The most comprehensive and authoritative history site on the Internet. Rome would have to fight the Pontic king again before his final defeat and deathpurportedly by suicidein 63. After all, at the time of writing, Athens was the greatest single power in the entire Greek world, and that fact could not be totally unconnected with the fact that Athens was a democracy. From the story of the rise and fall of Athens, it is clear that the concept of democracy was abused to the point that only the city's citizens had rights and the rest of the allies were considered as subjects. Its economy, heavily dependent on trade and resources from overseas, crashed when in the 4th century instability in the region began to affect the arterial routes through which those supplies flowed. This being the case, the following remarks on democracy are focussed on the Athenians. The Italian Social War ended in 88, freeing the Romans to meet the Pontic threat in the east. Those defeats persuaded Mithridates to end the war. Nevertheless, democracy in a slightly altered form did eventually return to Athens and, in any case, the Athenians had already done enough in creating their political system to eventually influence subsequent civilizations two millennia later. But geometry worked against him. This system was comprised of three separate institutions: the ekklesia, a sovereign governing body that wrote laws and dictated foreign policy; the boule, a council of representatives from the ten Athenian tribes and the dikasteria, the popular courts in which citizens argued cases before a group of lottery-selected jurors. To subscribe, click here. Antiphon's regime lasted only a few months, and after a brief experiment with a more moderate form of oligarchy the Athenians restored the old democratic institutions pretty much as they had been. During the Classical era and Hellenistic era of Classical Antiquity, many Hellenic city-states had adopted democratic forms of government, in which free (non- slave ), native (non-foreigner) adult male citizens of the city took a major and direct part in the management of the affairs of state, such as declaring war, voting . Ultimately, the city was to respond positively to some of these challenges. 2023 A&E Television Networks, LLC. and the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C. Athens' democracy in fact recovered from these injuries within years. Appian, the historian who wrote in the second century AD, records that the Bithynians were terrified at seeing men cut in halves and still breathing, or mangled in fragments, or hanging on the scythes.. According to Appian, Sulla ordered an indiscriminate massacre, not sparing women or children. Many Athenians were so distraught that they committed suicide by throwing themselves at the soldiers. Citizens probably accounted for 10-20% of the polis population, and of these it has been estimated that only 3,000 or so people actively participated in politics. In 621 BCE Draco wrote the law code in order to ease discontent in . In the year 507 B.C., the Athenian leader Cleisthenes introduced a system of political reforms that he called demokratia, or rule by the people (from demos, the people, and kratos, or power). Ancient Athenian democracy differs from the democracy that we are familiar with in the present day. He and his allies then retreated to the Acropolis, which the Romans promptly surrounded. In hard practical fact there was no alternative, and no alternative to hereditary autocracy, the system laid down by Cyrus, could seriously have been contemplated. It was here in the courts that laws made by the assembly could be challenged and decisions were made regarding ostracism, naturalization, and remission of debt. They didnt act immediately; a fight over who would lead the army against Mithridates was settled only when Consul Lucius Cornelius Sulla secured the command by marching on Rome, an unprecedented move. The Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Body, Report on the allegations and matters raised in the BUAV report, Non-human primates (marmosets and rhesus macaques). As below ground, so above. The military impact of Athenian democracy was twofold. There was in Athens (and also Elis, Tegea, and Thasos) a smaller body, the boul, which decided or prioritised the topics which were discussed in the assembly. The mighty Persian empire (founded in Asia a generation earlier by Cyrus the Great and expanded by his son Cambyses to take in Egypt) is in crisis, since a usurper has occupied the throne. He detached a force to surround Athens, then struck at Piraeus, where Archelaus and his troops were stationed. The Athenian Democracy in the Age of Demosthenes: Structure, Principles Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. Not all anti-democrats, however, saw only democracy's weaknesses and were entirely blind to democracy's strengths. If you use this content on your site please link back to this page. The Romans built a huge mobile siege tower that reached higher than the citys walls, and placed catapults in its upper reaches to fire down upon the defenders. As the Pontic general Archelaus persuaded other Greek cities to turn against Romeincluding Thebes to the northwest of AthensAristion established a new regime in Athens. Then there was the view that the mob, the poor majority, were nothing but a collective tyrant. Attacking into the half circle of the lunette, they were hit by missiles from the front and both flanks. 