In this paper I will differentiate several descriptions of government and how they related to Ancient Greece.
The term monarchy refers to absolute power, usually, lying with one individual. The king or queen inherits power through the dynastic family lineage (Kostiner, n.d.). Sparta was an example of this, but unusual in the fact it was a dual monarchy born out of two family lines descending from the twin sons of Aristodemus (Halsall, 1999). Sparta was not an absolute monarchy however as significant powers lay away from the two kings, with the senior political seats of the Gerousia and Ephors (Brand, n.d.).
Tyranny is similar but separate to monarchy. A tyrannical regime refers to one whereby the individual has stolen power from the rightful party (Cartledge, 2011). The tyrant usually retains absolute power, as does a monarch, but is differentiated by the fact tyranny is, by definition, illegitimate (Roland, n.d.). The unstable periods of Athenian history are littered with …show more content…
To their credit, instead of employing force or another means of suppression, the aristocrats sought social reform. Through political and economic restructuring, first Solon and then Cleisthenes redesigned Athenian society and reduced the boundaries between rich and poor, to be more inclusive, and to provide opportunities for non-aristocrats to progress in society and take part in public life. Eventually all eligible citizens were encouraged to participate in public processes and were given equal voting rights. These reforms were the first evidence of ‘rule of the people’ or democracy (Brand, n.d.). The Athenian version of democracy comes with a heavy caveat however; rights were only offered to ‘eligible citizens’, the majority of the population - women and non-natives - were excluded from the democratic process
The term monarchy refers to absolute power, usually, lying with one individual. The king or queen inherits power through the dynastic family lineage (Kostiner, n.d.). Sparta was an example of this, but unusual in the fact it was a dual monarchy born out of two family lines descending from the twin sons of Aristodemus (Halsall, 1999). Sparta was not an absolute monarchy however as significant powers lay away from the two kings, with the senior political seats of the Gerousia and Ephors (Brand, n.d.).
Tyranny is similar but separate to monarchy. A tyrannical regime refers to one whereby the individual has stolen power from the rightful party (Cartledge, 2011). The tyrant usually retains absolute power, as does a monarch, but is differentiated by the fact tyranny is, by definition, illegitimate (Roland, n.d.). The unstable periods of Athenian history are littered with …show more content…
To their credit, instead of employing force or another means of suppression, the aristocrats sought social reform. Through political and economic restructuring, first Solon and then Cleisthenes redesigned Athenian society and reduced the boundaries between rich and poor, to be more inclusive, and to provide opportunities for non-aristocrats to progress in society and take part in public life. Eventually all eligible citizens were encouraged to participate in public processes and were given equal voting rights. These reforms were the first evidence of ‘rule of the people’ or democracy (Brand, n.d.). The Athenian version of democracy comes with a heavy caveat however; rights were only offered to ‘eligible citizens’, the majority of the population - women and non-natives - were excluded from the democratic process