Oligarchy In Greece

Unlike the Athenian democratic system the Spartans believed in Oligarchy, meaning ruling by a few. Sparta came to reach the height of it power after defeating rival City Sate, Athens in the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC) (Bailey). The oligarchy was a governmental system composed by a limited number of elite citizens such as: Ephors, five magistrates with executive and judicial privileges, elected by assembly; two kings, army leaders and chief priests; gerousia, council of thirty elders comprise of men at least sixty tears old, twenty-eight of which were elected by assembly and includes two kings; assembly of citizens, men over thirty years old, they do not vote, but shout acclamations supporting the decisions of the oligarchy above (Bailey). The Spartan governing system led to a military based society where male children from the age of seven would start going to a special educational institution, which was military based. This led to Spartans being warrior like people unlike the Athenians.

Consequently, monarchy and its one ruler system trumps all other government systems, simply due to the fact that monarchy reflects God’s natural structure. Eusebius applauded Constantine and his monarchy because, “he [Constantine] directs his gaze above, and frames his earthly government

These two governments are similar because in an monarchy one person makes all the decisions and enforces them, just like the president. Also the monarch and the president are the focal point in the government. The form of democracy in our government can be related to the house of representatives. A democracy is a government ruled by the people. The house of

Sparta, on the other hand, was an oligarchy, with power concentrated in the hands of a few select citizens. Spartan society valued militarism and the subjugation of personal interests to the greater good of the state (Cartledge & Spawforth, 2001). Conclusion In terms of citizen engagement, selection of public office holders, and basic ideals, the governmental structures of Athens and Sparta demonstrated stark disparities.

In the expected way, government in the ancient Greek world used diverse forms and, across dissimilar city-states and over many centuries, political power could rest in the hands of a single individual: for example, monarchies, tyrants, the oligarchies and

Athens used a form of government called a Democracy, ruled by the people. Since the people of Athens may have different opinions, leading to arguments fights and making family go against family in their own homeland. Yet, Sparta was ruled by few people so the Spartans could avoid all the tension. Therefore, oligarchy was the best form of government for the Spartans. Furthermore, Sparta was focused on their military.

Democracy, a form of government, allows the people in their own nationality to vote for people in order for them to become representatives as a result to vote on new laws that would affect their own nationality. One of the many states of Greece, ancient Athens was indeed not truly democratic as a result of not inclusive, other than male citizens, to gain authority in ancient Athens, ¨Demokratia was ruled by male citizens only, excluding women, free foreigners(Metics) and slaves.¨(Document D), therefore ruling Athens was only accessible to male citizen since since women, free foreigners(Metics), and slaves were not allowed to rule as a result of not being male citizens. One of the many states of Greece, ancient Athens, was indeed not truly democratic as a result of not even using the essentials of democracy that is used today, “Thus, by our standards, it was oligarchy, not democracy.¨(Document D), therefore ancient Athens was not using democracy as their form of government, they were using oligarchy,another form of government in which a small group of people has power and control, as their form of government instead of democracy.

The fundamental difference between monarchy and tyranny was heredity. Monarchs were rulers by birthright, whereas tyrants assumed power by other means, often including force. Athenian examples of tyrants included Cylon in the 7th century BC and Peisistratus (Pisistratus) in the 5th (Gill, n.d.). Dionysius I and II in the 4th and 3rd centuries BC were tyrants of Syracuse (Encyclopædia Britannica,

Herodotus defines the differences between the Greeks and Persians in his writings. One of the major differences between Greece and Persia is their governments. Herodotus identifies two main forms of government: a democracy such as Athens, and a monarchy such as Persia. Which form of governing is better? In a democracy, all men are hypothetically equal and there is no single ruler who is above the population.

Unlike the Romans, Athenians had a strict but fair schedule that allowed them to enjoy citizenship equally. Equally, hard workers have brought Athens power just as much as hereditary leaders. According to Document B all citizens should be allowed to speak their opinion and have a share in election because of the hard work they do to make the city powerful. Athenians allowed poor and common men to win a position in government which was a transition from the wealthy having power to everyone having power.

The government plays a major role in any civilization. The Greeks had several different types of government: Monarchy, Aristocracy, Oligarchy, and Democracy. The Democratic Government is the type of government, which mainly influenced our modern civilization. Democratic Government simply means the citizens have the power, which is the type of government here in the United States of America.

The Greeks displayed their humanistic values through government by they utilizing an effective system of self governing. This system was a direct democracy, defined as “government by the people” or “rule of the majority.” In the Athenian Democracy, the Assembly was the regular

A tyrant, in Ancient Greece, was a man who forcefully took control of and governed over a city state illegally. It was impossible for a man to take that much power without the help and support of many followers and none of the tyrants was ever able to stay longer than the majority of the people

The Spartan Empire Spartan Government: An oligarchy system was adopted in Sparta. In the oligarchy system, few people has the power to rule. Sparta also had an assembly just like Athens, but the main decisions were taken by the “Council of Elders” with two kings and twenty-eight other men as its members. The two kings where born within the royal family while the twenty-eight man where elected by the assembly. For men to be elected to the Council of Elders, they had to be at least 60 years old and approaching from a noble family.

As various studies suggested, ancient Athens pursued permissiveness and democracy, which its form of government was the antecedent of nowadays 'rule by the people '. After toppling the dictator Hippias in 510 BC, Athenian demos not only took power, but also introduced electoral system that "with no single ruler. A public assembly of male citizens met 40 times a year to vote on state decisions. The agenda was set and decrees carried out by a 500 strong council, chosen by lot to serve one year each"(Finley, 1983). In my view, the authority was no longer centralized in the hands of one administrator, more ordinary people got a say in running the