Democracy Where were the First Democracies Comparing Democracy

Democracy: Where were the First Democracies? Comparing Democracy in Greece and Rome Background: Early in human history people lived under the rule of kings or other rulers who held absolute power. Eventually a few societies transitioned from Monarchies into systems of government in which the citizens themselves helped to govern, known as Democracies or “rule by the people”. The earliest democracies arose in ancient Greece and Rome. How were “the people” participants in Government in these countries? Greece: The Ancient Greeks governed under a direct democracy. In a direct democracy, citizens participate directly in the decision making process of WHAT IS A DEMOCRACY? Government. Document A: The basis of a democratic state is liberty; which, according Rome: The Ancient Romans saw the rise of the Republic, an indirect democracy in which citizens rule through representatives, whom they choose to represent them. to the common opinion of men, can only be enjoyed in such a state; this they affirm to be the great end of every democracy. One principle of liberty is for all to rule and be ruled in turn, and indeed democratic justice is the application of numerical not proportionate equality; whence it follows that the majority must be supreme, and that whatever the majority approve must be the end and the just. Every citizen, it is said, must have equality, and therefore in a democracy the poor have more power than the rich, because there are more of them, and the will of the majority is supreme. This, then, is one note of liberty which all democrats affirm to be the principle of their state. Another is that a man should live as he likes. This, they say, is the privilege of a freeman, since, on the other hand, not to live as a man likes is the mark of a slave. This is the second characteristic of democracy, whence has arisen the claim of men to be ruled by none, if possible, or, if this is impossible, to rule and be ruled in turns; and so it contributes to the freedom based upon equality. Source: Aristotle’s, The Politics 1) What is a democracy based upon, according to the Greek philosopher, Aristotle? __________________________ 2) Explain the 2 principles of liberty according to Aristotle. __________________________

How do the people of Greece and Rome participate in government? ty-state of Greece leader of the ci e h , t es en th is s that In 507 BC, Cle series of reform a d ce u d o tr in e) THE PEOPLE. Athens (Greec y” or RULE BY ac cr o em d “ a Only he called y the CITIZENS. b le u r y, sa e itizens, Or should w ere Athenian c w o h w ts en ar is male and those born to p izens. Out of th it c ed er d si n er than 18 were co ale citizens old m ly n , o n o ti la u ecision female pop cipate in the d ti ar p Y TL EC IR made were able to D overnment was G n ia en th A s. en ystem. making of Ath ule and Court S o , B ly b em ss A ade up of the overnment”, m “g e h t as w ly The Assemb ended the e of 18 who att ag e th r ve o laws were males s about war or n io is ec d ll . A males meetings te, in which all o v ty ri o aj m a ecisions. decided by ated to make d p ci ti ar p Y TL chosen present DIREC men who were 0 50 f o p u ro g a ar. serve for 1 ye The Boule was to g) in w ra d e p y ty -day running by lots (a lotter dle the day-to an h o t ay d ry They met eve rs chosen by of Athens. up of 500 juro e ad m as w of 30. em s over the age n The Court Syst ze ti ci e al l m ut of al er to punish lots (lottery) o unlimited pow st o lm a ad h d munity. Jurors selecte ted in the com it m m o c es im r cr the accused fo Roman Empire In 509 B. C. the Romans overthrew their king and replaced him with a government controlled by elected officials that were chosen to represent the people’s wishes. The Romans allowed only citizens, free adult males, to the ASSEMBLY to vote for and choose these elected officials. The two chief officials of Rome were called Consuls and there were two of them and they governed for a year. If they did not live up to expectations of the people they were chosen to represent they were not re-elected. The Consuls were advised by a Senate made up of 600 leading citizens of Rome. The Senate would propose new laws, or debate over the financial issues affecting Rome etc. 3) On a separate sheet of paper, draw two large interlocking circles (Venn Diagram) like this: Greece (Athens) Both Roman Empire Cite information from this packet to compare and contrast the differences between democracy in Greece and in Rome. What is unique about the form of democracy used in Greece and in the Roman Empire? What is similar?

Duties of the Individual in Greece and Rome Document B: Aristotle, On a Good (Athenian) Wife 330 BC A good wife should be the mistress of her home, having under her care all that is within it, according to the rules we have laid down. She should allow none to enter without her husband's knowledge, dreading above all things the gossip of gadding women, which tends to poison the soul. She alone should have knowledge of what happens within. She must exercise control of the money spent on such festivities as her husband has approved---keeping, moreover, within the limit set by law upon expenditure, dress, and ornament---and remembering that beauty depends not on costliness of raiment. Nor does abundance of gold so conduce to the praise of a woman as self-control in all that she does. This, then, is the province over which a woman should be minded to bear an orderly rule; for it seems not fitting that a man should know all that passes within the house. But in all other matters, let it be her aim to obey her husband; giving no heed to public affairs, nor having any part in arranging the marriages of her children. Document C: The Twelve Tables 450 BC (Excerpt) Table VIII. 1. Let them keep the road in order. If they have not paved it, a man may drive his team where he likes. 2. If one has maimed a limb and does not compromise with the injured person, let there be retaliation. If one has broken a bone of a freeman with his hand or with a cudgel, let him pay a penalty of three hundred coins If he has broken the bone of a slave, let him have one hundred and fifty coins. If one is guilty of insult, the penalty shall be twenty-five coins. 3. If one is slain while committing theft by night, he is rightly slain. 10. Any person who destroys by burning any building or heap of corn deposited alongside a house shall be bound, scourged, and put to death by burning at the stake provided that he has committed the said misdeed with malice aforethought; but if he shall have committed it by accident, that is, by negligence, it is ordained that he repair the damage or, if he be too poor to be competent for such punishment, he shall receive a lighter punishment. 4) What are the duties and responsibilities of a wife in an Athenian household according to Document B? _______________________________________________ 5) What evidence in Document B helps us to understand why women were not included in the government of Athens? _______________________________________________ 6) The Romans, much like the U. S. today, allowed their citizens to participate in government through a Representative Democracy. Examine Document C, how were Roman laws strikingly different from our laws? What stands out to you? _______________________________________________

