Explain how Greek democracy, particularly Athenian, differs from our modern concept of democracy
What will be an ideal response?
In Athenian democracy, the emphasis is on direct governing by the masses. In the modern concept, we elect representatives to rule in an electoral body that, in theory, represents the consensus of those represented. By contrast, in Athens, it was a straight majority rule without intermediaries. This was a significant difference from earlier oligarchy, or rule by the best, in which the aristocracy chose a ruling council, supported by an assembly. In the Athenian model, after the reforms of Cleisthenes, the council of Five Hundred was comprised of fifty representatives from each of the ten tribes, chosen by lot from each of the tribes for a period of one year at a time. This replaced the aristocratic Council of Four Hundred and increased the chances that every adult male citizen would serve in the government. Greek democracy was also significantly different because the criteria for citizenship was much stricter, so that only approximately 40 percent of the population of Athens were deemed citizens; half of those consisted of women, who were not eligible for participation in government offices. Only about 20 percent of the entire population of Athens (at estimates of 60,000) could legally serve in the government, and thus the concept of rule by the masses must be somewhat qualified.
You might also like to view...
The large-scale movement of African Americans from the rural South to industrial cities began during the late nineteenth century mainly because of the
A) poverty and oppression of the South. B) prospective professional opportunities in the cities. C) abundance of factory jobs there for African Americans. D) absence of racial discrimination in the North. E) absence of job competition in the North.
Examine Map 32.2, Imperialism in Africa, ca. 1914. How was the political face of Africa changed between 1875 and 1900? What European nations were most active in carving up Africa? Were there differences in colonial rule?
What will be an ideal response?
How did the tobacco economy draw the Chesapeake colonies into the greater Atlantic world
What will be an ideal response?
The period from 1500 to 1200 BC was characterized by
A) Absence of imperial ambition B) Plagues and famines C) Warfare and new states D) The middle kingdom of Egypt E) The continuing dominance of the Hyksos