Government in Athens

1. Government in Athens Our Greek Heritage

2. Objectives What are aristocrats? How are an oligarchy and a tyranny different? Describe the democracy created by Cleisthenes. How did Pericles change Athenian democracy? What type of democracy did Athens have?

3. Terms and People Democracy is a type of government in which people rule themselves. We will vote and decide ourselves! O let me bow before you, my king! We get to decide what this country will do. We took what we have from middle class slobs! And now they practically worship us! • Citizens are the people that rule themselves. • Subjects are the people that are ruled. • Oligarchy is a government controlled by a few, powerful people. We are smarter than anyone else. • Aristocrats are those few powerful people that control an oligarchy.

4. Terms and People Tyrant is a single person that rules everyone else by using force. • Pericles was elected to lead Athens at their height.

5. Athens had an oligarchy (rule by a few). The few that ruled were the aristocrats –powerful rich people. Off with their heads! Draco The people overthrew the aristocrats, but they just ended up with a guy called Draco (the dragon). Athens had merely moved from the rule of a few (oligarchy) to the rule of a tyrant. Today when laws are too harsh, we still say they are draconian. They still didn’t have democracy. He made laws that were too strict, with punishments that were too harsh.

6. Then, Cleisthenes (KLY stennees) brought an entirely new form of government. People in a democracy had freedom of speech and could vote. It was called democracy – rule by the people.

11. More for Later