directly on the laws themselves. Strong land army, protection. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Some of the strengths of Athenian democracy include making decisions based on the opinions of many rather than a few, giving responsibility to more citizens and making records available for public examination. However up until 500 BCE, the concept of Democracy was a foreign concept, and the great civilizations of that era were run by monarchs, aristocrats, and religious leaders of sorts. Amongst those city states Athens and Sparta were two of the most powerful and considered in Greek history as the most influential states to western civilisation. In addition to simply being a peninsula, Greeces coastline has many accessible harbor locations. While Athens is widely regarded as the first historical example of a democratic system, some scholars believe that the Roman Empires republic system was more democratic than that of the Greek. What is the original meaning of democracy? Metic. Why Ancient Athens is better than Sparta? 1031 Words5 Pages. They became skilled sailors. It had a place in the way the people of ancient times governed their lives. Athenians were the most scholarly types while the Spartans were more of the military type. WebAdvantages And Disadvantages Of Athens Democracy characterized in terms of unlimited political power anymore as it has transformed to a more citizen-friendly government. Athens is the symbol of freedom, art, and democracy in the conscience of the civilized world. Prior to Athenian democracy, a few people would make decisions for the masses. 9 What was the disadvantage of tyranny in ancient Greece? Sparta and Athens had differences and similarities in the way they governed their city states, in how they established their military forces, how they treated women, their marriage customs and social gatherings. Sea travel connected Greece to other societies. There was a constant importance of acknowledging all citizens hard work and participation. 7 What are the limitations of a majority rule democracy? The Athenian Democracy remains a novel and captivating analysis in direct majority rules system where the general population don 't choose delegates to vote for their sake yet vote on enactment and official bills in their own privilege. The Athenian democracy, while it did give more power to the people, still left a lot of citizens out. When the two words are put together it forms , meaning rule of the people. When asking what is democracy, the answer is never truly defiente. WebHowever, Athens under the rule of Pericles should be considered a democracy for several reasons. Ancient Greece is often credited with being the birthplace of democracy. Athens, on the other hand, was a democracy after periods of monarchies and aristocracies. In the 4th to 5th century B.C, Athens was going through a prosperous period and in this period its people made remarkable achievements. One of the most famous civilizations lies between three seas, the Aegean Sea, Sea of Crete, and the Ionian Sea. According to the State of the World Atlas, 44% of the worlds population live in a stable democracy. The mountains also make communication from city to city slow. One of the many states of Greece, ancient Athens was indeed not truly democratic as a result of not inclusive, other than male citizens, to gain authority in ancient Athens, Demokratia was ruled by male citizens only, excluding women, free foreigners(Metics) and slaves.(Document D), therefore ruling Athens was only accessible to male citizen since since women, free foreigners(Metics), and slaves were not allowed to rule as a result of not being male citizens. Unlike the Romans, Athenians had a strict but fair schedule that allowed them to enjoy citizenship equally. What were the limitations of the ancient Greeks? A tyrants son does not usually inherit his fathers power. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. There was some farmland for crops, but the Greeks could always count on seafood and waterfowl to eat. What are the advantages and disadvantages of having mountains cover ancient Greece? The direct democracy of Athens wasnt actually as inclusive and steady as the statement at Pericles 's funeral state, Our Constitution is called a democracy because power is in the hands not of a minority but of the whole people (Doc C). In fact, of the 450,000 citizens of Athens in 430 BC, only about 40,000 people had the power to vote.