This society came to be known as one of the largest nations in Eurasia. Some of the major issues with government are the political lies and schemes it takes to get to the top and remain there. Each polis differ particular on economically, politically, and military, When in doubt, however, the city-states did not get along. One of the biggest weaknesses of Athenian democracy was highlighted by Plato; the masses are sometimes ignorant, and they are likely to be swayed by rhetoric. 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. In Athens, the ruler Draco tried to make many reforms in the city state. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. The plague also led to social unrest and lack of unity. The current American democracy may have steamed from Athens, but they do not really have that much in common. It consists of two short words: demos which means either a citizen in a particular city-state or the lower orders, and kratos which means either rule or power - but these two are not of the same meaning. Athens had a geographic advantage because they were very superior. True democrats would elect all officials through voting by the people. It is tough terrain for attackers, and its also tough terrain for the Greeks. Democracy in Athenian government the way that the citizens pass a vote is getting done, in elected by the assembly annually for making decisions about military matters and by showing hands. Women were forced to go through training to become strong, to male healthy babies, it was tough. This caused some to view them with hostility which sparked the conflicts between Athens and Sparta that lead to the Peloponnesian War. What are the advantages and disadvantages of a government? The city-state of Athens, 5th century Athens to be precise, is the inventor and first practitioner of democracy. The assembly in Sparta could veto the councils. This will only lead to a shift to the left of aggregate demand and is it impossible for the people to pay taxes when the living standards is low. Government failure. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. They are also carful with who can be a citizen rather then "stingy". Democracy (disadvantage) Only the elite or upper class had a role in government, lower class not represented. This basically means that if you are not wetly than they won't treat us the same as wealthy people. As stated in the article The Problem with Democracy Today, contrary to other political institutions who holds the power is not clearly stated if the regime is a, Liberal Democracy is a democratic system of government in which individual rights and freedoms are officially recognized and protected, and the exercise of political power is limited by the rule of law. The Athenians were stronger because they had a better geography, government, cultural achievements, and I would rather live in the Athens. And also huge people complain about the racism and the guns. Athens stood out from Sparta as well as the other city-states not only because of its immense population but also because it was the commercial leader of Greece and was home to a great navy. Adversely, it is not a social norm to ask yourself why this system is in place, or if it is truly what man hungers for? Representative democracy is a government in which citizens vote for representatives who create and change laws that govern the people rather than getting to vote directly on the laws themselves. Sparta and Athens are very different from the way they are administered as well as their practices. Sparta advantage. Because Athens (back then it was called Athenai), was where the concept of democratic society was first formed. The Athenian form of democracy was a contradiction in the sense that it did not allow participation of a large section of the public, namely, women and slaves. Athens has a better government system then the Roman Republic. What are some pros and cons of Spartan society? WebGreece's victory ensured the independence and security of the Greek city-states, so that Greece continued to dominate the eastern Mediterranean for centuries, which is known as Gold Age. Apart from many smaller changes, it was mainly based on the opportunity for all citizens over 20 to take part in governing the country. These factors empowered Sparta and led to the development of an authoritative and potent state. Originally Answered: why is Athens Greece considered the birthplace of democracy? Disadvantages: Not a lot of flat land to farm, Diffcult to travel over land, Diffcult to unite under a single government, limited natural resources. They took politics very seriously and made sure that everyone had a voiced opinion. The Spartan men get more and children become great warriors because they at war and war training for 23 years. What were the advantages and disadvantages of the city-state model of government in Greece? By clicking Accept All, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. Sarah Appleton, National Geographic Society. In Ancient Athens, a new system arose that would greatly impact the course of history. When looking at this definition and trying to decide whether the Athenian democratic system was truly democratic, one would have to go with the answer no. The first inhabitants of Attica (the wider area of Athens), of who we are aware, lived during the Neolithic Period (6,000-2,800 BC). When the two words are put together it forms , meaning rule of the people. Now a new paper deems it also the proud parent of the worlds first market economy. Amongst those city states Athens and Sparta were two of the most powerful and considered in Greek history as the most influential states to western civilisation. They are just more carful. some might say the Romans were better. The Athenians were stronger because they had a better geography, government, cultural achievements, and I would rather live in the Athens. Athens had a geographic advantage because they were very superior. The Athens lived by the Sea which was an advantage because they had an excellent trading system. What disadvantages did Athens have? Women could own property. Lastly, because so much of Greece is rocky, mountainous terrain, there isnt a lot of fertile soil. