ipl-logo

Cleisthene's Reforms Essay

1044 Words5 Pages

Upon the conclusion of tyranny, two parties contested for power over whom would be responsible over reshaping the government of Athens. One of which was being led by Isagoras, seen in the eyes of the great Aristotle as an acquaintance of the tyrants, the other being directed by Cleisthenes, who could be deduced as an Alcmenonid aristocrat. Isagoras prevailed in a minor victory in being chosen as Archon in 508. However, during that time Cleisthenes utilized a ploy played out by the tyrants, through allowing the people into his party and by means of the support of those in the lower classes imposed a sequence of reforms. Isagoras paying close attention to a number of instances played out in history, requested the aid of Cleomene, the Spartan …show more content…

This was the first instance in history where one can find traces of the classical Athenian democracy, ever since organizing Attica into the political landscape which would have a lifetime of about two hundred years. Cleisthene’s reforms took two formulas, one of which distinguished the basic foundations of the Athenian democracy, redefining how people within Athens viewed themselves with regards to one another and their relationship to the state. Cleisthene’s reforms were directed towards breaking the chain of power in which the aristocratic families held, interchanging regional loyalties with pan-Athenian solidarity, averting the rise of a new tyrant. He also, made the village or in the terms they used, “deme,” into a central unit of political organization, while managing to sway Athenians to assume their deme-name into their own. Therefore, whereas an Athenian man would have previously identified himself as “Demochares, son of Demosthenes,” he would now more than likely refer to himself as “Demochares from Marathon.” By replacing patronymic names with demotic names, they were breaking all ties with previous aristocratic families and placing emphasis on the new political community of

Show More
Related

Ap World History Dbq Questions And Answers

548 Words | 3 Pages

“In 508 BCE, the Athenian aristocrat Cleisthenes instituted the first Athenian political democracy.” As the Greek playwright, Euripides wrote in his play that,“ Nothing is worse for a city than a tyrant.” (Section 2.2The Rise of Democracy and the Threat of Persia) Cleisthenes knew that, so he gave every

Read More

How Did Elect Ten Archons Affect The Future Of The Athenian Republic

1072 Words | 5 Pages

In mid-6th c. BCE Athens, just five years after the government of Solon (594), the Athenians found themselves encompassed by dissension and internal disorder. Athens created the first democracy-based government, although their government became more of a republic with democratic attributes. They, the electors, were unable to elect an Archon for five years due to their dissent with the former principles ran by the State. All people within Athens viewed these principles with contempt, those in the elite[upper] class were ‘estranged because of the abolition of debts,’ while the poor people wanted the distribution of all land and property. Both parties were unhappy with the changes made by Solon’s reforms and so many refused to vote for any new

Read More

How Did Athens Change Athenian Government

611 Words | 3 Pages

Understanding the foundations of democracy will allow for a greater knowledge of why these democratic reforms occurred. The three archons and six additional officials called thesmothetae were elected to become the dominant political force in the polis. A fragment of an inscription broken from a large marble block is engraved with a list of archons of Athens, providing archaeological evidence that inscribes influential chief magistrates such as Miltiates, the commander of the battle of Marathon, and Cleisthenes, the later initiator of certain democratic reforms. The three chief magistrates included, the archon polemarch who was the supreme military commander, the archon basileus who was responsible for religious functions, and the archon eponymous who was in charge of civil administrations. Each were responsible for different specific functions that supported the control of the Athenian Empire by establishing laws and policies that further initiated the democratic reforms of Athens.

Read More

How Does Golding Present The Evil In Lord Of The Flies

651 Words | 3 Pages

Lord of the Flies Essay Level 4 In Lord of the Flies, Golding illustrates how everyone can be turned back to their animal savage instincts. As a matter of fact, even young and innocent boys can be turned into murderous savages in only a matter of months. It can be argued that Roger’s sadistic behavior in Lord of the Flies demonstrates how all humans will revert to their primal instincts when left to their own devices. This is shown through Roger crushing other boy’s sand castles early on in the novel to eventually killing, torturing, and sodomizing the other boys towards the end.

Read More

Why Was Cleomene's Insanity?

581 Words | 3 Pages

Cleomenes had made unreasonable decisions, like overthrowing the position of the co-reigning Spartan king, Demaratos, in order to secure military backing from Leotychidas. Cleomenes stood by the pact he made with Leotychidas, even if it meant he had to bribe the Pythia at Delphi in order to remove Demaratos from power, which was unthinkable. Sparta’s archrival, Argos, at one point, was about to be taken over, however Cleomenes had a vision, maybe he was delusional, at the Temple of Hera that somehow convinced him that he should not take

Read More

Did Thucydides Believe In The Story Of Athenian Democracy

1793 Words | 8 Pages

Much of Athenian life and politics was based on stories of Athenian history. These historical events shaped the way and life of Athenian actions. Yet what happens when the histories that become integral aspects of Athens are based on inaccuracies? The history of Harmodius and Aristogeiton and the impact that it had on Athens was so deep that it led to the catastrophe that was the trials surrounding the defacement of the statues of Hermes. However, Athenian misunderstanding of the situation brings into question the legitimacy of Athenian democracy as a whole, something Thucydides uses his retelling of Harmodius and Aristogeiton to convey.