'What? No one, so long as he has it in him to be of service to the state, is kept in political obscurity because of poverty. He sees 12 stages in the development of Athenian democracy, including the initial Eupatrid oligarchy and the final fall of democracy to the imperial powers. But this was all before the powerful Athens of the fifth century BC, when the city had been at its zenith. Not All Opinions Are Equal In a democracy all opinions are equal. Two scenes from Athens in the first-century BC: Early summer, 88 BC, a cheering crowd surrounds the envoy Athenion as he makes a rousing speech. The Pompeion was ravaged beyond repair and left to decay. Modern representative democracies, in contrast to direct democracies, have citizens who vote for representatives who create and enact laws on their behalf. As he advanced, Thebes and the other Greek cities that had allied with Archelaus nimbly switched back to the Roman side. They are also, however, reminders of the human capacity for disagreement, read more, An ambiguous, controversial concept, Jacksonian Democracy in the strictest sense refers simply to the ascendancy of Andrew Jackson and the Democratic party after 1828. known for its art, architecture and philosophy. It only hastened Athens' eventual defeat in the war, which was followed by the installation at Sparta's behest of an even narrower oligarchy than that of the 400 - that of the 30. Sulla, tipped off by a lead-ball message, captured the relief expedition. Then he recounted events in the east. There were no police in Athens, so it was the demos themselves who brought court cases, argued for the prosecution and the defense and delivered verdicts and sentences by majority rule. Solon, (born c. 630 bcedied c. 560 bce), Athenian statesman, known as one of the Seven Wise Men of Greece (the others were Chilon of Sparta, Thales of Miletus, Bias of Priene, Cleobulus of Lindos, Pittacus of Mytilene, and Periander of Corinth). Specific issues discussed in the assembly included deciding military and financial magistracies, organising and maintaining food supplies, initiating legislation and political trials, deciding to send envoys, deciding whether or not to sign treaties, voting to raise or spend funds, and debating military matters. Chiefly because of a fatal ambiguity: to its opponents democracy was no more, and no better, than mob-rule, since for them it meant the political power of the masses exercised over and at the expense of the elite. Instead, Dr. Scott argues that the strains and stresses of the 4th century BC, which our own times seem to echo, proved too much for the Athenian democratic system and ultimately caused it to destroy itself. A mass slaughter followed. A Greek trireme Our publication has been reviewed for educational use by Common Sense Education, Internet Scout (University of Wisconsin), Merlot (California State University), OER Commons and the School Library Journal. Not only do we pay for our servers, but also for related services such as our content delivery network, Google Workspace, email, and much more. The mass involvement of all male citizens and the expectation that they should participate actively in the running of the polis is clear in this quote from Thucydides: We alone consider a citizen who does not partake in politics not only one who minds his own business but useless. The Greek idea of democracy was different from present-day democracy because, in Athens, all adult citizens were required to take an active part in the government. To protect their money, some Athenians buried coin hoards. This imperial system has become, for us, a by-word for autocracy and the arbitrary exercise. Inevitably, there was some fallout, and one of the victims of the simmering personal and ideological tensions was Socrates. Please read our email privacy notice for details. The word democracy comes from the Greek words demos, meaning "the people," and kratos, meaning "to rule.". Cleisthenes changed Athenian democracy becuase he redefined what it was to be a citizen and so removed the influence of traditional clan groups. Rome, which was preoccupied fighting its former Italian allies in the Social War (9188), failed to step in to settle matters, increasing resentment in Athens. The terms of the 85 BC peace agreement with Sulla were surprisingly mild considering that Mithridates had slaughtered thousands of Romans. The