-
505
505 BCE: Cleisthenes establishes the first democratic consititution
After a long battle for power with the Isagoras, Cleisthenes rose to power. He made numerous changes to the Athenian government. He changed clan orginization and used sortition (a selection of citizens to be part of the government). He also made the Boule different so that there would be 50 representitives from each tribe, making a total of 500 members. They would assemble and debate laws and pass bills. -
505
Part 2 of 505 BCE
This was the most important event in greek history regarding democracy. Cleisthenes was known as the 'father of Athenian democracy'. He re-formed the government and wanted to elect people for the greater good of greece. -
Jan 1, 621
621 BCE: Athens develops code of laws
The set of laws were written by a man named Draco. He wrote very strict and merciless laws- the term "draconian" originates from the nature of his laws. The laws permitted enslavement and the punishment for most crimes was death.The laws were said to be written in blood. -
Jan 1, 621
Part 2 of 621 BCE
This was a more difficult time for democracy in ancient greece. They were ruled by a very cruel man named Draco who made strict and scary laws. The punishment for the laws being broken was usually torture or death. This is an important part of history to look back to because looking at mistakes and bad leaders will only make better modern leaders in the future. -
Prior to 8th Century: Most Greek city states were monarchies
The Mycenaeans ruled Ancient Greece form 2000 to 1100 BCE. They were made up of city-states and villages of warriors.The king of each city-state lived in a fortress in the centre of the city-state. The eldest prince would succeed to the throne. People would pay taxes and abide the laws that the king made. The rule of the Mycenaeans ended in the 1200s (BCE) because they started running out of trading materials and the monarchy fell apart. By the 8th century BCE, there were no more monarchies. -
800 BCE: Sparta develops first Greek written law
The Spartan Constitution, also known as the Politeia was created during the time of Lycurgus. This constitution had strict levels of law regarding mostly military and social systems. -
584-559 BCE: Solon becomes ruler of Athens
Solon became the ruler of Athens after he re-conquered Salamis. He was appointed to be diallikytes (a person who arbitrates social issues). The most important of all the laws that he passed was the seisachtheia, which diminished wide-spread slavery in Athens. -
Part 2 of prior to 8th century BCE
There were monarchies in most greek city states. This is important to democracy today because monarchies over time were over-thrown. There was lots of power struggles in ancient Greece. This is kind of the same thing with our government today, only it's more civil. People don't really 'overthrow' government, but they certainly can try to re-elect a more suitable leader. -
Part 2 of 800 BCE
The creation of written law has greatly influenced the way that government works today. Like in 800 BCE in ancient greece, we have certain written laws that everyone must abide. The consequences today are much less harsh in modern times compared to what they were like in ancient times. The levels of law do the same thing today that they did hundreds of years ago: they create order and minimize chaos. -
Part 2 of 584-559
Solon was known to be a very good leader that diminished wide-spread slavery in Athens. This step in greece's political story was crucial to creating more equality and peace in their society. Who knows, if slavery wasn't minimizes in ancient greece by Solon, we might still have had slaves today.
