10 GROUNDCOVER NEWS DEMOCRACY Greek origins of western democracies, political experiments Acropolis, Athens. In ancient Greece, there were approximately 500 cities, each with their own system of government. Many of the cities, such as Athens, were described as citystates. Athenian democracy was notable for its inspiration and aspiration. A February 2026 publication by distinguished University of Michigan political science Professor emerita Arlene Saxonhouse, “Athenian Democracy," offered valuable insights into the key intellectuals, historians and philosophers who lived in Athens during its experiment in liberty and democracy. They included the historian Herodotus, and philosophers Thucydides, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. Political theorists such as Thomas Hobbes, John Stuart Mill, John Locke and other enlightenment philosophers brought tremendous knowledge of Athenian democracy to the design and implementation of western democracies, including the American democracy. A brief history Athenian democracy Around the 6th, 5th and 4th centuries B.C.E., the Greek citizens of Athens said that they no longer wanted to be ruled by kings, tyrants and aristocrats. They wanted a system of government which was fair and guaranteed rights of liberty and freedom to the population. They no longer wanted poor farmers to lose their land to aristocrats who quickly turned them into slaves in perpetuity. They wanted participatory democracy which allowed citizens to debate and have voices in decision-making which affected their lives and their livelihood. The Athenians got their first wish from a prominent Athenian known as Solon. He started a system which gave more rights to Athenian citizens to debate and share their viewpoints on local issues and foreign policies. After more than 100 years of muddling through, a caring leader who was more responsive to the hopes and aspirations of the Athenian citizens emerged. His name was Cleisthenes. He represented the discontent among the working class, middle class and the military. He WILL SHAKESPEARE Groundcover vendor No. 258 Capitol in Washington D.C. der the Great circa 300 B.C.E. Alexander the Great, who was born in Pella, a small town in the city-state of Thessaloniki (now called Salonika), was a military general who wanted to end the concept of city-states in Greece and conquer neighbors such as the Turks, Egyptians and Syrians. After the conquest of Turkey, Alexander the Great built the first international highway, from Thessaloniki to Constantinople (present-day Istanbul) which made it easier for people to move from Macedonian Greece to Turkey. After the conquest of Egypt, Alexander the Great named a major city for himself. It was called the city of Alexandria. Key concepts, design of the Athenian democracy According to the National Geographic Encyclopedia, ancient Greeks were the first to create the concept of democracy. The term democracy comes from two Greek words: “Demos” means people and “Kratos” means rule (or power). The meaning of democracy is “the idea that citizens of a country should take an active role in the government of their country and manage it directly or through elected representatives.” In a democracy, the people deliver the verdict. They have the right to replace a government, if they are not satisfied, through peaceful means of transferring power. The Greek concept of direct democracy is different from today’s democratic systems, which prefer representative democracy. According to history.com, the ancient Greek system was “composed of three separate institutions: the ‘Ekklessia,’ a sovereign governing body that wrote laws and dictated foreign policy; the ‘Boule,’ a council of represenintroduced political reforms, including equality before the law, to break the power of the nobility who ruled the city-state. Athenian democracy survived for more than two centuries. Only free men were allowed to participate — a minority of the population. Women and slaves were excluded from the political process. The Athenian system of democracy was suppressed by Alexantatives from the 10 tribes of Athens; and ‘Dikasteria,’ the popular court in which citizens argued cases before a group of lottery-selected jurors.” The literature of the poet Homer, “The Iliad” and “The Odyssey,” showed the Athenian citizens how to debate, how to navigate communal responsibilities, and how to question authorities that they came to have concerns about. In the book "The Iliad," Homer was able to JUNE 26, 2026 disseminate ideas about debate strategies, models of public discussion, and how a deliberative council worked. The books talked about passion and persuasion that mix to achieve political objectives, and the rejection of absolute monarchy. In conclusion, the evolution and development of the Athenian democracy left many questions and fewer answers. Around the 5th century B.C.E., Athen’s population was approximately 300,000 people. However, only about 50,000 Athenian citizens were allowed to participate in the city-state’s direct democracy. We know that women were not allowed to participate. We know that slaves were excluded and we know that other ethnic minorities were also excluded. Athens’ population composition in the 5th and 4th centuries B.C.E. was multiracial and multiethnic. The people of Athens were diverse. In the 4th century B.C.E., an Athenian public intellectual approached Socrates at the “Agora” (the marketplace for ideas in Athens) and said, “Socrates, who are you? Are you Greek? Are you an Athenian?” Socrates replied, “I am neither Greek nor Athenian. I am a citizen of the world. My heart is like no island cut off from other worlds. My heart is like a continent that joins all other worlds.” World-mindeness was an attitude - inculcated in all members of Athenian society. While they were willing to constantly debate domestic issues at the Agora, the Athenians were also very much interested in debates on foreign policy, including the questions of war and peace. The 27 year-old Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta was devastating. Socrates wrote about individual liberty and warned about the political consequences of religious interference; his pupil Plato wrote “Plato’s Republic,” and Plato’s pupil Aristotle wrote the constitution of Athens. Those writings guided American founding fathers like John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin who spent time in Europe and were instrumental in the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia at the founding of the United States. Every Greek citizen during the Athenian democracy is considered a “public intellectual.” The ability to think critically and intensively was an ancient Greek tradition. Debates which go from rhetoric to action was also an ancient Greek tradition. Athenian Democracy led to the first concept of a city council and local governments, not just national governmental institutions. Many of our readers may be asking the question, "What are the lessons of Athenian democracy and experiments for America or other western democracies?” Some historians may say things like, “A revolution of the mind; people power to end monarchy, aristocracy and oligarchy.” They may add, “Searching for a government designed by the people for the people and for the interest of the people.” Some may also say, “Ideas of justice, fairness, dignity, liberty, freedom and community empowerment.” We know that the Athenian democracy lasted more than 200 years. But the American constitutional democracy is the longest lasting in the world. As we celebrate the 250th anniversary of America’s independence and revolution, let us hope that the nation will continue to take giant steps toward democracy, and more specificaly, equality, liberty, justice and of course, freedom.
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