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How democratic was the government of Periclean Athens? 1. How democratic
was the government of Periclean Athens? ‘Democracy is ...
... classes in unification of the democratic order; why ... operated by a hypocritical
government that used ... Periclean Athens offered equality with the removal of class ...
... Assembly was not a representative government, but instead ... this still was not a
democratic state: women ... reality, the great democracy of Periclean Athens was in ...
... this fourth-century modification rather than the Periclean system ... also had similar
body of government which includes ... they thought this is the democratic way and ...
... "He crushed major rebellions, imposed democratic government, dispatched colonies ...
an active participant in the political and cultural life of Periclean Athens. ...
Submitted by judithc on May 12, 2008
Category: History Other
Words: 1621 | Pages: 7
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1. How democratic was the government of Periclean Athens?
‘Democracy is the worst form of government except all the other forms that have been tried from time to time’, Winston Church Speech, UK House of Commons (1947). Democracy derived from the Greek word kratos meaning ‘rule by the demos’, rule by the people is an internationally recognised and universally understood word which seems to captivate and intrigue the minds of the oppressed and to represent the prosperity of the Wealthy, (Heywood. A, politics, 2002). Democracy as we know and live today has evolved and diversified since its first documented existence and practice in Periclean Athens of the 4th Century BC.
How democratic was the Government of Periclean Athens evokes the need to identify the key features of a democratic state and the contrast between those key features and the practices within Athenian Democracy. This method of political rule is centred around the citizens of the state as Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg address so famously encapsulated ‘government of the people, by the people, for the people’, (Heywood. A, politics, 2002). The concept of the citizen or the people is seen as the majority of society, the mass of society which should benefit from the economical and social policies enforced by the democratic Governmental system. Democracy is therefore seen as a political theory based on the concept of improvement for the majority of society and improved living standards for all of societies citizens. Periclean Athens consisted of a direct democratic system where by direct involvement in decisions and policies were made in contrast to the representative democratic political systems that exist today. The majority of Athenian society ruling and implementing policies and undertaking military decisions were concepts Aristotle and Plato found difficult to digest as they saw ruling by the majority of society to be at a cost and the detriment of the...
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