Athenian Democracy: An Experiment for the Ages

Considering the nature of Athenian democracy; how it functions in practice; surveying some of its key tenets; Professor Garland compares the Athenian governmental system to western democracy today; he shows the similarities and crucial differences.

Among Greek city-states, Athens is not alone in having a form of democratic rule; Greek governments run on a sliding scale from oligarchy and democracy to kingship and tyranny; Homer's epics; examining several early examples of a democratic assembly.

One must first examine Athens as a polis or city-state, within the broader context of ancient Greece; reviewing the territory of Attica; the lay of the land for Athenian government in the 6th and 7th centuries B.C.; Solon's reforms.

Fifty years after Solon's reforms, a tyrant named Peisistratus seizes power; the overthrow of his tyranny; the ensuing skirmish among different aristocratic groups; the rise of Cleisthenes; he carries the democratic experiment forward.

According to Professor Garland, the end of the Greco-Persian Wars in the early 5th century B.C. is Athens' finest hour; the reforms of 462 B.C., when Ephialtes and Pericles attack Areopagus and bring radical democracy; an unprecedented experiment.

The ancient Greeks consider military service a privilege; hoplite warfare and the construction of their navy go hand in hand with the rise of democracy in Athens; particularly since the Athenian military has no permanent commander in chief.