Democracy in Ancient Greece

Democracy of Ancient Greece and the problems the greeks faced -

Eddie Witten

February 11, 1997

Essay II

Prof. Hiltz

The Greeks were very advanced for their time. They realized that they need a new form of government and they were able to invent the first democratic government in the world. The democracy that the Greeks came up with was based on two important factors. The first one was the population growth in Athens grew at a very fast rate. The second was the advocating of political, economic, and legal equality for all which some male citizens remembered from the living conditions in the Dark Ages. The Greek system of Democracy did have its shares of problems though.

Parthenon from west

View of Athens

English: Diagram representing the constitution of ...

The Greek system of democracy was ruled by a body of nine elected officials whom were called archons. These men who were aristocrats lead the government and had supreme control over all of the verdicts and criminal accusations in Athens. Problems arose when aristocrats become jealous of one another and rivalries ensued under the early stages of Athenian democracy. The result of this jealousy was the establishment of a code written by the appointed ruler Draco. This code of laws promoted stability and equity. These laws however did more to hurt the democracy of Athens than to help it. It seems that Draco wrote this code of laws in order to benefit himself rather than to benefit the government of Athens.

The democracy of Athens was used in many ways other than for what it was designed for. It was abused by many rulers of that time. They were concerned with their own personal growth and because of their greed and selfishness, they made laws and codes that would benefit their own personal gain. The results though have not always...