FREE ESSAY ON COMPARISON BETWEEN DEMOCRACY IN ANCIENT GREECE AND UNITED STATES

COMPARISON BETWEEN DEMOCRACY IN ANCIENT GREECE AND UNITED STATES

The Influence of the Greeks on American Democracy
"Tyranny is the rule of one man to the advantage of the ruler, oligarchy to the advantage
of the rich, democracy to the advantage of the poor." -Aristotle
Democracy: a form of government that makes political decisions directly exercised by the
whole body of citizens, under procedures of majority rule. This type of democracy is know
as a direct democracy, however the form of government that citizens exercise the same
right not in person but through elected representatives is known as a representative
democracy. Today in the United States of America we have a representative democracy in
which we appoint "representatives" through election. The founders of democracy in Athens
exercised decisions through a direct democracy in which all male citizens were allowed to
have direct influence on the decisions. Although in the United States today we accept
democracy as a form of life it had its early beginnings in the city-states of Ancient
Greece. The form of government known as democracy had its early roots in Ancient Greece
but its influence has a direct connection with the type of government we have today in
the United States. 
The Greek city-states of antiquity did not always live a lifestyle with the cooperation
of democracy. The civilizations of Greece passed through many stages of government. In
the 8th and 7th centuries the government was known as an oligarchy. An oligarchy is the
rule of the city-state by a selected few usually consisting of wealthy landowners. These
representatives made decisions based on their own ideals without the consideration of the
people. Decisions were made not with the interest of the majority but with the interests
of the few. Since the oligarchy was primarily run by wealthy landowners, the interests of
the poor were often ignored. However, tensions began to arise between these wealthy
landowners which left the majority of the public in a state of discontent and fury. This
discontent of the majority of the people made way for the form of government called a
tyranny. A tyranny is known as one man who seizes absolute power of the city-states. In
Greek civilizations a tyranny is someone who seizes power of the King without proper
royal descent. The citizens accepted the change because it provided them with inspiration
that was lost during the tensions arising within the oligarchy. (MacLaren, 80)
The tyrants of the Greek civilization flourished during the 7th century because of their
ability to introduce this new form of governing. The tyrants appealed to the citizens
because they displayed themselves as military innovators or entrepreneurs who united
their economic dominance into a new form of political power unseen in the past. Many
tyrants of the Greek culture, similar to the those of the oligarchy, had incredible
wealth. Two idealistic tyrants were Croesus and Polycrates whom were above their fellow
people with their extreme amount of wealth. Blinded to their individualistic motives, the
Greek people accepted many powers of which the tyrant awarded himself. Tyrants were able
to award their friends and punish their enemies in any way they wished, and possessed
nearly an unlimited sexual freedom. (McGlew, 26) "To the tyrant his rule is a blessing;
to the city it is a curse. And in each case the reason is the same: the tyrant can do
what he pleases." (McGlew quoting Connor, 26) Herodotus notes many acts of sexual freedom
among tyrants in his works. Periander had relations with his deceased wife while Cambyses
participated in incest with his own sister. The philosopher Plato records such acts of
sexual freedom when he writes of the tyrant, Gyges, who wore a magical ring. The ring
provided him with the power "to take without fear whatever he desires from the agora, go
into any house and sleep with whomever he wishes, kill or release from bonds whomever he
wants and do other things that gods do to men." (McGlew 26)
The tyrants of antiquity acted in their own interests without the consulting of others.
Aristotle represents "tyranny in Politics as a "perversion" that serves the personal
advantages of the ruler alone, or a "despotic monarchy of the political community" or a,
"despotic rule conducted according to the ruler's personal judgement."" (McGlew, 27) The
ability of a tyrant to have complete control over a city-state created an image within
the eyes of the citizens as a character of horror. Thus, the power and vision of a tyrant
often led him to being overthrown which ultimately led to the establishment of a
democracy within the Greek city-states. 
The overthrowing of a tyrant was a logical conclusion to of his own self-representation,
and the ability of his subjects to show resistance against him. When people revolted
against their master's power they did so to not to simply destroy power of the tyrant but
to appropriate the power in their own interests. (McGlew, 5) The citizens of Athens
devised a plan to overthrow the tyranny that haunted the city-state by making their own
constitution. The Athenians insisted that power could only remain in the middle if
citizens were political equals. (McGlew, 149)
The novel idea of having the citizens be political equals was the motive behind the
creation of the democracy in the Greek city-states. The Athenians are credited the
"inventors" of democratic liberties and were renowned for their great love of political
and personal freedom. In Athens there was an equilibrium reached between the centralizing
and unifying ideals of individual and sate, and freedom and order. In Athens new
democratic state there was cooperation between individual freedom and authority of the
state unseen in the past forms of government. The new freedoms extended to include all
parts of society including social, economic, ethical, religious, judicial, and political
freedoms. The freedom that occurred in 5th century of Athens was one mainly of
self-determination, independence, and self-sufficiency. People lifestyles had changed
from the tyrannical ways of dominance to the freedom of living undisciplined without the
control of anybody. (Els, 7-8)
As first an experiment in rule by and for the people, a democracy was something new in a
culture full of traditions of absolutists, tyrannical, and oligarchic forms of
government. Democracy meant strength, the authority, and the exercise of power and
control by the citizens who belonged to the community of the state. This included all
people of the state regardless of class, rank, standing or wealth. The control of the
state was in the hands of the people and decisions of the state were reached by the mass
of people. Democracy represented a form of political life of the self-governing and
included every citizen of the city.
