Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Athenian democracy had many critics, both ancient and modern. Ancient Greek critics of Athenian democracy include Thucydides the general and historian, Aristophanes the playwright, Plato the pupil of Socrates, Aristotle the pupil of Plato, and a writer known as the Old Oligarch. While modern critics are more likely to find fault with the ...
These activities were often handled by a form of direct democracy, based on a popular assembly. Others, of judicial and official nature, were often handled by large juries, drawn from the citizen body in a process known as sortition. By far the most well-documented and studied example is the Athenian democracy in Athens.
The ekklesia of ancient Athens is particularly well-known. It was the popular assembly, open to all male citizens as soon as they qualified for citizenship. [1] In 594 BC, Solon allowed all Athenian citizens to participate, regardless of class.
Athenian democracy – democracy in the Greek city-state of Athens developed around the fifth century BC, making Athens one of the first known democracies in the world, comprising the city of Athens and the surrounding territory of Attica. It was a system of direct democracy, in which eligible citizens voted directly on legislation and ...
A direct democracy, or pure democracy, is a type of democracy where the people govern directly, by voting on laws and policies. It requires wide participation of citizens in politics. [ 4 ] Athenian democracy , or classical democracy, refers to a direct democracy developed in ancient times in the Greek city-state of Athens.
The archon eponymous remained the titular head of state even under the democracy, though with much reduced political importance. In 753 BCE the perpetual archonship by the Eupatridae [3] were limited to 10 year terms (the "decennial archons"). [4] After 683 BCE the offices were held for only a single year. [5]
The law courts of ancient Athens (4th and 6th centuries BC) were a fundamental organ of democratic governance. According to Aristotle, whoever controls the courts controls the state. These courts were jury courts and very large ones: the smallest possible had 200 members (+1 to avoid ties) and sometimes 501, 1000 or 1500.
According to Thucydides, in 412 BC when the Samian people heard of the plot against the democracy, they went to some of their leaders, including Thrasybulus, "who seemed always to be especially opposed to the conspirators." [15] Thrasybulus and his companions then rallied the Athenian sailors to defend the Samian democracy. The conspirators ...