Golden age

History of democratic institutions

In the 5 B.C., when all freeborn male citizens of Athenians possessed the franchise, the citizen roll numbered about 40.000, all of whom were entailed to vote in person at the meetings of the Assembly; among other cities, only a handful could muster more than 10.000. Plato fixed the number at 5040 for his ideals for his ideal state: Aristotle thought all citizens know eny another personally.

History of building ancient democratic institutions in Athena.

The people of Attica belonged to four phyla (tribes) or clans, whose identity survived the union under Athens, while their territory comprised three districts known as the Plain (Pediake), the Coast (Paralia) and the Hill (Diakria). The population was early divided also in the three classes, Epudatrai, or nobles; Gergoi and Agroikoi, or farmers of hill and plain); and the Demiourgoi, or artisans, all of whom were ipso facto equal member of Eakklesia or Assembly. The arable land held by free man was immemorially inalienable of the clan. A Fourth class of freeman without civic rights, known as Hektomoroi, included agricultural laborers. Power gradually passed to the Aeriopagus or Council of Nobles, who supervised the three executive archons elected by the Assembly; the Basileus, the Polemarch and the Eponaymos, whose functions where broadly speaking, respectively religious, military and civil. The Archon Epynomos WAS chief magistrate and nominal head of polis, or city state and after these offices were restricted in 683.b.c. to yearly tenure gave his name to the year. On pagus Lather their number was increased to nine by the adition of six recording judges. The aristocracy monopolized political office though after Kylon unsuccessfully effort to usurp power and the consequent war with Megara, poluar discontent extorted Draco legal code in 621 BC. The harsh law of property that allowed a debtor’s person to be taken in pledge still reduced many peasants to slavery, but a Court of Appeal of 51. Judges was instituted to deal with cases of bloodshed.

Towards the end f the century new classes (the Timocracy were emerging founded on the wealth gained in commerce or agriculture, and new division of the people, based on landed property was made. The highest class was now the Pnetakosmidiomedmnoi (those whose income was equivalent to 5000 medimmni of corn); next came the Hippies or Knights (300-500) medimmni from whose ranks came wartime cavalery; and below them the Zeguiitarai or Youmen (those with par of ozen) who in war became Hoplities or infantrymen. The forth estate of peasants and arstisans Tehetes were excluded from the Asembly but paid no taxes.

Solon who became Archon Epynomus in 594 B.C. promogulated Seischathia, canceling by all debts involving elections to archonship to the highest class, but enfranchised the Thetes. He increased the judicial dignity of the Aeropagus while transforming its deliberative functions to the Assembly, and created and created a new system of Council of four Hundred (Boule) upon which devolved in effect the transaction of the business of the Assembly. The Thetes were exluded from the Bule . Popular tribunals Heliastis were enrolled by lot so that justice be impartial to rich and poor alike. Despite Solon’s reforms party strife between the clans caused thirty years of anarchy, which ended in the constitutional turanny of the polemarch Peisistratos. Under his benevolent dictatorship the reforms of democracy were preserved, and he administrated the state according to the established usage and his arrangements were wise and salutary.

After the overthrow of his more despotic son Hippies, The Alkmeonid recognized the tribes. Finding Atitica comosed of c.170 demes or sectors(parishes0, he altered their traditional division into three districts the: City, the Coast and the Inland, and the stamp out they old rivalries, he regrouped the inhabitansts. In such reform he make following: The old Council of 400 became a Council 500 composed of 50 deputies from each tribe, elected, annually by lot. The departies of each tribe held office in rotacion for about five weeks in the year as Prytaneis or Presidents. Theu chose one of their number by lot of Epustates (Chief President), who with nine Proderoi as assistant and Gramateus-secretary not of their body, formed the Prytaneia or Presidental Commite. The Puritanism presided also over the meetings of the Ecclesia, which was ultimate , without whose sanctions no bill could passed into law. By the institution of Ostracism a ten year a banishment without loss loss of rights used between 487 and 417 the duty of guarding the state against the plots of potential tyrants was trasfered from the Aeropagus to the sovereign people. Pahilochororos tells how in such cases the Agora was fanced with boards, ten entrances being left, through which the citizens entered by tribes to cast they votes; the nine archons and the Boule presided. The classes of the Timocracy were retained; below the rank of citizen were the Metics, or resident aliens, and slaves.

