0
Athens
One of the Ancient Greek city states, Athens has become the Capitol of Greece. It was home to Plato and Aristotle as well as a center of cultural activity up to the modern day.
2,294 Questions
Who was the creator of democracy in Athens?
Democracy was developed in the Greek city-state of Athens, comprising the central city-state of Athens and the surrounding territory of Attica, around 500 BC. Athens was one of the very first known democracies (although anthropological research suggests that democratic forms were likely common in stateless societies long before the rise of Athens). Other Greek cities set up democracies, most but not all following an Athenian model, but none were as powerful or as stable (or as well-documented) as that of Athens. It remains a unique and intriguing experiment in direct democracy where the people do not elect representatives to vote on their behalf but vote on legislation and executive bills in their own right. Participation was by no means open, but the in-group of participants was constituted with no reference to economic class and they participated on a scale that was truly phenomenal. The public opinion of voters was remarkably influenced by the political satire performed by the comic poets at the theaters.
Solon (594 BC), Cleisthenes (509 BC), and Ephialtes (462 BC) all contributed to the development of Athenian democracy. Historians differ on which of them was responsible for which institutions, and which of them most represented a truly democratic movement. It is most usual to date Athenian democracy from Cleisthenes, since Solon's constitution fell and was replaced by the tyranny of Peisistratus, whereas Ephialtes revised Cleisthenes' constitution relatively peacefully. Hipparchus, the brother of the tyrant Hippias, was killed by Harmodius and Aristogeiton, who were subsequently honored by the Athenians for their alleged restoration of Athenian freedom.
The greatest and longest-lasting democratic leader was Pericles; after his death, Athenian democracy was twice briefly interrupted by oligarchic revolution towards the end of the Peloponnesian War. It was modified somewhat after it was restored under Eucleides; the most detailed accounts are of this fourth-century modification rather than the Periclean system. It was suppressed by the Macedonians in 322 BC. The Athenian institutions were later revived, but the extent to which they were a real democracy is debatable.
Cleisthenes is considered the father of democracy.
Cleisthenes of Athens who established a limited democracy there in 507 BCE.
What did it take to participate in Greek government?
To be a citizen, attend assemblies, undertake duties in councils and juries, participate in religious observances, and follow military callouts.
What was the first example of self-government and direct democracy in the colonies?
The Mayflower Compact was the first example of self-government in the British colonies.
What did it mean to be citizen of Athens?
To be a citizen of Ancient Athens you had to be a full grown man that was born in Athens.
many greek cities have an acropolis. It was built on a hill overlooking the city and often housed temples and some sacred burial sites. when raiders came it served as a look out and sometimes as a place to shelter. as ilt was on a rise, it would have been easier to defend.
How where decisions made in ancient Athens?
The Assembly of the people which met fortnightly. In between, the Council implemented the Assembly's directions and a 50-man section of the council was on duty 24 hours a day to deal with any problems which arose.
If the question was "Who were the Athenians?" The answer is the people who lived in the Greek city of Athens.
If the question was "Who was Athena", the answer is: Athena was a goddess. She was the goddess of war, wisdom, weaving, crafts, and knowledge.
Why was the council of 500 importent?
Athens' council was tasked with carrying out the decisions of the citizens assembly between the Assembly's fortnightly meetings. It also dealt with daily problems, with 50 of the Council members on duty each day to handle problems 24/7.
What is the same about ancient Athens democrcy and your democracy now?
Very little. Athens had a direct democracy, where the citizens met fortnightly and made decisions which the Council implemented. Today we have representative democracy where the people elect representatives to a parliament which makes the decisions on their behalf between elections.
What was a typical day for citizens of Athens?
Most Athenians lived an equal life. Slaves, foreigners and citizens all earned the same basic wage. They complete their daily work and then go gossip in the market, pursue artistic activities, or participate in politics.
What cause the people of Athens to join forces with their rival city-statesparatain 480 bc?
Sparta and Athens were not rivals in 480 BCE - that came more than 30 years afterwards when the threat of Persia subsided. Sparta had promised to help them against the Persian attack on Athens in 490 BCE, but its army had arrived on the battlefield at Marathon too late.
They remained on good terms and were natural allies in the Persian invasion in 480-479 BCE, providing the two largest contingents to the southern Greek coalition, led by Sparta, which repelled the invasion.