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. Use this knowledge to correct the spelling errors below. This crossroad marked a change to the government. Even girls were trained to become soldiers because for the Spartans there is no such thing as inequality; women can do the job of mem. Sparta lacked land area and was forced to seek other land in the fertile plain of Messenia. Oligarchy (disadvantage) Over time, middle/lower classes realized they still had little to no say in government Tyranny (disadvantage), Start studying advantages and disadvantages of government in ancient greece. Specifically in America, one is taught that they live in a democratic society. This group of people only included white male citizens, meaning that slaves, foreign born residents, women and some men who hadnt obtained citizenship couldnt vote (Doc D). In all fairness I believe Athens had the better system of government. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The Greeks never unified, Sparta is a better place to have an exciting or joyful life because you would be isolated by mountains and oceans. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. In the period known as classical Greece in the years 800-323 BCE, Greece comprised of small city states (poleis) which were considered and operated as independent small countries. What is the original meaning of democracy? All the sciences, democracy, philosophy etc were originally found in Athens. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. When women were forced to produce offspring, many of the weak babies were left to die. Altogether there were over 1500 city-states, but some of these barley qualify because they are so small. Advantage: They had access to trade, transportation, fish, and water. All city-states differed from each other in some ways but all shared some characteristics too. Secondly, Giovanni Sartori (1997), a Political Science Researcher states that democracy is an abbreviation that means Liberal Democracy. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. Oligarchy (advantage) If the leader is strong/effective, the civilization is in good shape. What is the formula for calculating solute potential? Athens and Sparta were two of the most powerful and well known cities among all the Greek nations. In the year 507 B.C., the Athenian leader Cleisthenes introduced a system of political reforms that he called demokratia, or rule by the people. The Athenians established a direct democracy where the people voted directly on the matter at hand. (Ancient Greek Democracy, History.com) The Romans then created their own type of democracy, where the citizens elected leaders to represent the peoples opinion. (Crabill, Ancient Rome) While neither the Athenian nor the Roman democracies were perfect by any means, they both, Whats more, Democracy was rising in Athens. According to Peter Joyce (2005), the democratic government was initiated in the Greek city state of Athens in the fifth century B.C., so as a consequence, the word democracy derived from two Greek words, demos (meaning people) and kratos (meaning power) , which means government by the people. Advantages: small, easy to control, centralized. Elements of more than one of these forms also co-existed, however, and the modern connotations of labels such as these are not necessarily the same as those that prevailed in Ancient Greece. Sparta advantage. Moreover, addressing the 11 million undocumented immigrants, I strongly believe that the United States should allow the immigrants to continuously live in the United States under some conditions. Athens was a much more superior polis compared to Sparta because the Athenians invented new ideas and creations that supported the people, such as democracy, the Athenians led the Delian League, and Sparta created the Peloponnesian League after the Athenians created their alliance, and the Athenians changed the ways of their government many times to suit the people, and the Spartans did not. Democracy in ancient Greece served as one of the first forms of self-rule government in the ancient world. Sparta is far better than Athens on the grounds that their armed force was strong and defensive. This meant that they may not have represented mass opinion, whereas getting all males over the age of 18 involved in politics increased the likelihood of policies representing what people wanted. The weaknesses weighed Sparta down, so here are some of those weaknesses. City-state is an independent or nearly independent state in which political and cultural activities are concentrated in a single urban center (Legon). Due to the fact that Sparta had a very military lifestyle, they were good at raising strong outspoken women in a society where women were kept at home. The. The community showed little cohesion as a group. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. But they were loyal to their city-state. Democracy (disadvantage) Few people were considered citizens and had a voice in government. Members of Spartan offices were also restricted to people who had very high social standing. The Athenian democracy was not equitable, and it did not consider slaves and foreigners. Athens was truly democratic because everyone had the equal justice, people were voted into office, and ones social class did not determine what a person could become. This information provided significantly when comparing modern societies to ancient Greece and also in justify as to why democracy was significant to Greece. Disadvantages: controlled little territory, many rivals/more conflict. The women had limited rights and privileges, had restricted movement in public, and were very segregated from the men. Beginning with contrasts in government, Sparta, was an Oligarchy where most of the power was shared between two kings. Democracy Cons: Cons: Only citizens got to vote. Each polis differ particular on economically, politically, and military, When in doubt, however, the city-states did not get along. The idea of liberalism first began in the 1600s with John Locke as he believed that the people should be allowed to remove the government currently ruling when they have misused their power for ulterior motives. The five most powerful Greek city-states were; Athens, Sparta, Corinth. Unlike Sparta, who has an oligarchy, monarchy, and democracy. Sea travel connected Greece to other societies. Any interactives on this page can only be played while you are visiting our website. It was easy for the Athenians to see who the people are due to the population number at the time. The first reason is because Our constitution favors many instead of the few, this is also why it's called a democracy. Also, everyone is allowed to practice a religion of their choice. In document A, I found that is truly democratic because your social class is not allowed the interfere with someone 's merit.