assembly also ensured decisions were enforced and officials were carrying out their duties correctly. Yet, with the advent of new technology, it would actually be possible to reinvent today a form of indirect but participatory tele-democracy. The events that led to renewed hostilities began in 433, when Athens allied itself with Corcyra (modern Corfu ), a strategically important colony of Corinth. City residents who had cheered lustily for Athenion, the demagogic envoy, now found themselves ruled by a tyrant. This executive of the executive had a chairman (epistates) who was chosen by lot each day. Centuries later, archaeologists discovered some of these in the ruins of the Pompeion, a gathering place for the start of processions. Around 460 B.C., under the rule of the general Pericles (generals were among the only public officials who were elected, not appointed) Athenian democracy began to evolve into something that we would call an aristocracy: the rule of what Herodotus called the one man, the best. Though democratic ideals and processes did not survive in ancient Greece, they have been influencing politicians and governments ever since. Athens remains a posterchild for democracies worldwide, but it was not a pure democracy. Athenian Democracy. The first was the ekklesia, or Assembly, the sovereign governing body of Athens. Subscribe to receive our weekly newsletter with top stories from master historians. It argues that it was not the loss of its empire and defeat in war against Sparta at the end of the 5th century that heralded the death knell of Athenian democracy - as it is traditionally perceived. Ultimately, the Romans grew exhausted, and Sulla ordered a retreat. World History Encyclopedia. World History Encyclopedia. This page has been archived and is no longer updated. War between Pontus and Romethe First Mithridatic Warbroke out in 89 BC over the petty state of Bithynia in northwestern Anatolia. Its popular Assembly directed internal affairs as a showcase of democracy. Under this system, all male citizens - the dmos - had equal political rights, freedom of speech, and the opportunity to participate directly in the political arena. We would much rather spend this money on producing more free history content for the world. Traditionally, the concept of democracy is believed to have originated in Athens in c508 BC, although there is evidence to suggest that democratic systems of government may have existed elsewhere in the world before then, albeit on a smaller scale. As we have seen, only male citizens who were 18 years or over could speak (at least in theory) and vote in the assembly, whilst the positions such as magistrates and jurors were limited to those over 30 years of age. Last updated 2011-02-17. The Pontic king sent his Greek mercenary, General Archelaus, into the Aegean with a fleet. BBC 2014 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. In despair, many Athenians kill themselves. Cleisthenes introduced democracy in Athen (500c BCE) Democracy of Athens. By Athenian democratic standards of justice, which are not ours, the guilt of Socrates was sufficiently proven. Paul Cartledge is Professor of Greek History at the University of Cambridge. A further variant on this view was that the masses or the mob, being ignorant and stupid for the most part, were easily swayed by specious rhetoric - so easily swayed that they were incapable of taking longer views or of sticking resolutely to one, good view once that had been adopted. But without warning, it sank into the earth. Some Rights Reserved (2009-2023) under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license unless otherwise noted. In 1964 an Ohio woman took up the challenge that had led to Amelia Earharts disappearance. But why should they be? - Melissa Schwartzberg. Athens, humbled in recent years by the Romans, can seize control of its destiny, Athenion declares. Critics of democracy, such as Thucydides and Aristophanes, pointed out that not only were proceedings dominated by an elite, but that the dmos could be too often swayed by a good orator or popular leaders (the demagogues), get carried away with their emotions, or lack the necessary knowledge to make informed decisions. As soldiers carted away their prized and sacred possessions, the guardians of Delphi bitterly complained that Sulla was nothing like previous Roman commanders, who had come to Greece and made gifts to the temples. 