Roman Law Vs Athenian Democracy

The United States, like many other countries have their own set of law, the constitution. Most of the laws prescribed in the constitution of a western world, like the United States, is influenced by the Roman & Greek law, and when read with scrutinizing eyes, an observer can see the implicit connection of the constitution of the present and the past. Furthermore, the founding fathers of the United States used Greek & Roman law to write down the declaration of independence. The declaration of independence hints at many Greek & Roman laws like the government structure, the democracy, habeas corpus, equality, and ostracism.
In the declaration of independence, the founding fathers laid out the structure of the government of the United States. All …show more content…
Democracy is the system of government by the whole population or by elected representatives. Citizens of the U.S. elect representatives from their respective state, who in turn elect the president. The democracy of the U.S., hence, is ditto of the democracy that the Athenian followed. In the United States, only adult citizens are able to elect their representatives. Similarly, only adult Athenian militia was allowed to vote. People of Athens didn’t feel the necessity of having representatives. Hence, any Athenian who was at least 20 years or older was allowed to take part in the assembly. The functions of the assembly were to pass laws, and elect officials. In contrast, because the population of the United States is more than 300 million, groups of people elect a representative who would in turn present the people who elected him. A person can’t become a representative if the person isn’t 25 years or older, and hasn’t been a citizen of the United States for at least 7 years. Together with the Senate, the House of Representatives, as it is known, passes or amends …show more content…
Under the constitution, every citizen of the United States is allowed to exercise free speech, expression, and press. Similarly, in Pericles funeral oration, Pericles talks about the freedom of all the Athenians in the land of Athens. Everyone was able to enjoy entertainment. Education wasn’t limited to the people of Athens, but even foreigners can benefit from the education. Not only that, all Athenians were free to speak, and discuss. This can be traced back to Agora, a place in Athens where all men were allowed to take part in talks that would lead to new laws. Infact, it was the duty of the Athenians to go to Agora and raise their voice to present their interests as well. Like Agora, in modern world, the house is the place where representatives voice their concerns about a multitude of problems. The Greeks used these concepts to not only discuss on political issues, but also spread knowledge. The famous philosopher Socrates used Agora as a way to spread his message to the traders and elders. Over time, Plato overheard Socrates, and became his