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Compare And Contrast Monarchy, Aristocracy, Oligarchy, And Democracy

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Compare and contrast monarchy, aristocracy, tyranny, oligarchy, and democracy as forms of government in Ancient Greek city-states.

Monarchy:
According to Meriam Webster, a monarchy can be a) “undivided rule or absolute sovereignty by a single person” or b) “a nation state having a monarchical government” or c) “a government having a hereditary chief of state with life tenure and powers varying from nominal to absolute”. (Merriam Webster, n.d.). From these definitions, it is clear that a Monarchy consists of a single individual rule, having earned that status through inheritance. Monarchies were not a very common form of governance within the Greek system. A personal opinion of mine is that this could be a result of the constant in fighting between the Greek city states. A kingdom constantly under attack or constantly attacking cannot sustain forever. If you are always fighting, you are bound to lose eventually and a Monarchy and the reliance of hereditary heirs will immediately cease to exist after the first loss. Macedonia and Epeiros were two famous city states that practiced monarchy governance, but the rulers still shared power with an assembly, introducing aristocracy tendencies. (ancient.eu, n.d.). Sparta practiced a form of a monarchy in their Government, however, having two Kings strayed from the true definition of a monarchy and their power was also limited by the Ephors and Gerousia, especially during times of peace. (Brand). Corinth however was a famous city
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