ipl-logo

Compare And Contrast Monarchy, Aristocracy, Oligarchy, And Democracy

813 Words4 Pages

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. A personal opinion of mine is that this could be a result of the constant in fighting between the Greek city states. A kingdom constantly under attack or constantly attacking cannot sustain forever. If you are always fighting, you are bound to lose eventually and a Monarchy and the reliance of hereditary heirs will immediately cease to exist after the first loss. Macedonia and Epeiros were two famous city states that practiced monarchy governance, but the rulers still shared power with an assembly, introducing aristocracy tendencies. (ancient.eu, n.d.). Sparta practiced a form of a monarchy in their Government, however, having two Kings strayed from the true definition of a monarchy and their power was also limited by the Ephors and Gerousia, especially during times of peace. (Brand). Corinth however was a famous city

Show More
Related

  • Monarchy In Eusebius Pamphilus 'Praise Of The Emperor Constantine'

    321 Words  | 2 Pages

    Consequently, monarchy and its one ruler system trumps all other government systems, simply due to the fact that monarchy reflects God’s natural structure. Eusebius applauded Constantine and his monarchy because, “he [Constantine] directs his gaze above, and frames his earthly government

    Read More

  • Influential Forces In The Mediterranean Region During The Hellenistic Era

    1246 Words  | 5 Pages

    Both the city states of Greece and the Roman Empire had distinctly different and yet powerful political systems. Both systems influenced many civilizations and empires and were respected by existing societies. In greece, most notably in Athens, a form a government never seen before was put in to play; Democracy. The democracy in Athens was a system of government unique to Athens and founded by the teachings and knowledge of Cleisthenes. Democracy was an early system of representative government, where the citizens of Athens elected officials to rule.

    Read More

  • Greek Dbq

    449 Words  | 2 Pages

    The real question is were the Greeks very democratic? I really do not think the Greeks were democratic at all. They really didn’t exemplify true qualities of a Democratic City-State. The next few paragraphs will show the reason behind my answer, and how people were treated unfairly. My first reason behind this is the Athenian government only granted citizenship to men who parents were free-born Athenian parents.

    Read More

  • Athens Vs Sparta Essay

    718 Words  | 3 Pages

    The post-Cleisthenes Athens had a special system of government, which is often thought to be the most democratic one of all times. The leading power was an assembly of all free citizens called ecclesia. This body was responsible for the declaration of war and peace, electing the officials and applying laws. All the citizens had the equal amount of rights during the

    Read More

  • Athenian Democracy Vs American Democracy

    983 Words  | 4 Pages

    While the Athenians did have their government centered on three major institutions, they were not

    Read More

  • Gregorian Calendar Dbq Essay

    430 Words  | 2 Pages

    2). The style in which these governments were set is called a democracy (doc. 2). In this form of government the people have a voice and cast votes for their laws ( O.I.). However in Athens there was a direct democracy where every indval voted on everything (doc. 2). This called a direct democracy ( doc. 2.).

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Ancient Athenian Democracy

    298 Words  | 2 Pages

    Democracy, a form of government, allows the people in their own nationality to vote for people in order for them to become representatives as a result to vote on new laws that would affect their own nationality. One of the many states of Greece, ancient Athens was indeed not truly democratic as a result of not inclusive, other than male citizens, to gain authority in ancient Athens, ¨Demokratia was ruled by male citizens only, excluding women, free foreigners(Metics) and slaves.¨(Document D), therefore ruling Athens was only accessible to male citizen since since women, free foreigners(Metics), and slaves were not allowed to rule as a result of not being male citizens. One of the many states of Greece, ancient Athens, was indeed not truly democratic as a result of not even using the essentials of democracy that is used today, “Thus, by our standards, it was oligarchy, not democracy.¨(Document D), therefore ancient Athens was not using democracy as their form of government, they were using oligarchy,another form of government in which a small group of people has power and control, as their form of government instead of democracy.

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Ancient Greece And Rome

    514 Words  | 3 Pages

    Here the comparison extends to India, where various political forms, including participation in governing councils, ran strong. Later societies, in reflecting on classical Mediterranean civilization, did select from a number of political precedents. Monarchy was not a preferred form; the Roman republic and most Greek city-states had abolished early monarchies as part of

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Ancient Greek And Roman Democracy

    1489 Words  | 6 Pages

    3. Compare and contrast the idea of democracy in Ancient Greece and Rome. Which system was more democratic and why? Democracy is the modern day standard for governmental systems. However up until 500 BCE, the concept of Democracy was a foreign concept, and the great civilizations of that era were run by monarchs, aristocrats, and religious leaders of sorts.

    Read More

  • Greek And Roman Government's Influence On Modern Civilization

    544 Words  | 3 Pages

    The government plays a major role in any civilization. The Greeks had several different types of government: Monarchy, Aristocracy, Oligarchy, and Democracy. The Democratic Government is the type of government, which mainly influenced our modern civilization. Democratic Government simply means the citizens have the power, which is the type of government here in the United States of America.

    Read More

  • How Did The Peloponnesian War Change Athenian Government

    625 Words  | 3 Pages

    The government in ancient Athens was governed by a radical democratic system from 508-322 B.C. and was very different in its size and how the system allowed all males to participate in the government. The Peloponnesian War effected their government when the oligarchy party overthrew the democracy and replaced it with the modern regime of the Five Thousand. Athenians spent almost 100 year fighting to restore democracy and defeat the Spartans and their allies the Persians. Their style of government goes back even before the Peloponnesian War around the time of 620 B.C. Before the Peloponnesian War, there was a man by the name of Draco. Draco gave the people of Athens a law code of which citizens had to listen to.

    Read More

  • The Oligarchy System In The Spartan Empire

    1424 Words  | 6 Pages

    The Spartan Empire Spartan Government: An oligarchy system was adopted in Sparta. In the oligarchy system, few people has the power to rule. Sparta also had an assembly just like Athens, but the main decisions were taken by the “Council of Elders” with two kings and twenty-eight other men as its members. The two kings where born within the royal family while the twenty-eight man where elected by the assembly. For men to be elected to the Council of Elders, they had to be at least 60 years old and approaching from a noble family.

    Read More

  • A Compare And Contrast Essay On Sparta Vs Athens

    711 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Ancient Greece And India

    613 Words  | 3 Pages

    The system of government was based on philosophy rather than belief of something higher like gods. The Greeks believed in the ability of men to think rationally and govern based on reason. Greece believed more in what they could see. The Greeks government was run through the citizens, it was voted on who would rule; it was not like India where the rulers were based on patriarchy. Some might argue that Ancient India and Greece were more similar rather than different, however Greece and India were more different than they were similar.

    Read More

  • Athens And Sparta Democracy Vs Dictatorship Case Study

    893 Words  | 4 Pages

    In Athenian society there was a sort of democracy, the first in recorded history, but political rights and the power to vote was held by a relatively small group. Only free adult males with Athenian parents were eligible. While this also seems like an oligarchy today, it gave voice to a much larger portion of society than any of its contemporaries.(Brand,

    Read More

More about Compare And Contrast Monarchy, Aristocracy, Oligarchy, And Democracy

Open Document