How was Democr acy improved by the Ancient Greeks a nd Romans? Background: Not all Athenians (Greeks) and Romans supported the idea of Democracy or “rule by the people” and many wrote of their distrust in this form of government. Inadvertently those who criticized democracy often improved it by pointing out the faults of a democratic form of government or “rule by the people” and by offering solutions to fix these flaws. Many Athenians and Romans disagreed over the benefits of a tyrant (a ruler who holds all of the power and has no one to ‘check’ his selfish motives). However most agreed on the benefits of “Rule of Law” (the idea that all men are obligated to following the laws set forth in a society, even a king). The idea was that if rulers were obligated to follow the laws too, there would be no more tyrannical rulers. Document D: The tyrant, in all his doings, at least knows what is he about, but a mob is altogether devoid of knowledge; for how should there be any knowledge in a rabble, untaught, and with no natural sense of what is right and fit? It rushes wildly into state affairs with all the fury of a stream swollen in the winter, and confuses everything. Let the enemies of the Persians be ruled by democracies; but let us choose out from the citizens a certain number of the worthiest, and put the government into their hands. Document E: Otanes recommended that the management of public affairs should be entrusted to the whole nation. "To me, " he said, "it seems advisable, that we should no longer have a single man to rule over us---the rule of one is neither good nor pleasant. You cannot have forgotten to what lengths Cambyses went in his haughty tyranny, and the haughtiness of the Magi you have yourselves experienced. How indeed is it possible that monarchy should be a well-adjusted thing, when it allows a man to do as he likes without being answerable? Such licence is enough to stir strange and unwonted thoughts in the heart of the worthiest of men. Give a person this power, and straightway his manifold good things puff him up with pride, while envy is so natural to human kind that it cannot but arise in him. But pride and envy together include all wickedness---both of them leading on to deeds of savage violence. Document F: True it is that kings, possessing as they do all that heart can desire, ought to be void of envy; but the contrary is seen in their conduct towards the citizens. They are jealous of the most virtuous among their subjects, and wish their death; while they take delight in the meanest and basest, being ever ready to listen to the tales of slanderers. A king, besides, is beyond all other men inconsistent with himself. Pay him court in moderation, and he is angry because you do not show him more profound respect--- show him profound respect, and he is offended again, because (as he says) you fawn on him. But the worst of all is, that he sets aside the laws of the land, puts men to death without trial, and subjects women to violence. The rule of the many, on the other hand, has, in the first place, the fairest of names, to wit, isonomy; and further it is free from all those outrages which a king is wont to commit. I vote, therefore, that we do away with monarchy, and raise the people to power. For the people are all in all. “ 7) Do the Document D, E, and F excerpts support democracy or not? Cite at least 2 arguments/examples from each document to support your response. _____________________________ 8) According to the excerpts, what are some advantages to having a king or a tyrant rule a society rather than “a mob of untaught citizens”? _____________________________ Source D, E, F Excerpts: Herodotus, The Persians Reject Democracy

What “advice” did Plato and Aristotle give. . . ? Document G: Plato Where the law is subject to some other authority and has none of its own, the collapse of the state, in my view, is not far off; but if law is the master of the government and the government is its slave, then the situation is full of promise and men enjoy all the blessings that the gods shower on a state. Source: Plato, Laws Assessment: On separate paper answer the following question, make sure you support your response with examples from Documents A-H. “How was democracy practiced differently in Greece (Athens) and Rome and subsequently improved for future societies? ” Document H: Aristotle For in democracies where the laws are not supreme, demagogues (a person who gains power by appealing to the people’s emotions) spring up. . [T]his sort of democracy. . . [is] what tyranny is to other forms of monarchy. The spirit of both is the same, and they alike exercise a despotic rule over the better citizens. The decrees of the [demagogues] correspond to the edicts of the tyrant. . Such a democracy is fairly open to the objection that it is not a constitution at all; for where the laws have no authority, there is no constitution. The law ought to be supreme over all. . Source: Aristotle, The Politics 9) What importance do both Plato and Aristotle place on the “the law”? ____________________ 10) Who should be required to follow a societies “laws” according to both Plato and Aristotle? ____________________ 11) Think about it. Are the leaders of the U. S. required to follow all of the laws of the U. S. ? Why is that important? What would happen in the U. S. if our leaders weren’t required to follow our laws? How does this relate to the ideas of Plato and