Forms Of Government In Ancient Greece

Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to address the differences and similarities between forms of government. More specifically, we will compare monarchy, aristocracy, tyranny, oligarchy, and democracy and talk about how they apply to Ancient Greece. These forms of government can be found in different countries all over the world and have existed for centuries. Like many other things, they have gone through many changes since their beginnings, and variations and even combinations of them have been implemented into governments for many years. Ancient Greece saw the rise and fall of all these forms.
Monarchy
According to Kostiner, a monarchy is “political system based upon the undivided sovereignty…of…an individual ruler who functions as the …show more content…
The governing body would consist of wealthy, upper class citizens, usually those had owned a lot of land or had become well-known in battle. Before Athens became a democracy under Solon the Lawgiver, the aristocrats had control over the government entirely. They believed they were the most qualified individuals and would best act in the interest of the state (Agathe.re, …show more content…
Democracy is probably the most heralded form of government that exists. And why wouldn’t it be? Democracy ensures that citizens have the right to make decisions in the government and create change. Who doesn’t like to be heard? Athens was the first place to implement this method and it was a quite a radical idea at the time. Many aristocrats were not pleased and felt it caused the ruin of Athens. However, democracy in those times was much different than the democracy we know today. It used to be that women and slaves could not vote at all. It only allowed male citizens the right to take part in government. Also, the practice of ostracism was acceptable and very much in practice. In fact, Socrates met his death because of it (Brand,