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Athenian Democracy. Is it really “rule by the people?”. Pericles: The First Citizen of Athens. Ruled from 495-429 BCE Introduced reforms in Athens that strengthened democracy
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Athenian Democracy Is it really “rule by the people?”
Pericles: The First Citizen of Athens • Ruled from 495-429 BCE • Introduced reforms in Athens that strengthened democracy • Head of the Athenian Empire (one city-state, or "polis," that had political, economic, and cultural control over most of Greece)
Began a building program on the Acropolis (the religious center of Athens) • Built the Parthenon from 20,000 tons of marble • Financed from tribute paid by members of the Delian League (including city-states, like Sparta and Thebes).
Rule by “some” of the people • Direct democracy • Any male citizen of Athens, 18 years or older, could debate important laws in the pynx (assembly meeting place) • About 1 out of 5 Athenians were citizens • 3 Main Branches: • The Assembly • The Council • The Courts
Ostracism • Ostracism literally means “judgment by shards” • Exiled from Athens for 10 years • Under strict supervision in the agora(marketplace), citizens would scratch a name onto their pottery shard • A quorum(minimum number) of 6,000 citizens required
Thoughts on Democracy • “Liberty and equality is achieved when all persons share in government” - Aristotle • “Dictatorship naturally arises out of democracy, and the most aggravated form of tyranny and slavery out of the most extreme liberty.” - Plato