Athenian democracy developed around the 6th century BC in the Greek city-state (known as a polis) of Athens, comprising the city of Athens and the surrounding territory of Attica.
What type of government did Athens?
Athenian democracy developed around the 6th century BC in the Greek city-state (known as a polis) of Athens, comprising the city of Athens and the surrounding territory of Attica.
How was Athens ruled?
Athens did not have a king, it was ruled by the people as a democracy . The people of Athens believed that no one group of people should make the laws and so citizens could choose the government officials, and vote for or against new laws. The people of Athens chose their ruler.
What were the 4 types of government in Athens?
city-states. In this chapter, you will explore the four forms of government that developed in the Greek city-states: monarchy, oligarchy, tyranny, and democracy .
How was democracy limited in Athens?
Only free adult men who were citizens – about 10% of the population – could vote in Athens’ limited democracy. Women, children, slaves, and foreigners were excluded from participating in making political decisions. Women had no political rights or political power.
Why was Athens not a full democracy?
Athens was not a full democracy because most people were not considered citizens and, therefore, could not vote .
How did someone become enrolled as a citizen in Athens?
Citizens. To be classed as a citizen in fifth-century Athens you had to be male, born from two Athenian parents, over eighteen years old, and complete your military service . Women, slaves, metics and children under the age of 20 were not allowed to become citizens.
Is Athens older than Rome?
Athens is seriously old having been founded somewhere between 3000 and 5000 years BC . However Ancient Rome didn’t spring into life until at least a couple of millennia after the heyday of the great early civilisations in Greece and Egypt.
Who destroyed Athens?
The Achaemenid destruction of Athens was accomplished by the Achaemenid Army of Xerxes I during the Second Persian invasion of Greece, and occurred in two phases over a period of two years, in 480–479 BCE.
What was Athens famous for?
Athens was the largest and most influential of the Greek city-states. It had many fine buildings and was named after Athena, the goddess of wisdom and warfare. The Athenians invented democracy , a new type of government where every citizen could vote on important issues, such as whether or not to declare war.
What type of government is run by the richest and most powerful citizens?
A plutocracy (Greek: πλοῦτος, ploutos, ‘wealth’ and κράτος, kratos, ‘power’) or plutarchy is a society that is ruled or controlled by people of great wealth or income.
Did Greece have kings?
From about 2000 B.C.E. to 800 B.C.E., most Greek city-states were ruled by monarchs —usually kings (the Greeks did not allow women to have power). At first, the Greek kings were chosen by the people of the city-state. ... Over time, these advisors decided that they should have more power than the king.
What is considered tyranny?
Tyranny, in the Greco-Roman world, an autocratic form of rule in which one individual exercised power without any legal restraint . In antiquity the word tyrant was not necessarily pejorative and signified the holder of absolute political power.
Why did Athens become a democracy?
Athenian democracy developed around the fifth century B.C.E. The Greek idea of democracy was different from present-day democracy because, in Athens, all adult citizens were required to take an active part in the government . ... When a new law was proposed, all the citizens of Athens had the opportunity to vote on it.
Why is Athens still admired as an early model of democracy?
Athenian democracy was limited because only a certain group of people could make decisions. In order to be part of the legislature, you had to be a male landholding citizen. Despite this, Athens is still admired as an early model of democracy because they were the creators of it . Most empires used a monarchy to rule.
Why was slavery important in Athens?
Slaves in Athens were very important (almost 1/3 of the Athenian population was slaves) because it was the labor of the slaves that gave Athenian men the leisure time to go to the Agora, participate in government, and develop a love of the arts . ... Most Greek households could not have operated without slaves.