In 487 BC the power of nine archons was reduced by the institution of their election by lot. Before this date the Polemarch had acted as commander in chief assisted by the ten tribal generals ; hencoward the Ten Generals (STARTEGOI0, elected every year one of ich tribe, became not only the supreme commanders of the army and navy, but where also the dominant magistates in the political lead each expedition, but where also the dominating magistrates in the politicalfield. Pericles was elected general every year from 43 till his death in 429 from pleagh and from this fact he owed his unique postion. The Pericles and his older contemporary Ephaties is due the completion of Athenian democracy. Nearly all the power of the Aeropgus were transferred to the Assembly. The arhonship, no longer confined to the two-higer classes, became a paid office, having little political power and pay was also introduced for the Council and the Jurymen. By the time the Peloponnesian war all cased to be entailed.

Philosophical questions

Demos cratos – rule of the people. But we have here a problem in ancient Greece we are have several modus of ruling over the people: Oligarchy –gerusion (the oldest members of powerfully families Sparta, Theocracy (rich people)– Corinth, Basileus – aristocracy and Athena –democracy.

In the first place, what are the people? In ancient Greece demos meant rule of the for people over the rich. In this sense the people means the ‘ruled’.

But this kind of ruling is possible only in small societies like polis –Athena. Everybody have chance to speak in the name of his class or his dema end to represent the will of his community. But how many people have been free in Athena and how many the slaves they have? By definition slave is not a man but only creature which spoke or some kind of tool by Aristotle.

But democracy as way of politic life has big role in Athena mostly in the golden age after Persian –Greece wars. Self- government for small group consist in general participation in the deliberative process, in which person voice carries a weight appropriate not to his status but to the merits in the judgment of the others, of what he has to say. If despite continuing disagreement a decision is essential it must be arrived at by majority of group vote. But this chance for everybody who have been a free man the have opportunity to have influence in political life is exclusive for small community. Because the free citizens of Athena have become on the Stoa, some kind of place for political dispute and run dialogues about that and that and give their political opinion. General notion somebody who is not included in political life that he is IDIOT: WHICH MEANS THAT COULD BE ONLY GOD BY HIMSELF or animal or man who live alienated from the others. By Aristotle the man is zoon poolitcon..It means in his essences is to participate in political life of his polis. But main problems that Athens noun or term or system of democracy is not a viable for the bigger community. When the association of the Greeks, members of delian league polis likes Corinth, Megara, Theban, Athena, Focida, Aegina, Sparta after wars against Persia the Periclo idea about pan-Hellenic state was annihilated by Spartans refusal to cooperate . Result was of this disagreement Peloponnesian wars, crash of the democracy and become of the Alexander the Great who whose like his father basileus not democrat..After 30. Years of this stupid Peloponnesian wars Athena never agene recovered including the most good democratic system. Maybe that is prove for that kind of democracy is for such ideal state of circumstances and small community. By whole means and the others polis in Greece become over the Macedonian rule they have lost independency. Main problem was? Disagreement between tribes. Ever body have their inters. Democracy was a last gap between them but for Sparta was first and crucial.

To day we are faced with possibilities of democracy. What kind of face she have? And is this system ”rule of people” appreciable for most of the countries over the world. Is the China or some other bigger countries good field for the democracy and what kind of democracy?

The main question in golden age in Greece, Athena was the question about god?

God was linked with knowledge; by the Plato the man who have knowledge could not male evil he will know the differences. But main philosopher who has a biggest influence of Pericles was Anaxagoras.He have study cosmos but the best known and most influent of all the ancient Greek philosophers.

WAHAT IS HIS NOTION ABOUT modern police

In the Republic Plato sets out his “ideal state”. It is very decidedly authoritarian. He begins from the premises that only those who know what the good is are fit to rule, and he prescribes a long and rigorous period of intellectual training, which he thinks will yield this knowledge. In a famous analogy, it will loose the bonds that keep most men confined in a cave underground and allow us to ascend to the real world outside, which is world of Forms, available to the intellect but not to the senses. This is to be accomplished by full study of mathematics, which will turn one’s attention towards the Forms, since it is an apriori study and does not concern itself with what is perceptible; and after that a study in dialectic in philosophical debate. Those who complete this training successfully, and so know what the good is will form the ruling elite. From time to time they will be required to give up their intellectual delights and go back into to cave to governed it. They will govern with a view to maximizing the happiness of the state of the whole, but Plato thinks that the way to achieve this is to impose a strict censorship to prevent wrong ideas being expressed, to ensure that each person sticks to his own allotted job, so that he does not meddle with affairs that are not his concern and so on. Plato was firmly against democracy, and seems to have seen no connection between happiness and individual liberty.

Strictly to be open with this philosophical opinions Plato have notion that rule over state is only for training people for class of philosophers. That democracy is not god modus to run a one polis or country. Democracies have her gaps end big mistake: why the opinion of majority could have influence about some issue. How could common man have knowledge about? Majority is some times not a people but just a group of people - mass without knowledge that has opportunity to vote by influence of some another group witch have some inters to some propose in assembly. That is now the problem of modern democracy.

And so on!