The Road to

Development of Governments
Democracy
in Ancient Athens

To learn more about governments in

ancient Athens, click on Kressides to
continue.

Government

Why did it vary from place to place?

Ancient Greece was divided into many
regions called city-states. Citystates were made up of a city and the
land surrounding it.
The geography of Greece made it
difficult to form a single government
since city-states were separated by
land features like mountains and
bodies of water, making it hard for
one leader to rule.
Each city-state made its own choice
about what form of government
would be best for them.
So, how did democracy develop in
ancient Athens?
Follow Kressides to find out.

Monarchy
The first form of government in ancient Athens was monarchy. A
monarchy is a government in which a king or queen has supreme power
over everything. Wealthy land owners would pay the king or queen and
provide protection for them as well.
Why do you think monarchies didnt last in ancient Athens?
Monarchies did not last in ancient Athens because
A)

Kings and queens couldnt hold onto their power.

OR

B)

Wealthy landowners, or aristocrats, wanted a share of the power,

too!

Monarchy
Both answers are correct!!!
Kings and queens couldnt hold onto their power
BECAUSE
the aristocrats wanted a share of the power, too!
Often, a small group of wealthy landowners would
come together to form a new government, an
oligarchy.
Follow Kressides to learn more about
oligarchies!

Oligarchy
As mentioned before, an oligarchy is a type of government where only a
few people rule together. They share power equally. These people were
wealthy landowners and sometimes wealthy merchants. These wealthy few
were responsible for feeding all of the people in ancient Athens.

So whats the problem with Athenian oligarchy?

Stop!
3 Minute Pause!!!
Write down why you think
oligarchies did not last in
ancient Athens.
Once, youre done, follow me!

Why didnt oligarchies last?

Not all leaders could provide enough food for the people
of
Athens. This caused the people to get upset. New
leaders came forward, promising a better life and future
for the people of Athens.
What did we call these new leaders and their
form of government?

Click Kressides to find

out!

Tyrants and
We call the people who came forward, uniting
Tyranny

the poor behind them, tyrants.

The form of
government that they established was called tyranny.
Tyrants came to power through illegal means and
sometimes they were military leaders. Two of the
most popular tyrants were Solon and Cleisthenes.

What do YOU think?

tyranny???

What was the problem with

Tyrants became mean and vengeful!

OR
People decided that they wanted to
have a share in the

Solon and Cleisthenes

During the time of Solon and Cleisthenes, the poor

people of Athens were getting angry. Many
poor farmers were in debt and had to either
work for someone else or become a slave.
To avoid revolts from the poor, the aristocrats, or
rich nobles, elected Solon to help control them.
Instead, Solon relieved the poor people of their debts
and made a law that said no citizen could become a
slave.
Still, richer men had more power so when Cleisthenes
came to power, he based citizenship on where in
Athens a person lived, not by a persons wealth.
Solon and Cleisthenes both gained favor with poor
citizens who felt empowered and felt that they had
a direct part in the government.

Whoops! Good try,

though!
Today, we often think of tyrants in a

negative way. We think of them as harsh

dictators who impose strict laws and rules.
But in ancient Athens, tyrants ruled with
the people in mind, creating real change
for people who couldnt make change
themselves. Once the common people saw
an ordinary person make real change, they
decided that they wanted a say, too. And
then, democracy was born!
Click Kressides to continue!

CORRECT!
Good thinking! In ancient Athens,
tyrants ruled with the people in
mind, creating real change for people
who couldnt make change
themselves.
Once the common people saw an
ordinary person make real change,
they decided that they wanted a
say, too. And then, democracy was
Click Kressides to
born!
continue!

Democracy
The word democracy comes from 2 Greek words, demos
meaning people and kratos meaning rule. And that is exactly
what democracy is, rule by the people!
In Athens, all citizens could vote on laws and participate in
government. This is an example of a direct democracy. There is
a second type of democracy called indirect democracy which is
the type of democracy found in the United States today.
Democracy in Athens was limited, however. Although all citizens
could vote, not everyone in Athens was considered a citizen. Only
free adult males could participate in the democracy. This left out
women, children, foreigners, and slaves all of whom made up 3/4
of the population.
Want to learn more about citizenship?
Otherwise, click Kressides to continue!

Citizenship

What does it mean?

In ancient Athens, a citizen was a person with the right to take part
in the government. Citizens had to be born to parents who were
free citizens.
People who were not citizens could never become
citizens.
Its really easy to explain what citizenship means today. Citizens are
loyal to their country and expect that their country protect them.
But in the U.S., people who are not citizens CAN become citizens
through the process of naturalization. For more information on
what it takes to become a citizen, check out the U.S. Citizenship
and Immigration Services webpage at http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/usc
is

Click Kressides to return to Democracy.

Direct v. Indirect Democracy

Whats the difference?

Direct Democracy- All

citizens take part in the

government.
Decisions
are made by voting and
the majority wins.

Indirect Democracy-

Citizens elect leaders to

make decisions and laws
for them which they
believe to be done in their
best interest. This type
of democracy is what we
have in the United States.

Are there any similarities?

Both systems involve the
citizens
in some way. giveThese
governments
powertypes
to of
people. Also, in both cases,
their
citizens are the ones who help
make decisions (for indirect
democracy, they elect the
leaders) and non-citizens
cannot.
Click Kressides to
continue!

Democracy in ancient
AthensWhat did it look like?

In ancient Athens, citizenship only applied to

males who were over the age of 18 and had
citizen parents. Citizens met in the Assembly
to vote on laws and hold trials with as many
as 500 jurors. Leaders in ancient Athens
were either elected or randomly chosen.
The Council of Five Hundred prepared things
for the Assembly to do.
Now, lets look at democracy in the United
States!
Click Kressides!

Democracy Today
How has it changed?

Democracy sure has changed since the days

of the Athenians! Today, we become citizens
through birth or through the citizen process
which you explored earlier. We elect
representatives to help make decisions on
our behalf and we elect a leader to run the
country. This executive branch of
government helps keep things in order.
Click Kressides to wrap up our discussion of democracy.

The End of The Road

Now that youve had a chance to explore the road to democracy,
pretend you are an ancient Athenian and write a letter to your
teacher Kressides explaining whatve you learned from todays
lesson. You should have at least 3 examples of the main ideas
presented to you today. Make sure you explain how democracy
has changed since the days of the ancient Athenians.
Remember to follow proper letter format and remember your
audience!!! Remember R.A.F.T.!!! (role, audience, format, topic)
Kressides looks forward to hearing from you!