In comparison to other form of ancient government a greater amount of the Athenian
population were citizens with full political rights allowing more people to take part in
the full scale of civic activity. The most important aspect of a citizen was that both
parents were citizens but also extended to include distinctions such as birth of
constitutional classes and military and socio-economic groups. In modern standards, the
Athenian democracy was still exclusive, but in a time-period when no group of citizens
could be excluded from political rights was unknown. Athenian democracy functioned within
the limits of an exclusive relationship and freedom but political rights were reserved
for the male citizen. 
Within the Athenian democracy there was no separation of class, even the lowest and
poorest citizen shared in freedom and power of the government. People argue that since a
majority of the population was part of the lower class that a democracy favored and
benefited the poor the most. With this new right, many citizens took an active part in
their state affairs and ruled. The citizens were using their political power and rights
personally without the ability of representatives making decisions on their behalf.
Aristotle proves the difference between old forms of government and the new democracy in
his writing in Politics.(1279b34-80a4) "The argument seems to show that a number of the
governing body, whether small in oligarchy or large in a democracy, is an accident du to
the fact that the rich everywhere are few, and the poor numerous. Therefore...the real
difference between democracy and oligarchy is poverty and wealth. Wherever men rule by
reason of their wealth, whether they be few or many, that is an oligarchy, and where the
poor rule, that is a democracy."
The Athenian democracy was a stable and well-functioning state that guaranteed law,
order, and government. Individuals were able to shape their lives according to personal
choice. Although the Greeks are often credited with the discovering of democracy, people
often overlook their direct connection with formulation of politics. Politics is the art
of reaching decisions by public discussion and then of obeying those decisions as a
necessary condition of civilized social existence. (Finley, 13)
Politics is the act of reaching decisions by public majority. The Greek representation of
politics was the Assembly. Athenian democracy was a direct representation of the values
of the citizens. Attendance in the Assembly was open to every citizen that represented a
government literally "by the people." The Assembly, which had the final decision on war
and peace, treaties, finance, legislation, public works, or on any governmental activity,
was an outdoor mass meeting of as many thousands of citizens over the age of eighteen who
chose to attend on any given day. The Assembly met frequently throughout the year, forty
times at a minimum. Simple majority of those present, and everyone present was given the
ability to participate by taking the floor reached the act of making decisions. 
The administrative side of the government was divided among a large number of annual
offices and a Council of 500. The council was chosen by lot and was restricted to one or
two one-year terms, with the exception to the board of ten generals. The presidency
rotated daily to prevent any type of continuous leadership within the council. By the
middle of the 5th century council members and jurors were paid per diem, which was less
than a normal mans pay for a mason or carpenter. As it entered the 4th century attendance
to the Assembly was paid on the same basis. (Finley, 16-19)
The Council of 500 in the Athenian democracy has a direct correlation with the
legislative branch of government in today's democracy. The House of Representatives and
the Senate are councils that meet periodically throughout the year and vote on such
issues. However, the House and Senate seats are obtained through elections not by lot or
appointment. Similarly to the Athenian form of government the seats are rotated on yearly
basis. New candidates are eligible for the seats in this branch of government. The
Athenians rotated presidents of the council often to avoid the usurpation of power by a
single individual. This is paralleled in our democracy through the system of checks and
balances between the executive and legislative branches. The legislative branch has to
keep the executive branch in check and make sure that power is not being abused. 
Although many people argue that the leaders of the political party decide on important
issues, however this was not true in Athens. Athens acted on the voice of the people. Not
even the great leader of Pericles had such power to obtain complete control of the
Assembly. While his influence was at its height, he could only hope for continued
approval of his policies expressed in the people's vote in the Assembly. His proposals
were submitted to the Assembly weekly and the Assembly could and occasionally did abandon
him and his policies. Although men like Pericles represented a political elite, the
decisions in the Assembly were always in the hands of the people. Pericles had a strong
stance on the Assembly. "A man may at the same time look after his own affaires and those
of the state...We consider anyone who does not share in the life of the citizen not as
minding his own business but as useless." (Finley, 25)
The American ideals of democracy are deeply rooted within the Greek society. The American
people however, feel responsible for upholding the democratic faith and feel responsible
for demonstrating the ability of ordinary people to manage themselves in the affairs of
the state and society. The basic drive of democracy is the concept of equality. Equality
amongst all people has its roots in the experiences of the common people with the
struggles against tyranny and oppression. Democracy is more than a form of government. 
