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.).
The main objective of this essay is to describe and investigate the structure of the government in the ancient Greece’s most powerful city states, namely, Athens and Sparta. Both city states have gone through various cycles of wars, reforms, social upheaval and unrests, and each of these elements has had influenced the development of the governmental systems that we have bettered or inherited today. Athenians saw the need for fundamental changes in the government, allowing them to pave the way for direct participation of their citizens and citizen’s initiative in the democracy and elimination of the some oligarchical elements. The Sparta, although not as democratic as Athens, allowed women to be far more than reproductive machines whom were expected
All boys in Athens could receive education in a school. Athenians wanted to be well-rounded. The second difference was that Sparta had an oligarchy rather than a democracy. The Athenians had a democracy as a government.The first democracy was created in Athens. Sparta had an oligarchy, which means it was ruled by a council of people.
Among the Ancient Greece polices there are two which mostly deserve the research of their history, namely Athens and Sparta. These city-states applies different approaches to the political organization, social structure and adoption of different cultural priorities. The abovementioned differences presuppose the unequal influence of these states on the development of ancient Greece and modern world in general. Within the sphere of political organization, the Athens are regarded to be the homeland of democracy, while Spartan society demonstrates the features of oligarchy. The post-Cleisthenes Athens had a special system of government, which is often thought to be the most democratic one of all times.
Compare and contrast monarchy, aristocracy, tyranny, oligarchy, and democracy as forms of government in Ancient Greek city-states. University of the People Student X Written assignment unit 2 Compare and contrast monarchy, aristocracy, tyranny, oligarchy, and democracy as forms of government in Ancient Greek city-states. 1 Compare and contrast monarchy, aristocracy, tyranny, oligarchy, and democracy as forms of government in Ancient Greek city-states. Introduction Before all let define democracy, so it is defined as a type of government where people exert the sovereignty. As far as democracy is concerned, critics of democracy, such as Thucydides and Aristophanes, both are pinpointing on that the demos in which that they thought that it could be too easily swayed by a good orator or popular leaders the firebrand and get carried away with their emotions.
As various studies suggested, ancient Athens pursued permissiveness and democracy, which its form of government was the antecedent of nowadays 'rule by the people '. After toppling the dictator Hippias in 510 BC, Athenian demos not only took power, but also introduced electoral system that "with no single ruler. A public assembly of male citizens met 40 times a year to vote on state decisions. The agenda was set and decrees carried out by a 500 strong council, chosen by lot to serve one year each"(Finley, 1983). In my view, the authority was no longer centralized in the hands of one administrator, more ordinary people got a say in running the
Democracy can be demonstrated in many different ways, for the Spartan and Athenias this was the case. In all governments there must be someone in control of the people, but certain requirements must always be met in order to have a political influence. The everyday lives of citizens and non-citizens are directly influenced by the government that controls them. Although Athens was the first and most influential Democracy, Sparta was actually a Military Dictatorship. This made the two consequently different from one another, which makes their values and communities entirely different.
The Greeks played an important role in the foundation of Western Civilization’s political science (Wolfe 1). Behind the establishment of democracy lies a legacy filled of empowerment, strategic leadership, and loyalty that lead to the ultimate victory of political freedom. There were many Greeks however, who opposed and argued against democracy, but for the Athenians it’s what made Athens great. Athenians enjoyed a life enriched with their views of freedom, believing this is what allowed humans to reach their fullest potential (8). Political freedom did not come easy, yet was birthed from a war that changed the course of Civilization worldwide.
Aristotle’s politea is often mistranslated as ‘government’, but a more suitable translation is ‘regime’. He views polity as a combination of attributes from oligarchy and democracy. Democracy, in this case can be interpreted as mob rule, unlike modern democracy. According to Aristotle, there are two distinct classes, which cannot overlap; the rich and the poor. Thereby dividing the constitutions into oligarchy (rule of the rich) and democracy (rule of the poor).
Compare and contrast monarchy, aristocracy, tyranny, oligarchy, and democracy as forms of government in Ancient Greek city-states. Monarchy: According to Meriam Webster, a monarchy can be a) “undivided rule or absolute sovereignty by a single person” or b) “a nation state having a monarchical government” or c) “a government having a hereditary chief of state with life tenure and powers varying from nominal to absolute”. (Merriam Webster, n.d.). From these definitions, it is clear that a Monarchy consists of a single individual rule, having earned that status through inheritance. Monarchies were not a very common form of governance within the Greek system.