Democracy
[pic]
subject
INTRODUCTION TO
THE HISTORY OF CYPRUS
title
DEMOCRACY:
THEORY AND PRACTICE
by
FANNI ZSOFIA DAVID
program of study
GRAPHIC AND ADVERTISING DESIGN
Introduction
The meaning and
development of democracy
According to a the contemporary definition democracy today is: “Government by the people, exercised either directly or through elected representatives; Rule by the majority” (“Democracy” Def.1,4). The term democracy descends from the Greek word δημοκρατία meaning "rule of the people", and which was coined from δῆμος, "people" and κράτος, "power", in the middle of the 5th-4th century BC to denote the political systems then existing in some Greek city-states, notably Athens following a popular uprising in 508 BC. Pericles, the most notable leader of democratic Athens during the Golden Age, defines the notion as: government from, by, for the people, the so called demos.
The idea of democracy, as a form of government, was in fact an extremely radical one when it manifested, since many governments in the early history of the world were totalitarian or tyrannical in nature based no the assumption that the strong has ultimate right to rule over the weak.
The birth of the idea – as the origins of the word suggests - can be credited to the Greeks of the 6th century BC, who viewed dictatorship as the worst possible form of government. Democracy emerged through the bloody wars between the oligarchs and the democrats. ( "An oligarchy is said to be that in which the few and the wealthy, and a democracy that in which the many and the poor are the rulers," as Aristotle put it in his “Politics”. ) The Greek system of government was perhaps closer to a true (direct) democracy than any other in history, due to its practically low population: as the civilization of ancient Greece was broken down into small, independent city-states that consisted of never
subject
INTRODUCTION TO
THE HISTORY OF CYPRUS
title
DEMOCRACY:
THEORY AND PRACTICE
by
FANNI ZSOFIA DAVID
program of study
GRAPHIC AND ADVERTISING DESIGN
Introduction
The meaning and
development of democracy
According to a the contemporary definition democracy today is: “Government by the people, exercised either directly or through elected representatives; Rule by the majority” (“Democracy” Def.1,4). The term democracy descends from the Greek word δημοκρατία meaning "rule of the people", and which was coined from δῆμος, "people" and κράτος, "power", in the middle of the 5th-4th century BC to denote the political systems then existing in some Greek city-states, notably Athens following a popular uprising in 508 BC. Pericles, the most notable leader of democratic Athens during the Golden Age, defines the notion as: government from, by, for the people, the so called demos.
The idea of democracy, as a form of government, was in fact an extremely radical one when it manifested, since many governments in the early history of the world were totalitarian or tyrannical in nature based no the assumption that the strong has ultimate right to rule over the weak.
The birth of the idea – as the origins of the word suggests - can be credited to the Greeks of the 6th century BC, who viewed dictatorship as the worst possible form of government. Democracy emerged through the bloody wars between the oligarchs and the democrats. ( "An oligarchy is said to be that in which the few and the wealthy, and a democracy that in which the many and the poor are the rulers," as Aristotle put it in his “Politics”. ) The Greek system of government was perhaps closer to a true (direct) democracy than any other in history, due to its practically low population: as the civilization of ancient Greece was broken down into small, independent city-states that consisted of never
Bibliography: Guinnes Encyclopedia Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, http/:www.en.wikipedia.org “Window on Cyprus”, Published by the Press and Information Office, Nicosia, (Third Edition) “Cyprus has always been Europe”, Press and Information Office, Nicosia, 2009 Plato, “Republic”, 360 BC, Translated by Benjamin Jowett, The Internet Classics Archive, http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/republic.html Aristotle, “Politics”, 350 BC, Translated by Benjamin Jowett, The Internet Classics Archive, http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/republic.html Kovács István, Kovácsné Bede Ágnes , “History coursebook” series (HUN), Pedellus Publisher Ltd., 2002 Madách Imre, “The Tragedy of Man”, Translated by George Szirtes, Corvina, Budapest, 1998 (Third Edition) The Constitution of Hungary, valid from 23 October 1989