Democracy‚ as defined by Polybius‚ was a “regime based on effective rule by the people.” In Polybius’ Histories‚ democracy was not based on each citizen having the ‘right to do whatever they wish or propose’ but true democracy relied on “reverence to the gods‚ succour of parents‚ respect to elders‚ obedience to laws‚ are traditional and habitual‚ in such communities” as well as decisions being decided by the majority. It has been agreed upon by most ancient historians that Rome was not a democracy
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Roman Republic/ Athenian Democracy and the United States Throughout history there have been several government structures that govern the people of the state‚ some ran differently‚ but maybe similar as well. There is a fine line between a democracy and a republic although there are some similarities. In a democracy‚ the citizens are their own form of government‚ all having equal say. In a republic‚ citizens still have high power but use that power to elect representatives to govern the state. I
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records of government were from Athens and Rome. Rome’s form of government was a Republic while Athens was a democracy. A republic means a government in which citizens elected representatives to rule on their behalf. A republic is quite different from a democracy‚ in which every citizen is expected to play an active role in governing the state. A democracy is ruled by the people. The Athenian Democracy and Roman Republic both had strengths and weakness in how democratic the government was‚ this is shown
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The Roman Republic‚ which was established in 510 BC after the defeat Etruscan conquerors‚ was in some ways an oligarchy. It was not a democracy as it is understood today. The Roman republic was ruled by a small group; consuls‚ and the Senate. To avoid trouble‚ none of these had absolute power. The Senate was a part of Roman aristocrats known as patricians or the wealthy upper class. They could oversee public funds and advise the Roman kings. They were from wealthy family and stayed in the position
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The Athenian Democracy was classified as a direct democracy which means that they were a form of government in which a group of just ordinary people make decisions. Any male citizen could make a decisions but women‚ slaves and others were not allowed and were born elsewhere. Even though it was made up of male Athenians and women didn’t have much right‚ the people in a way were all treated equally. The Athenian democracy pretty much dissolved due to numerous changes. The Athenian government was broken
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The Athenian democracy in the Golden Age functioned somewhat like ours does today. Athenian countryside was divided into areas called demes. In each of these demes‚ registers they kept track of which citizens were eligible to attend the assembly and vote on laws and public policies. Each Deme was then grouped into 10 tribes for other political functions‚ such as choosing representatives for the council of five hundred citizens. The number of representatives chosen from each deme was proportional
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Introduction The birth of democracy in Sparta and Athens was a long‚ painful journey‚ created by wars‚ cruel leaders‚ and heroic figures. Although many of democracy’s ideas came from Athenian government‚ it was very different from the democracy in the United States‚ for example. In general‚ wealthy aristocrats had the most power. But without the ideas that this time period created‚ who knows where we would be now. In this paper‚ I’m going to outline how democracy came to be in early Athenian and Spartan governments
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noble endeavor‚ flaws in their system allowed for larger cracks to which sowed the seeds of its later undoing. The Democracy of Athens partly existed based on the toil and sweat of slaves allowing for their owners to have the time to participate in government (Brand‚ n.d‚ p.29). Furthermore‚ Athens empire building via the Delian League provided for whole populations paying into the Athenian system‚ providing wealth and economic growth that aided in lessening the gap in Athens between those at the top
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Discuss the Athenian definition of democracy. Is the city state the only kind of state in which true democracy can exist? What happens to democracy when it is applied to a society with a large dispersed population? What are other examples of democratic societies besides Athens? Compare and contrast Athenian democracy with American democracy. Is the United States a democracy in the classical sense of the word? The ancient Greek word "demokratia" was ambiguous. It met literally "people power"
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Plato’s Republic vs. Democracy Ogochukwu Okpala Introduction In this era when individuals are questioning the legitimacy and wisdom of unregulated free markets‚ issues are raised about the most efficient form of economic activity and the best role for government in an economy. These issues have been discussed at many points in the past‚ and different societies have come to different conclusions regarding political and economic systems. In the United States‚ and many developed nations around the
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