Even if Athens had not been friendly with Sparta, it had no choice because it was a prime target of the Persian invasion and needed all the help it could get. It was not a case of Athens joining force with Sparta, it was Athens seeking the help of Sparta and its allies.
They remained close allies for another 20 years, Athens helping Sparta put down a rebellion in its territory. They fell out when Athens started interfering in the affairs of the Peloponnesian League cities (which Sparta led) and Athens ignored Sparta's appeal to back off, leading to an all-out war.
How did Pericles feel abut social class in Athens?
Pericles was an aristocrat who took his mentor Ephialtes' establishment of people's rights to extremes, espousing populist causes, fomenting the expulsion of conservative opponents, and establishing extreme people-power (democracy) which he was not above using for his own benefit and that of similarly opportunistic aristocratic companions and associates.
Essentially he used social divisions and divisiveness for his own ends. However he also promoted the welfare of the lower classes which is what gained him such widespread and longstanding support.
Where the balance between self-interest and social inclusiveness lay is a conundrum which people usually view from their own socio-political biases. A similar difficulty exits with Julius Caesar - a blue-blood claiming descent from Venus, who espoused populists issues to gain and retain power.
The establishment of the Delian League caused Athens to become very?
The establishment of the Delian League allowed Athens to protect its sea borders and lessen the threat of becoming a target for the Persian Empire. This alliance caused Athens to become the dominant city-state in Greece.
democracy
Did the Persians celebrate when they found the Athens city empty?
They simply looted it, and destroyed the statues of the gods in retribution for Athens' destruction of Persian gods when they burnt the Persian provincial capital of Sardis twenty-odd years earlier.
And the city wasn't entirely empty. A party had remained behind defending the Acropolis, but were quickly overcome.
Afternote:
After the Athenians returned to their citiy when the Persians withdreww, they didnt know what to do with te smashed statues of the gods, and buried them in the ravine nearby, waiting for the gods to let them know what to do with them. They were discovered over two thousand years leaer in 1923 CE, and confirmed that the Greeks did not have the austere statues we imagine today, but painted them in gaudy reds, blues and greens.
How do the steps taken by leaders of Athens reflect a turn toward democracy?
I understand it was only Pericles' regime that produced any real democracy and it died with him. I also heard an anecdote about that. It claimed the returning aristocracy that Pericles confronted said to each other, "Now that we can't force them into doing what we want, we will need to fool them into it."
I think that explains well what happens today. I wonder if politicians found that so easy then as it is now.
How is it different from Athens?
Attica was the territory of the city-state of Athens. Athens was the city, Attica stretched for 30 miles from the Saronic Gulf and port of Piraeus north to the Hermettus Mountains.
The city of Athens is situated just north of Piraeus.
What city is the Vishay Intertechnology based out of?
They are based out of Malvern, PA.
Check out: www.wikinvest.com/stock/Vishay_Intertechnology_(VSH) for more info.
How did Draco from Athens die?
According to the "Through the Ages" historical time line book by Alf Henrickson, Draco, "who enjoyed public respect and admiration - so much so that on one occasion when he attended the theatre he was applauded by the entire audience who began showering him with articles of clothing in token of their admiration. As a result, Draco was suffocated."
What decisions did Athens make regarding the funds of the Delian League?
First to move the funds to Athens from Delos to control them. Then when peace was made with Persia Athens continued to collect them annually, by force if necessary. Athens then diverted the money to maintain its navy to collect the funds and spent it on its own city and keeping half its citizens on the public payroll. It was a real Golden Age for Athens.
How did social structure of ancient Athens impact its political structure?
Initially the citizens were structured according to their financial worth mlisted in the numbers of measures of produce they produces - 500 measure-men, 300 measures, 200 measures. Those below the 200 measures could not sustain a family and were workmen andnot citizens. With the coming of the democracy, ll those who could prove Athenian birth to their tribe t the age of 18 were citizens, regardless of their financial status, and could gain a living as sailors in the fleet, garrisons in the Athenian empire, and in the public service jobs and courts which proliferates, financed by the empire it created after the Persian War.
To the Athenians the courts were political, and ran on several juries of 500 each day. Then there was the Council of 500, the 20,000 in the warships and 10,000 in the garrisons - plenty of work for everyone, all finances by money forced from the 180 cities of the Athenian empire. And the citizens still at home met in fortnightly assembly to direct the conduct of affairs, which was then carried out by the Council of 500. And to underpin all this were about 70,000 slaves, nearly a quarter of Athens' population.
