4.15 Ancient Athens Democracy

The first democracy in the world was established in Athens over 2,500 years ago. Learn about how this government operated and how it continues to influence our country today in this lesson.

Vote for Me

You always know when there’s an election in the US because the television is full of political ads! Our democracy is one of the oldest in the entire world, but it’s not the oldest. In fact, it’s not even within a thousand years of being the oldest. That’s because the ancient Greeks came up with democracy over two thousand years ago. The city of Athens had the largest and most well-known democracy of Greece, though it was very different from our government today.

Parthenon of ancient Athens
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Athens wasn’t always a democracy. Like the United States, they used to be ruled by kings, and also like the United States, the Athenians decided they had had enough. In 508 BCE, the Athenians created a new constitution – just like our own Constitution written by the Founding Fathers – that promised a vote to every citizen, or native person. However, only free men could be citizens: women, slaves, and foreigners could not vote in ancient Athens.

1. Main points:

The democracy in the United States is influenced by ancient Athens, which had the largest and most well-known democracy in ancient Greece; however, their system was different, limiting voting to only free men.

2. Questions:

• Content Analysis: What are some differences between the ancient Athenian democracy and the current U.S. democracy?
• Contextual Analysis: When did Athens transition from a monarchy to a democracy?
• Socio-cultural Analysis: Who was allowed to be a citizen and vote in ancient Athens?

3. Further Discussion:

• Why do you think ancient Athens only allowed free men to vote, and how does that compare to voting rights today?

4. Answers:

• Content Analysis: In ancient Athens, “only free men could be citizens: women, slaves, and foreigners could not vote,” making it “very different from our government today.”
• Contextual Analysis: Athens transitioned from being “ruled by kings” to a democracy “In 508 BCE” when they “created a new constitution.”
• Socio-cultural Analysis: In ancient Athens, “only free men could be citizens,” meaning “women, slaves, and foreigners could not vote.”

Isn’t it fascinating how the idea of democracy has been around for such a long time but keeps changing? What are your thoughts on who got to vote back then compared to now? 🗳️🤔

Everyone Gets a Say

In US democracy, we vote for presidents and senators to make decisions for us in Washington DC. In ancient Athens, however, they voted on each decision that the government had to make themselves. That means that the democracy voted on big issues, like declaring war on an enemy, and on small issues as well, like who should be in charge of ferry boats. What’s more, citizens had to vote a lot in ancient Athens, sometimes every day, because they believed that it was necessary to change up the government frequently to reduce corruption, or stealing and abuse. For each vote, a citizen would cast a pebble into one of two voting pots.

Voting scene on a vase
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Just like our government today has three branches, so too did the Athenians rely on three organizations for their democracy. These organizations were the Assembly, the Council, and the People’s Court.

1. Main points:

In ancient Athens, citizens voted directly on governmental decisions, big and small, often daily, to reduce corruption, unlike the U.S. democracy where elected officials make decisions. Both systems have three main organizational components.

2. Questions:

• Content Analysis: What did the Athenian citizens vote on, and how often did they vote?
• Contextual Analysis: How does the Athenian system of voting compare to the U.S. system?
• Ideological Analysis: Why did Athenians feel the need to vote frequently?

3. Further Discussion:

• Do you think voting on issues directly, like Athenians did, is better or worse than having elected officials make those decisions? Why?

4. Answers:

• Content Analysis: Athenian citizens “voted on big issues, like declaring war on an enemy, and on small issues as well,” and they “had to vote a lot in ancient Athens, sometimes every day.”
• Contextual Analysis: In the U.S., we “vote for presidents and senators to make decisions for us in Washington DC,” whereas in ancient Athens, they “voted on each decision that the government had to make themselves.”
• Ideological Analysis: Athenians felt it was “necessary to change up the government frequently to reduce corruption,” or stealing and abuse.

How would you feel about voting every day on everything from war to who runs the local boats? Do you think that would make people more or less interested in politics? 🗳️🚢

Three Parts of Athenian Democracy

The Assembly involved every citizen in the city, rich or poor, who had the right to speak and vote. Famous orators, or public speakers, could influence the opinion of an Assembly by giving a moving, persuasive speech. Ancient Athens has many examples of orators who convinced the Assembly to follow their idea. Perhaps most famous is Alcibiades of Athens, who convinced the Assembly to declare war on Sicily with a series of speeches.

The Council was made up of 500 elected officials. They had the power to put issues before the Assembly. Athenians made sure that Council members had no previous issues with corruption or greed. To be an important official, like a general or an ambassador, you had to be a Council member.

The Courts decided whether citizens were guilty or innocent of breaking laws, and what punishments should be applied. Any citizen could join one of these voting juries for a case. In fact, Athens paid citizens to sit in juries so that the poorest members of the city could vote in the Courts. The Courts tried to make their cases fair and just, introducing ideas like a specific amount of time for both parties to speak.

1. Main points:

Ancient Athens had three main organizations in their democracy: The Assembly, where every citizen could speak and vote; the Council, made up of elected officials who presented issues to the Assembly; and the Courts, where citizens could serve on juries to decide on legal matters.

2. Questions:

• Content Analysis: What were the roles and functions of the Assembly, Council, and Courts in ancient Athens?
• Socio-cultural Analysis: How did Athens try to make the legal and political system accessible to even the poorest citizens?
• Linguistic Analysis: How did orators play a role in influencing the Assembly?

3. Further Discussion:

• What skills do you think would be most useful for a person living in ancient Athens who wants to be actively involved in their democracy?

4. Answers:

• Content Analysis: The Assembly was where “every citizen in the city, rich or poor, had the right to speak and vote.” The Council was “made up of 500 elected officials” and had the “power to put issues before the Assembly.” The Courts decided “whether citizens were guilty or innocent of breaking laws, and what punishments should be applied.”
• Socio-cultural Analysis: “Athens paid citizens to sit in juries so that the poorest members of the city could vote in the Courts.”
• Linguistic Analysis: “Famous orators, or public speakers, could influence the opinion of an Assembly by giving a moving, persuasive speech.”

Imagine you lived in ancient Athens. Would you want to be an orator and give big speeches, or maybe serve in the Council or Courts? What would you do to make a difference? 🗨️🏛️

Lesson Summary

Ancient Athens launched the world’s first democracy for all of its citizens to vote on issues. They tried to reduce any corruption within their government, setting up three different branches to handle laws and city business. Athens’ history is filled with orators who convinced the democracy to follow their ideas by giving influential speeches.