'So', persists Alcibiades, 'democracy is really just another form of tyranny?' And its denouement is the Roman sack of Athens, a bloody day that effectively marked the end of Athens as an independent state. Eventually Archelaus realized someone was divulging his plans, but turned it to his advantage. At the kings order, the locals slaughtered tens of thousands of Romans and Italians who lived among them. His election as hoplite general quickly followed. The tyranny had been a terrible and. Solon ended exclusive aristocratic control of the government, substituted a system of control by the wealthy, and introduced a new and more humane . He was chief historical consultant for the BBC TV series 'The Greeks'. Many of its economic problems were gradually solved by attracting wealthy immigrants to Athens - which as a name still carried considerable prestige. The assembly could also vote to ostracise from Athens any citizen who had become too powerful and dangerous for the polis. His influence and that of his best pupil Aristotle were such that it was not until the 18th century that democracy's fortunes began seriously to revive, and the form of democracy that was then implemented tentatively in the United States and, briefly, France was far from its original Athenian model. "Athenian Democracy." Many tried to flee, but Aristion placed guards at the gates. Whether they produced battlefield images of the dead or daguerreotype portraits of common soldiers, []. Ostracism, in which a citizen could be expelled from Athens for 10 years, was among the powers of the ekklesia. S2 ep4: What would a more just future look like? These bronze coins bore the Pontic symbol of a star between two half-moons. This is a form of government which puts the power to rule in the hands of . The stalemate continued. Of this group, perhaps as few as 100 citizens - the wealthiest, most influential, and the best speakers - dominated the political arena both in front of the assembly and behind the scenes in private conspiratorial political meetings (xynomosiai) and groups (hetaireiai). Neither side gained an advantage until a group of Romans who had been gathering wood returned and charged into battle. The Pontic troops had built other lunettes inside, but the Romans attacked each wall with manic energy. [15] The contemporary sources which describe the workings of democracy typically relate to Athens and include such texts as the Constitution of the Athenians from the School of Aristotle; the works of the Greek historians Herodotus, Thucydides, and Xenophon; texts of over 150 speeches by such figures as Demosthenes; inscriptions in stone of decrees, laws, contracts, public honours and more; and Greek Comedy plays such as those by Aristophanes. Among the enduring contributions of the Greek empire to Western society is the foundation of democratic society. a unique and truly revolutionary system that realized its basic principle to an unprecedented and quite extreme extent: no polis had ever dared to give all its citizens equal political rights, regardless of their descent, wealth, social standing, education, personal qualities, and any other factors that usually determined status in a community. Nine presidents (proedroi), elected by lot and holding the office one time only, organised the proceedings and assessed the voting. https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-greece/ancient-greece-democracy. In the dark early morning of March 1, 86 BC, the Romans opened an attack there, launching large catapult stones. Of all the democratic institutions, Aristotle argued that the dikasteria contributed most to the strength of democracy because the jury had almost unlimited power. World History Publishing is a non-profit company registered in the United Kingdom. He also said that Mithridates would free the citizens of Athens from their debts (whether he meant public or private debts is not clear). Our selection of the week's biggest Cambridge research news and features sent directlyto your inbox. Plutarch also claims that Aristion took to dancing on the walls and shouting insults at Sulla. It supervised government workers and was in charge of things like navy ships (triremes) and army horses. So what we have in Herodotus is a Greek debate in Persian dress. The University of Cambridge will use your email address to send you our weekly research news email. While I was in training, my motivation was to get these wings and I wear them today proudly, the airman recalled in 2015. As winter stretched on, Athenians began to starve. Athens was already a waning star on the international stage resting on past imperial glories, and the book argues that it struggled to keep pace with a world in a state of fast-paced globalisation and political transition. 500 BC Athens decided to share decision making. All Rights Reserved. We contribute a share of our revenue to remove carbon from the atmosphere and we offset our team's carbon footprint. Athenion had the mob eating out of his hand. Scorning the vanquished, he declared that he was sparing them only out of respect for their distinguished ancestors. Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present. A marble relief showing the People of Athens being crowned by Democracy, inscribed with a law against tyranny passed by the people of Athens in 336 B.C. The specific connection made by the anonymous writer is that the ultimate source of Athens' power was its navy, and that navy was powered essentially (though not exclusively) by the strong arms of the thetes, that is to say, the poorest section of the Athenian citizen population. Read more. Athens, for example, committed itself to unpopular wars which ultimately brought it into direct conflict with the vastly more powerful Macedonia. Why, to start with, does he not use the word democracy, when democracy of an Athenian radical kind is clearly what he's advocating? A small number of families came to dominate the leading political offices and ruled almost as an oligarchyone that was careful not to provoke the Romans. The majority won the day and the decision was final. These groups had to meet secretly because although there was freedom of speech, persistent criticism of individuals and institutions could lead to accusations of conspiring tyranny and so lead to ostracism. The Pontic army used scythes mounted on chariots as weapons of terror, cutting swaths through the Bithynian ranks. A demagogue, a treacherous ally, and a brutal Roman general destroyed the city-stateand democracyin the first-century BC, https://www.historynet.com/the-end-of-athens/, Jerrie Mock: Record-Breaking American Female Pilot, When 21 Sikh Soldiers Fought the Odds Against 10,000 Pashtun Warriors, Few Red Tails Remain: Tuskegee Airman Dies at 96. Sullas solution: rob the Greek temples of their treasures. Positions on the boule were chosen by lot and not by election. The constitutional change, according to Thucydides, seemed the only way to win much-needed support from Persia against the old enemy Sparta and, further, it was thought that the change would not be a permanent one. When Athenion returned home in the early summer of 88, citizens gave him a rapturous reception. It was this body which supervised any administrative committees and officials on behalf of the assembly. Greek Bronze Ballot DisksMark Cartwright (CC BY-NC-SA). Athens was forced to destroy its main defenses, abolish the Delian League and its fleet was handed over to the Spartans. History is who we are and why we are the way we are.. Into this dangerous situation stepped Solon, a moderate man the Athenians trusted to bring justice for all. This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. Under Macedonian control, Athens had dwindled to a third-rank power, with no independence in foreign affairs and an insignificant military. About the same time that the Pontic army was sweeping across the province of Asia, Athens dispatched the philosopher Athenion as an envoy to Mithridates. Another is theory (from the Greek word meaning contemplation, itself based on the root for seeing). Inside Piraeus, Archelaus countered by building towers for his siege engines. Democracy itself, however, buckled under the strain. But when one of the Athenian delegates began a grand speech about their citys great past, Sulla abruptly dismissed them. He also helped himself to a stash of gold and silver found on the Acropolis. Sign up for our free weekly email newsletter! But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! In a new history of the 4th century BC, Cambridge University Classicist Dr. Michael Scott reveals how the implosion of Ancient Athens occurred amid a crippling economic downturn, while politicians committed financial misdemeanours, sent its army to fight unpopular foreign wars and struggled to cope with a surge in immigration. In 411 and again in 404 Athens experienced two, equally radical counter-coups and the establishment of narrow oligarchic regimes, first of the 400 led by the formidable intellectual Antiphon, and then of the 30, led by Plato's relative Critias. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms. 'Why', answers his guardian Pericles, who was then at the height of his influence, 'it is whatever the people decides and decrees'. In 129 BC, after Rome established its province of Asia, in western Anatolia across the Aegean, Delos became a trade hub for goods shipped between Anatolia and Italy. But where Athenion failed, Mithridates was determined to succeed. Such brutality may have been carried out with a design; Athenians fearing a Roman military intervention were growing restless under Aristion. Nevertheless, in one sense the condemnation of Socrates was disastrous for the reputation of the Athenian democracy, because it helped decisively to form one of democracy's - all democracy's, not just the Athenian democracy's - most formidable critics: Plato. He holds an MA in Political Philosophy and is the WHE Publishing Director. There was no political violence, land theft or capital punishment because those went against the political norms Rome had established. Though he at first refused, he later relented and sent a delegation to meet with the Roman commander. Since the 19th-century read more, The term classical Greece refers to the period between the Persian Wars at the beginning of the fifth century B.C.