Absolute Monarchs In Ancient Greece

A monarchy is a term used to refer to a form of government that has a monarch at the head. This can either be a singular king or queen, or it can be an entire family that rules a country with various duties. In modernity, there are both constitutional and absolute monarchies, however in ancient times most monarchies were absolute monarchs. The monarchs in Ancient Greece consisted of two kings who wielded relatively little power. The Gerousia and Ephors held much more power than the kings and frequently circumvented them when necessary (Brand, N.D.). It seems that the kings of Ancient Greece, similar to monarchs in recent times, served as a symbol of the countries cultural, social, and political aims. Tyranny refers to a form of government in which

Peisistratus is a good example of a tyrant in Ancient Greece and his son continued the tyranny until Cleisthenes established democratic reforms in 508 BC (Cartledge, 2011). A distinction can be made between absolute monarchs and tyrants only in their regard for the people. It has been recorded throughout history that monarchs can very quickly become tyrants. An oligarchy refers to a form of government where a small group of people, usually the wealthy, have control over the government and its institutions. In many ways governance in Ancient Greece, even during its highly democratic years, could be seen as an oligarchy. While every free man of Athenian decent could participate in government as a citizen, government leadership was incredibly stratified with the most wealthy often holding the top positions. This is where the concept of "bushel men" comes into play in Greek governance, because the poorest of men or the "199 or less bushel men" were only allowed to vote in the assembly but not join the navy or occupy higher political positions. Meanwhile, the wealthy men or "500 bushel men" were permitted to run for the highest public offices, including the 10 general positions, the Ephors, and the