Greek democracy: what is it and what were its characteristics?

The democracy of Ancient Greece is, for many, the origin of today's democracy.

Greek democracy is the system of government considered the basis of modern democracies, especially those in force in Western countries.especially those in force in Western countries.

It arose in ancient Athens, back in the distant sixth century BC, although it had very marked differences compared to our modern idea of what is democratic. Below we will take a closer look at how it worked and who had the right to participate.

Ancient Greek democracy

Traditionally, the origin of our modern democracies has been attributed to the emergence of Greek democracy. Actually, the most appropriate way to refer to this system of government is that of Athenian democracy, given that it arose in the city-state of Athens, which is the one for which most information is available. This same democracy served as a model for other polis.

The word "democracy" comes from the classical Greek "démos", "people" and "krátos", "government, power", meaning "the power of the people". Although today democracy is the most widespread system of government in Western countries, having its roots in ancient Athens, there are many differences between Greek democracy and today's democracies. In fact, Athenian democracy is far removed from what we would consider a full democratic system.

History and origin of democracy

Before the advent of democracy, the city of Athens was ruled by the aristocracy.The Greek Empire had passed through different governments that, in essence, could be considered monarchies, oligarchic dictatorships and tyrannies.

This changed at the beginning of the 6th century B.C. thanks to Solon, an Athenian statesman who instituted a series of reforms with which he laid the foundations of Hellenic democracy, although it must be said that his reforms were counteracted by oligarchic governments after his death.

However, it was at the end of that same century that Greek democracy proper was established, thanks to the reforms of another ruler, Clare, who was the reforms of another ruler, Clisthenes.. It was this politician who broke the power exercised by the aristocrats in political decision-making. He changed the form of government, making decisions by reorganizing the Athenians into tribes according to the place where they lived, instead of on the basis of their wealth.

The merit does not belong to Solon and Clisthenes alone. Ephialtes and Pericles also made important contributions to the development of Greek democracy during the 5th century BC. The background context was that the Athenians were victorious fighting against the invasions of the Achaemenid Empire, perpetrated by Xerxes. It was these victories that motivated the poorer strata of the Athenian population to have their say and want more rights, demanding a greater share in political power. This was granted by the reforms of Ephialtes and Pericles during the decade of 460 BC.

Political organization

Similar to today, Greek democracy was made up of three governing bodies: the Ekklesia, the Boule and the Dikasteria.

1. The Ekklesia

The Ekklesia, also known as the Assembly, was the main and sovereign organ of the Athenian government. This institution would be comparable to that of today's parliaments in modern democracies.The members of the Ekklesia were not elected.

In this institution, laws were decided upon, magistrates were elected, and the conduct of war and peace was agreed upon. The attendees could speak freely, although very few used to do so, and voted by a show of hands or by putting a white or black stone into a ballot box. It was a direct, non-representative democracy.

Any adult male citizen, over the age of 20, could participate and, in fact, all free men were expected to do so at their meetings. The Ekklesia was an exclusive club, and women, slaves and resident aliens were forbidden to participate..

Any individual who wanted his voice and vote to be heard had to attend the meeting place in person. Being on military service or simply out of the city of Athens made it impossible to take part in the democratic process, since there was no postal voting.

Given the great privilege and luck involved in being elected, not wanting to attend the Ekklesia was frowned upon. In fact, those who were invited and did not go were known to the Ekklesia, those who were invited and did not attend were known as "idiotai", in the most literal and classic sense of the term.in the most literal and classical sense meaning something like "private citizen". This word is the etymological origin of "idiot".

2. The Boule

The second institution was the Boule, also known as the council of the Five Hundred, which would come to exercise executive power. The main purpose of this institution was to carry out the practical power of government, meeting on a frequent basis to decide what issues would be discussed in the Ekklesia..

It consisted of a council of 500 men. These came from the 10 Athenian tribes, who each sent 50 men to be represented in the Boule. These men were selected by lot. The elected men were to serve on the council for one year.

3. The Dikasteria

The Dikasteria were the people's courts, serving as the judicial branch of ancient Athens. judicial branch of ancient Athens. It had 500 men like the Boule, who were known as jurors and were also selected by lot. To be eligible as a juror one had to be over 30 years of age.

However, anyone over the age of 20 could present their litigation in the Dikasteria, bringing cases before the court, and defending the prosecution or the defense. Verdicts and sentences were approved by the majority government.

The end of Greek democracy

The years in which Athens was a democracy are known as its golden age. However, enmity with Sparta, another Hellenic power, and wars with that polis weakened Athenian institutions. Athens had allied itself with many Aegean cities, which had to pay tribute to it. Sparta used this as a reason for war, besieging Athens. To make matters worse, the plague ravaged Athens, and Pericles himself died.

Despite all this, Greek democracy remained alive for almost a century, even after the end of the Peloponnesian War and the defeat of Athens.. Democracy lasted until 322 B.C., the year in which Macedonia finally put an end to all democratic institutions.

A democracy unthinkable today

Greek democracy has often been idealized. Many see it as the perfect form of government, while today's democracies are seen as corrupt and dysfunctional. However, taking into account the denial of voting rights to women and foreigners, this clearly tips the balance in favor of our modern democracies. Moreover, the mere existence of slavery makes the state that permits it and even benefits from it anything but democratic..

There is no doubt that Greek democracy was a great development for the history of Western civilization, and that today's democracies take many elements from it, but in its most advanced and humanistic form. Moreover, and as surprising as it may seem, there were also voices at the time who were critical of the conception of what was democratic at the time. Philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle saw flaws in this system of government.

For example Aristotle, in his "Politics," wrote that democracy is the perverse form of a regime called government.. In this system the top priority was to benefit the few, while the benefit of the many was a matter left to the last minute. In essence, it was not a true democracy, but another oligarchy concerned only with those in power.

Criticism of this system of government can also be found in Plato's "Republic". Plato considered that offering the positions of the Ekklesia, the Boule and the Dikasteria by lottery meant that many government posts would be filled by lot. implied that many governmental positions would be filled by people who would not have the capacities of a good ruler. In addition, he criticized the figure of the radical democratic person, who in his quest for maximum freedom, takes away rights from others.

Bibliographical references:

• Canfora, L., (2004) La democracia. Historia de una ideología, Crítica, Barcelona.
• González, J. M. and F. Quesada (1988), Teorías de la democracia, Anthropos,
• Barcelona.
• Dahl, R., (1999) La democracia. A guide for citizens, Taurus, Madrid.