Comparison Of Monarchy And Democracy In Ancient Greece

Introduction

Monarchy, aristocracy, tyranny, oligarchy and democracy were all forms of government found at different times and in different city-states in Ancient Greece. Elements of more than one of these forms also co-existed, however, and the modern connotations of labels such as these are not necessarily the same as those that prevailed in Ancient Greece.

In this paper I firstly describe these various forms of government and provide examples of their use in Ancient Greece. I then compare and contrast the models.

Monarchy

Monarchy may be defined as: “a government having a hereditary chief of state with life tenure and powers varying from nominal to absolute” (Merriam Webster, n.d.).

Monarchy was common amongst Greek city-states in Greece

The word “aristocracy” is a concatenation of “kratos”, meaning rule, and ‘aristoi”, meaning the best (Brouwers, 2015).

Athens was governed by aristocracy from the 8th to the 6th centuries B.C: “political power was in the hands of several large aristocratic families or clans (genei) which controlled large areas of Attica, the territory around Athens” (Athenian Agora Excavations, n.d., first paragraph).

Tyranny

Tyranny may be defined as: “a government in which absolute power is vested in a single ruler” (Merriam Webster, n.d.). The modern connotation of the word tends to involve oppression, but this was not necessarily the case in Ancient Greece – some tyrants were seen as benevolent (Cartwright, 2013).

The fundamental difference between monarchy and tyranny was heredity. Monarchs were rulers by birthright, whereas tyrants assumed power by other means, often including force.

Athenian examples of tyrants included Cylon in the 7th century BC and Peisistratus (Pisistratus) in the 5th (Gill, n.d.). Dionysius I and II in the 4th and 3rd centuries BC were tyrants of Syracuse (Encyclopædia Britannica,

Discussion

Some of these forms of governance had common features. For example, bloodline was crucial to monarchy and also to forms of aristocracy and oligarchy in which powerful families ruled. Tyranny and oligarchy both at times featured the forceful usurping of rule.

Some of them also co-existed in that governance embodied elements of more than one form. For example, Sparta had dual monarchs but also a direct democratic Assembly of Spartan citizens whose powers were limited because their agenda was set and decisions subject to veto by executive bodies, the most influential of which (the Gerousia) was populated by senior aristocrats (Brand, n.d.). Similarly, Macedonian governance also featured an Assembly – albeit weak - as well as monarchy. More importantly, the monarchs generally required aristocratic support in order to rule effectively (Martin,