The Government and Laws of Ancient Greece

1. The Government and Laws of Ancient Greece By: Timothy Callery

2. The History of Athens’ Government . City of Athens founded in about 700 B.C. . Cleisthenes Born 570 B.C. . Oligarchy as Government until Pisistratus . Monarchy under Pisistratus and his son . Pisistratus’ sons monarchy falls . Athenian democracy organized by Themistocles . Athenian “Golden Age” . Athens surrenders to Philip II and is part of the Greek Empire

3. Oligarchy What is an oligarchy, you may ask? An oligarchy is a system of government in which the richest and most powerful citizens rule over the city or country. The complete definition is “the richest and most powerful citizens controlled decision-making”- Our World. These citizens were called aristocrats. They took what the peasants who worked in the fields, shops, and workshops of the city in return for protection. This is a little bit like an early version of feudalism, in which only nobles had major power. Most city-states in the Classical [city-state] Greek Era had this form of government. Cleisthenes, the person who used the Greek Solon’s idea of democracy, who founded Athens’s democracy was the son of Aristocratic parents

4. Monarchy What is a Monarchy? A monarchy is a government under control of one monarch, or simply a king and/or queen. In Athens, Pisistratus and his son were monarchs. This is an example of a monarch who had a son or daughter and passed on power to their child. This is what a monarch wanted to do, so that his family would stay in power. This is especially what Pisistratus wanted to do during his reign over Athens. The monarch usually had a court, which was a group of nobles and close friends that gave the monarch advice or did a service to help him or her rule. Many city-states also had this form of government.

5. The First Democracy in Athens After Pisistratus sons’ cruel rule over Athens angered the people, and in a stunning event, Pisistratus surrendered. He had banished the aristocrats from Athens, but the people brought them back for help in organizing their new government. Cleisthenes, a strong supporter, of Solon’s idea of democracy, helped the people in forming and organized democracy. No city-state of Greece, or anywhere in the world had this form of government. It was a revolution in government, but this idea of a “government of the people”, or “rule by the people” [definitions of democracy] needed a lot of work. Cleisthenes had to organize a WHOLE ENTIRE government that would make the people happy and content. He based most of the government on voting and people’s decisions. All of the citizens were important in ALL decisions.

6. Organization of the Government Pynx [Assembly]--The Assembly was where any citizen could speak up and talk about things that they wanted to change; from the price of rugs, to an important military campaign. All citizens voted on these subjects in the assembly, including ostracizing. Ostracizing was the Athenian assembly used shards of pottery with names on them, and whoever’s name appeared the most was banished from the city, usually because the people thought that the citizen was gaining too much power. Court/Jury--

7. Bibliography . “Greeks: Crucible of Civilization” . Our World Textbook