Ancient Athens

Democracy's birth place is in Ancient Athens. Citizens would gather together on a hill called the Pynx. Here they would decide the city’s laws and who should sit on its ruling council. This was ‘democracy’ or ‘rule by the people’. 

demos = people and kratos = power.

Glossary Terms you will need: 

• Ancient: Something from a time more than 2500 years ago.

• City States: it is made up of a city and the surrounding countryside that controls it. It is independent of other cities.

• Tyrants: are rulers who seize power and govern in a harsh cruel way.

• Socrates: Name of one of the great thinkers in ancient Athens.

• Pillar: Supports or holds up something.

• Pillars of Athenian Democracy: The assembly, the council, and the court.

• Assembly: A place where citizens would debate, listen, discuss and vote.

• Direct Democracy: people vote directly to make decisions rather than having representatives.

• Decree: A decision made by people who are in authority.

• Lottery: names drawn by chance from a large number of choices.

• Agenda: list of topics that will be discussed at a meeting.

• Magistrate: government official who works for the court.

• Defendant: a person who is accused of a crime in a court case.

• Plaintiff: a person who brings a complaint about another person to court.

• Citizens: The only members of society who could vote and take part in government. Which were free men born to Athenian parents,

• Women: Women could not vote they didn't go to school, they usually took care of the household and children

• Metics: Residents of Athens who had been born outside the city-state. 

• Slaves: People owned either by private Athenians or by the city-state.

Assembly (Ecclesia)

Members of the Assembly were NOT elected. Any male citizen over the age of 18 could take part in the assembly and was seen as a duty to do so.

The Assembly met monthly at dawn on the Pynx hill.

Duties: 

• following a religious ceremony, the assembly heard proposals from the Boule which were discussed and voted on. This is how laws were passed.

• Assembly approval was needed before money could be spent, taxes increase, or war declared.

• Voting was by show of hands, however when thousands of people attended coloured balls were used to vote - white for yes, black for no.

The Boule (Council of 500)

Selection of the Boule was done by a yearly lottery (lot) held among the male citizens who were over 30 years of age. Members could serve on the Boule twice in a lifetime.

All 500 members of the Boule met daily (except on festival days) in the bouleterian (council house) at the Agora. 

Duties:

• drafting and suggesting laws for the assembly to consider.

• supervised public officials.

​The Courts (Areopagus)

An important legal institution under Athenian democracy with jurisdiction over serious criminal cases (homicide, treason, arson).

The Council of Areopagus consisted of 9 judges and hundreds of jurors

Duties:

• resolve disputes 

• hold jury trials

• decide on punishments