Read More

A Primary Text Analysis: The Funeral Oration Of Pericles

664 Words | 3 Pages

Without the courage to rebuild Athens through the foundations of democracy, the structure of the modern world would not have discourses built from those established in the ancient Greek

Read More

Lycurgus In Sparta Vs. Solon Of Athens

796 Words | 4 Pages

The two most important of such changes came from the minds of Lycurgus of Sparta and Solon of Athens, who both brought radical changes to their respective cities. The militaristic society of Lycurgus was completely different from that of Solon, who gave more power to the common people, and sought a compromise between all factions of Athens. By the ideas of equality, economy, and sustainability in each city, it can be proven that Lycurgus’

Read More

Why Was Athens Successful

875 Words | 4 Pages

Athens organized a group of Greek city states into the Delian League and eventually lead and dominated all of the city states in the League. Athens’s military prowess allowed them to look down on the other members of the League and treat them as members of an empire instead of equals. This caused some to view them with hostility which sparked the conflicts between Athens and Sparta that lead to the Peloponnesian War. The direct democracy of Athens wasn’t actually as inclusive and steady as the statement at Pericles 's funeral state, “Our Constitution is called a democracy because power is in the hands not of a minority but of the whole people (Doc C).” In fact, of the 450,000 citizens of Athens in 430 BC, only about 40,000 people had the power to vote.

Read More

Essay On Spartan Government

1292 Words | 6 Pages

They were a group of thirty older men ages sixty years old and above. They served in the office for a lifetime. They were considered as an élite assembly. They were rich and highly influential people of the society. All the important decisions were decided or influence by these group of elders.

Read More

The Importance Of Arete In Ancient Greece

1134 Words | 5 Pages

Pericles, a key political figure of 5th century Athens states, “Our constitution does not copy the laws of neighboring states; we are rather a pattern to others than imitators ourselves.” The Athenians had no desire to follow what appeared as mediocre government, the Athenians pushed for the best form they could find. Arete, for Athens, meant every person had a voice in politics. Politics embraces the reason of the mind as well as the emotion of the heart. Therefore, the very essence of a good human being would lie in being a politically active person.

Read More

Importance Of Cleomenes

501 Words | 3 Pages

Cleomenes was a man of power in the Spartan society ruling the land with his co-king until upholding the spartan mirage and the accusations from his people lead to the madness that took his life. Being part of a dual kingship allowed one king to serve as a commander-in-chief of armed forces and the other to supervise domestic affairs. The separated duties resulting when king Demaratos left Cleomenes on the battlefield and no king was left in Sparta. After leading a battle and sparing the city of Argos at Sepeia, Cleomenes came to a bad standing with his people who accused him of bribery. Angry that he had spared the city.

Read More

Polis In Ancient Greek Life

1255 Words | 6 Pages

Each Polis had a patron deity and was named after their patron deity, Athens’s deity being the Goddess of Wisdom and of War, Athena. Athens was one of the largest city-states in Greece, the city-state that came second to Athens being Sparta, but it is one of the most well-known city-states due to having features of its own that were not seen in any other city-states and one other feature that it gave us that is still present today, known as Democracy. An example of one of these distinctive features, according to Polis, was introduced during the classical period, “In about 508-507 B.C., Cleisthenes prevented Athenian aristocrats from controlling the assembly by limiting citizenship” (“Polis”, 1998). By doing this, citizenship was no longer controlled by the rich, making it easier to become a part of Athenian society. But Cleisthenes did not stop there, proposing even more reforms, as according to Polis, “He also instituted the Council of 500, whose members were chosen by lot from male citizens 30 years of age or older” (“Polis”, 1998).

Read More

How Did Greece Express Humanistic Values?

643 Words | 3 Pages

The Greeks displayed their humanistic values through government by they utilizing an effective system of self governing. This system was a direct democracy, defined as “government by the people” or “rule of the majority.” In the Athenian Democracy, the Assembly was the regular

Read More

Advantages Of Athenian Democracy

1042 Words | 5 Pages

The concept of leadership was prevalent in the ancient world. It had a place in the way the people of ancient times governed their lives. Greece, and especially Athens, is the cradle of democracy in the western civilization. Athens owes the first penal and civil law code to Draco. An outstanding statesman and poet called Solon acted in Athens at the same time as Draco.

Read More

More about Cleisthene's Reforms Essay

Related Topics

Open Document