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What political practice from Greek democracy did the Roman Republic copy?
Wiki User
∙ 11y ago
There are many answers to this question. Rome took the idea of trial by jury of one's peers, from the Greeks (specifically Athens). Rome also took the idea that decisions can and should be made by what we now call, an electorate; a body of people who have the right to vote on proposed laws, administrative actions, and state policy. Rome used the idea of citizenship, which was created by the Greeks, to expand the republican empire, and reduce civil strife among the people it had conquered. Also, while Rome did not explicitly take this last practice, Rome did utilize a watered down form. In Athens, there was a practice called ostracism, where every year, the Athenians would vote on who they thought was too popular, irresponsible, and most likely to try to harm the Athenian Democracy, and the person who gained the most votes, was exiled from Athens. In Rome, exile was used as a form of punishment, mainly for people of power and ability. People who were exiled were forbidden from entering the precincts of Rome, and so their skills, abilities and power were put to use elsewhere in the empire. This practice allowed the state to gain the exiled person's benefits on the local economy, and such, while publicly punishing the person.
The Romans did not copy any Greek democratic practice.
· Vote by the people gathered in an assembly of the people to elect (originally) the king started right from the beginning, long before contact with Greek political ideas.
· The Roman popular assemblies never voted on administrative action and state policy. These were the preserve of the kings, at first, and of the consuls in the Republic.
· The idea of citizenship was not a Greek invention and existed in a number of civilisations. Again, the Romans developed the concept of citizenship very early on, long before contact with Greek political ideas.
· Exiling people who were not politically desirable was common in ancient civilisations and was specific neither the Romans nor the Greeks. Rome practiced this long before Athens introduced ostracism.
The Romans were not interested in Greek principles of democracy and never tried to introduce them. The Roman Republic and the Athenian democracy were established at around the same time. Three Romans were said to have been sent to Athens 55 years after the foundation of the Republic to copy the law of Solon. This law was over 100 years old and established a timocracy (power by the propertied classes) rather than democracy. The Romans ignored the contemporary democratic institutions in Athens. There never were any discussions about democracy. The Republic was at first controlled by the patrician aristocracy and later by a patrician-(rich) plebeian oligarchy. Democracy (which for the Greeks meant power by the people) would have been seen as too subversive by the oligarchy. Despite voting on laws and electing the officers of state, the popular assemblies were meant to hold very little influenced in this oligarchy.
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∙ 11y ago
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Where does the word democracy come from?
the word democracy derived from an ancient greek term
What did the ancient greek and roman government and the English government contribute to American government?
The Greeks invented the idea of democracy. However, their concept of democracy was different. Nowadays we have indirect democracy, which means that the people elect representatives of the people and it is them who vote on bills. The Greek had direct democracy, which means that it was the people themselves, gathered in the assembly of the people, who voted on bills. Demorcacy means power by the people in Greek. Both the Greeks and the Romans had the concept of citizenship and the idea that citizens had rights. During the Roman Republic and in the Greek democracies, this included the right to vote. It has to be noted that not all Greek states had democracies and in that other states (such as kingdoms, oligarchies and tyrannies) there was no voting. During the period of rule by emperors which followed the Roman Republic the people no longer voted and there was absolute rule by emperors. During the Roman Republic there was also the power of veto. The idea for American veto system came from the Romans.
How did the Romans republic the exhibit qualities of 3 forms of government?
The idea of the Republic having qualities of three forms of government came from Polybius' use of the political theory of Greek philosopher Aristotle. Aristotle said that different states had different constitutions (political systems) which were: monarchy, aristocracy, oligarchy and democracy. Monarchy was rule by a king, oligarchy was rule by the rich, aristocracy was rule by the excellent (determined by qualities and abilities rather than just wealth) and democracy was rule by the people. Aristotle also talked about what he called a mixed constitution, which combined elements of various kinds of constitutions.Ancient Greek scholar Polybius argued that the Roman Republic was a mixed constitution. He thought the consuls (the two annually elected heads of the city and the army) were like a monarchy, the senate was an aristocracy (its members were not elected and were drafted for among the aristocrats, and the popular assembly (which voted on bills) provided an element of democracy. This created a situation of checks and balances in which the three elements of the constitution checked the power of the others and balanced the weaknesses of the others.Aristotle though that in a single constitution there were dangers that it could degenerate into a 'perverted' constitution: Monarchy could degenerate into tyranny, aristocracy could degenerate into oligarchy (were power was used solely in the interest of the rich, ignoring the plight of the poor) and democracy could degenerate into anarchy. A mixed constitution provided safeguards against these degenerations.It has to be noted that: a) this was an ancient Greek theory, 2) in the case of the Roman Republic, this applied to the whole of the political system and not exclusively to the government which was the annual rule by the two annually elected consuls.
How have the ideas of Greek Democracy and Roman Republic influenced todays world?
Ancient Greece and Rome both influenced the democratic development of England and America; even more largely, western civilization as a whole. The invention of democracy by various Greek city-states was one key contribution of Greece, while the republican government of Rome, along with Roman implementation of an extensive legal system, provided another set of powerful influences.
What is the difference between the roman republic and the greek democracy?
none really other than internal structure - they were both based off the idea that we should be ruled by philosopher kings not the general populous
What was political practice in Greek democracy did the Roman Republic also permit?
They also permitted homosexuals.
Which political practice in greek democracy did the roman republic permit?
None. Apart from a few people, the Romans were never interested in the Greek concept of democracy. It was alien to their tradition and to the ancestral customs which were very important to them. The conservative elites this concept would have been subversive.
What country was planet earth's first democratic republic?
Democracy is started in Greek, Athen Democracy is started in Greek, Athen
What greek accomplishment is evident in today political system?
Democracy.
What Greek accomplishment is evident in our political system today?
Democracy.
Why did the ancient Greek city-state Athens have a direct democracy while the Romans had a republic?
Republic and democracy are two different things. A Republic can be a democracy, just as a constitutional monarchy today can be a democracy. Democracy existed in the Roman Republic, as it had three different assemblies of the citizens (Centuriate, Tribal, Plebeian). Athens went through phases - monarchy, oligarchy, limited democracy, radical democracy.
What are some Greek contributions to democracy?
They established the practice of all male citizens sharing in political power. They also participated in jury trials, and established a universal liability to serve in defence of the state.
How was Ancient Greek democracy different from democracy in the US?
Ancient Greek democracy was a direct democracy - those who had political rights could go to the assembly and speak or vote personally. Modern democracies are indirect or representative democracies - which means that citizens can have a say in the government through representatives that have been elected by them. The other difference is that women did not have political rights in ancient times.
How was the ancient Greek democracy different from democracy in the US?
Ancient Greek democracy was a direct democracy - those who had political rights could go to the assembly and speak or vote personally. Modern democracies are indirect or representative democracies - which means that citizens can have a say in the government through representatives that have been elected by them. The other difference is that women did not have political rights in ancient times.
What has the author J Peter Euben written?
J. Peter Euben has written: 'Corrupting youth' -- subject(s): Democracy, Greek Political plays, History and criticism, Political plays, Greek, Political science, Political socialization, Politics and literature
True-false The greek culture was the birth of democracy?
True. Athenian democracy was the most pivotal and significant example, but many other Greek cities, such as Corinth, Megara, and Syracuse also had democratic political systems.
How were political rights in Greek Democracy unequal?
Athenian democracy developed around the fifth century BC in the Greek city-state .... Also excluded from voting were citizens whose rights were under suspension ..... of democracy: 'it distributes a sort of equality to equal and unequal alike'.
