Athenian Democracy

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Athenian Democracy
Basic Information
Aliases	AthDem The First Hellenic Civilization Democratic Patriarchy Athenian Model
Alignment(s)	Non-Quadrant  Democratic   Culturally Right
Ideological Information
Influenced by:	Authoritarian Direct Democracy Demarchy Hellenistic Paganism Patriarchy Slavery Timocracy
Influenced	Roman Republicanism Democracy Libertarian Municipalism Humanism
Notable people	Solon (630-560 BCE) Cleisthenes (570-508 BCE) Ephialtes (400s BCE) Pericles (495-429 BCE)
Variations
School of Thought	Aristotelianism Agrarianism Aristocracy Hellenistic Theocracy Nomos Patchwork Patriarchy Platonism Slavery Socraticism Solonianism Anti-Aristocracy Anti-Debt Slavery Anti-Draconianism Anti-Land Reformism Anti-Serfdom Anti-Tribalism Constitutionalism Kritarchy Moderatism Multiculturalism Plutocracy Reformism Timocracy

"Athens, the eye of Greece, mother of arts and eloquence, native to famous wits.

John Milton

Athenian Democracy is a ideology that believes that the Athenian Democracy system (explained in foundations) should be implemented.

History

Origins

Athens wasn't the only city to implement the system as Aristotle pointed out other cities have as well but Athens is the only one with good historical records so we will focus on them. Before the first attempt at democracy, Athens was ruled by a series of archons or chief magistrates, and the Areopagus, made up of ex-archons. The members of these were generally aristocrats. In 621 BC, Draco replaced oral law with a written code to be enforced only by a court of law. In 594 BC, Solon, premier archon at the time, issued reforms that defined citizenship in a way that gave each free resident of Attica a political function: Athenian citizens had the right to participate in meetings. By granting the originally aristocratic role to every free citizen of Athens who owned property, Solon reshaped the system of the city-state. Under these reforms, the boule (a council of 400 members, with 100 citizens from each of Athens's four tribes) ran daily affairs and set the political agenda. The Areopagus, which formerly took on this role, remained but instead carried on the role of "guardianship of the laws". Another major contribution to democracy was Solon's setting up of an Ecclesia, which was open to all the male citizens.

Second set of reforms

In 561 BC, the nascent democracy was overthrown by the Peisistratos but was reinstated after the expulsion of his son, Hippias, in 510. Cleisthenes issued reforms in 508 and 507 BC that undermined the domination of the aristocratic families and connected every Athenian to the city's rule. Cleisthenes formally identified free inhabitants of Attica as citizens of Athens, which gave them power and a role in a sense of country unity. He did this by making the tribes politically irrelevant and instituting ten new tribes, each made up of about three trittyes, each consisting of several demes. Every male citizen over 18 had to be registered in his deme.

Third set of reforms

The third set of reforms was instigated by Ephialtes in 462. While Ephialtes's opponents were away attempting to assist the Spartans, he persuaded the Assembly to reduce the powers of the Areopagus to a criminal court for cases of homicide and sacrilege. At the same time or soon afterward, the membership of the Areopagus was extended to the lower level of the propertied citizenship. In the wake of Athens's defeat in the Sicilian campaign in 413 BC, a group of citizens took steps to limit the radical democracy they thought was leading the city to ruin.

Decline

Their efforts, initially conducted through constitutional channels, culminated in the establishment of an oligarchy, the Council of 400, in the Athenian coup of 411 BC. The oligarchy endured for only four months before it was replaced by a more democratic government. Democratic regimes governed until Athens surrendered to Sparta in 404 BC, when the government was placed in the hands of the so-called Thirty Tyrants, who were pro-Spartan oligarchs. After a year, pro-democracy elements regained control, and democratic forms persisted until the Macedonian army of Phillip II conquered Athens in 338 BC. Democracy was allowed to continue on the local level in the city, albeit on a slow and steady decline, all the way until the fall of the Roman Empire.

Foundations

There were three political bodies where citizens gathered in numbers running into the hundreds or thousands. These are the assembly (in some cases with a quorum of 6000), the council of 500 (boule), and the courts (a minimum of 200 people, on some occasions up to 6,000). Of these three bodies, the assembly and the courts were the true sites of power – although courts, unlike the assembly, were never simply called the demos ('the people'), as they were manned by just those citizens over thirty. Citizens voting in both were not subject to review and prosecution, as were council members and all other officeholders.

Personality and Behaviour

He loves boats. You can often see him riding a boat around town. He is also very misogynistic. He often talks bad about women, usually with negative consequences. He also loves to drink wine and eat grapes. You can often see him just laying down on his bed drinking and eating, sometimes spilling the wine all over the white sheets. He is also very proud of his son Democracy for becoming popular. They have a father son relationship where you can sometimes see them fishing and going on boat rides.

How to Draw

Flag of Athenian Democracy

1. Draw a ball,
2. Colour it orange,
3. Draw a black Athenian Owl in the centre,
4. Draw a green wreath on the ball's head,
5. Draw the eyes and you're done!

Color Name		HEX	RGB
	Orange	#F58001	245, 128, 1
	Black	#141414	20, 20, 20
	Green	#088708	8, 135, 8

Relationships

Friends

• Democracy - My best son!
• Mercantilism - Another boat lover.
• Thalassocracy - Athens rules the waves!
• Authoritarian Democracy - Democracy and slavery are both based.
• Ochlocracy - Socrates deserved it!

Frenemies

• Pagan Theocracy - The religion of my people, Praise the Gods! Although you traditionally support him.
• Capitalism - Why pay employees when you can just own slaves?
• Roman Republicanism - You seem very interesting.
• Homoconservatism - Hello there, hubby~

Enemies

• Spartanism - The spartans keep calling me stupid and weak. :(
• Zoroastrian Theocracy - Imperialist anti-democratic scum!
• Oligarchy - Such a corrupt system!
• Absolute Monarchism - The people need power!
• Socialism - I didn't mean like that!
• Kleptocracy - You're like Oligarchy but worse!
• Feminism - Know your place!

Further Information

Literature

• The Athenian Constitution By Aristotle
• Mass and Elite in Democratic Athens: Rhetoric, Ideology, and the Power of the People
• Every Cook Can Govern

Wikipedia

• Athenian Democracy

Ancient.eu

• Athenian Democracy on Ancient.eu

Videos

• The Constitution of Athens by Historia Civilis
• What did democracy really mean in Athens? by Ted-Ed

Gallery

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  u/K-Tech2 Source

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  By User:Muddy Mudkipz