This extra credit opportunity is worth 2 points of extra credit PER question on your Ancient Civilization Children's Book OR Unit 1 Quiz.
In the 6th century BCE, Athens was the site of ongoing fighting between the rich Athenians, who controlled the government, and poor Athenians, who were farmers and merchants. In 508 BCE, a wealthy Athenian named Cleisthenes rose to power in the city-state. The following year, he introduced a system known as democracy. A democracy is a form of government where political power comes from citizens. The word comes from the Greek demokratia. Demo means “the people,” and kratia means “power” or “rule.” Athenian democracy was a direct democracy. This means that citizens were allowed to vote directly on laws and government actions. This is different from a representative democracy, in which citizens elect officials to vote on laws. The Athenian democratic government was divided into three branches: the Ekklesia, the Boule, and the Dikasteria. The Ekklesia was Athens’s main governing body and made the most important decisions, including voting on laws, deciding whether to go to war, and determining foreign policy. Any Athenian citizen could attend and vote in the Ekklesia, which met 40 times per year. Decisions required a simple majority to pass. The Boule was a council made up of 500 men (50 from each of the 10 Athenian tribes). These men were chosen by lottery and served one year terms. The Boule made decisions about day-to-day government and decided what issues should go in front of the Ekklesia. The Dikasteria, or court, was made up of 500 men over 30 years old, who were chosen by lottery. They decided legal cases by majority rule. There were no official police or lawyers. Athenian citizens served in these roles instead. Central Historical Question: Was ancient Athens truly democratic? Directions: Using the following document below and your previous knowledge of Athenian Democracy, answer the prompt at the bottom of this post. The Athenian Constitution (Modified) The following excerpt comes from “The Athenian Constitution,” written by the Greek philosopher Aristotle between 330 and 322 BCE. Aristotle was the leading Greek philosopher of the time, and is credited with writing accounts of the constitutions of 170 different Greek states. At the time that we are speaking, the people have secured their control of the state and established the constitution which exists at the present day. The democracy has made itself master of everything and administers everything by its votes in the Assembly and by the law-courts. The present state of the constitution is as follows. The franchise is open to all men who are of citizen birth by both parents. They are enrolled as citizens at the age of eighteen. On the occasion of their enrollment, the current citizens give their votes first on whether the new candidates appear to be of the age set by the law. If the candidates are not of the right age, they are dismissed back into the ranks of the boys. Secondly, the current citizens give their votes on whether the candidate is free born, and has two citizen parents as the laws require. If they decide that he is not a free man, he can appeal to the law-courts. If the court decides that he has no right to be enrolled as a citizen, he is sold by Athens as a slave. If he wins his case, he has the right to be enrolled as a citizen without further question. All the magistrates that are responsible for the ordinary routine of administration are elected by lot in the Assembly. However, the Military Treasurer, the Commissioners of the Festival Fund, and the Superintendent of the Water Supply are elected by vote. All military officers are also elected by vote. Source: Aristotle, “The Athenian Constitution,” 330-322 BCE. Vocabulary franchise: right to vote and participate in government free born: not born to a parent who is a slave magistrates: government officials lot: random lottery lot: random lottery Questions:
7 Comments
Damien Kort
2/14/2018 04:16:30 pm
1. Every man that had sufficient money could get to vote. Women, children and slaves were not allowed. They also split up into 10 tribes with 50 councilmen in each, therefore, creating a 500 man council. They also created an intricate system of courts sometimes composed of up to 6000 men.
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Dawson Mazanek
2/15/2018 03:43:36 pm
1. The citizens were allowed to bote by law as it says in the Second paragraph 3 line. But in this case the rich men could only vote while slaves, women and children were exempt from voting. Their government were made up of 50 councilmen in 10 tribes which meant there was a 500 man council and sometimes would have 6000 men as stated in the 4th paragraph.
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Dawson Mazanek
2/15/2018 03:44:36 pm
Sorry i meant to say that it was also cited in the 4th paragraph also
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Ava D
2/15/2018 06:43:34 pm
I agree that it was not a full democracy because woman could not vote. i also agree that Athens is not more democratic then America. Although i do not agree that a democracy is specific to being able to vote at 18 it could be a little older or younger.
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Ava D
2/15/2018 04:36:49 pm
1) The law states that all randomly selected leaders and citizens can vote, but there is a very detailed process in which to become a citizen, and if you don't pass the process then you become a slave. Also you have to be a male to vote. In addition they have to have both parents who are not slaves and be 18. The Athen government has three major pillars, one being Ekklesia, the other being Boule, and the last being Dikasteria. The passage states "If the court decides that he has no right to be enrolled as a citizen, he is sold by Athens as a slave." this restates that in some cases if not ruled an eligible citizen then you can become a slave.
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Cassidy W.
2/16/2018 07:35:14 pm
I definitely agree on your reasoning behind Athens' democracy not being truly a democracy. I like that you pointed out and broke down the meaning of democracy and used that in your argument. In your second question, you mentioned Athens leaving out women and slaves, yet I think you should also mention how the person's family can also affect their voting rights (if the parents are not citizens, then the person cannot vote). I really like your arguments and definitely agree with them!
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Cassidy W.
2/16/2018 07:14:04 pm
1. The rights for the Athenian government were quite restricted for certain people. They were only able to vote if they were a male at the age of 18 years or older, the text says, "The franchise is open to all men who are of citizen birth by both parents. They are enrolled as citizens at the age of eighteen." They had to be free (otherwise they would be sold as slaves), this was stated in the passage, "If they decide that he is not a free man, he can appeal to the law-courts. If the court decides that he has no right to be enrolled as a citizen, he is sold by Athens as a slave."
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