"It is an attitude of mind to which the exploitation of man by man is abhorrent; it is a
way of life in which human personality is judged of supreme, of measureless, worth, it is
an order social relationships dedicated to the promotion of the individual and collective
interests of common folk; it is, in a word, a society in which ordinary men and women may
grow to their full stature-a society "of the people, by the people, and for the people."
(Counts, 20)
Today, the United States of America has flourished into a democracy more powerful, larger
and wealthier than anyone in Ancient Greece could have imagined. One of the main
differences between the democracies of Athens and other Greek city-states is that the
people ruled not through representatives but directly. Power of the government was in the
popular assembly that was open to all adult male citizens. Therefore one of the distinct
differences between democracy in Athens and that of the United States is direct
participation. The type of democracy in Athens was considered to be a direct democracy.
All male citizens had direct participation in the actions of the government. The American
democracy is considered a representative democracy. The people of the United States elect
people to represent their ideals in the government. 
The indirect representation democracy of the United States is used because of the
citizens are believed to be incapable of governing themselves. This representation system
allows for the administration to remain in the hands of those thought to be more
judicious and more enlightened. James Madison holds a strong view regarding the power in
the hands of the more enlightened as expressed in The Federalist.
"The effect is...to refine and enlarge the public views, by passing them through the
medium of a chosen body of citizens, whose wisdom may best discern the true interest of
their country, and whose patriotism and love of justice will be least likely to sacrifice
it to temporary or partial considerations. Under such a regulation, it may well happen
that the public voice, pronounced by the representatives of the people will be more
consonant to the public good than if pronounced by the people themselves, convened for
the purpose." (The Federalist #10, 1787)
Although representation is not identical with direct democracy it is considered an
instrument of democracy. Making decisions by majority is a way of making the
participation of the membership of a community decisive, representation allows for the
ability of the individual voices to be heard and increase the likeliness that decisions
are made wisely.(Cohen, 77)
One of the key aspects of democracy is freedom. Athenian people did not believe they had
complete freedom unless they had the ability to govern themselves. Full equality in the
Athenian objective meant that all male citizens had an equal opportunity to govern. If
this was not achieved, the government would be run "not only by the elite but in the
interests of the elite." (Strauss, 2) Wealth was a key aspect of the Athenian democracy.
"Democracy is not only majority rule, but a regime run by the poor and ordinary people in
their own interests."- Aristotle The ideals of representation have little connection with
Athenian goals of democracy. Representatives rather than people themselves carry out
legislation in the American democracy. Therefore Athenians might be likely to judge the
American democracy closer to an oligarchy because the representatives are usually part of
the elite class and the power is in the hands of fewer people. The argument could be that
the Athenians created a democracy to put the power of the government in the hands of the
ordinary people. Although the modern version of democracy has some of the same principles
it is similar to the ancient oligarchy because power is in the hands of a few and for the
most part the wealthy.
However an important difference between these two democracies is the amount of people in
the US. It would be impossible to hold national meetings to come to conclusions on
situations or problems, so the only logical way to make decisions is through elected
representatives. Although this is only on a national level, smaller forms of government
similar to Athens occur in smaller communities. Small town meetings are the closest
comparison to the council meetings held in the 5th century of Athens. However, unlike the
Athenian democracy the power of the judicial system is in favor of the poor and the
ordinary person. Although the American judicial system allows for the interaction of the
poor in the courts (jury duty), people of the elite class such as lawyers and judges
supervise them. In Athenian courts the working class amateurs handled the proceedings in
the courtroom. (Strauss, 4)
Before Americans experienced the freedom of democracy, they were under rule of Great
Britain that fueled the American Founders to reject Athens. The American colonies
experienced tyranny under British rule so the Founders were reluctant to impose any type
of direct government. The Founders, however held a set of their own ideals some of them
similar and others vastly different than the objectives of Athenian democracy. To reduce
the chance of having any one-ruler gain too much power the Founders imposed a system of
checks and balances. The system was placed to prevent any one person or institution to
take complete control. Balance would occur between the House of Representatives and the
Senate who both would provide checks over the executive branch, headed by the president,
while the judicial branch would keep both the legislative and executive branches in
line.
Unlike the democracy of Athens, the idea of giving power to the poor was rejected. The
Founders of the Constitution were extremely unwilling to give any of the power of the
government to the poor. Their basis for this conclusion was that political excellence was
unattainable without a minimum of wealth and education. They believed that ordinary
people were too ignorant to provide good government. The Athenian ideals of democracy
were placed in the favor of the poor while the approach by the Founders of the
Constitution was completely radical. (Strauss, 4)
Athens and American both prize equality and freedom. Equality in the Athenian mind was
the ability of any male citizen to participate in government decisions. The Athenian
assembly was filled with people of all different trades, farmers and tradesman, educated
and uneducated. Andrew Jackson paralleled this in his 1829 inauguration when he opened
the doors of the White House to ordinary citizens who had been included in such a
celebration. "Country men, farmers, gentlemen, mounted and dismounted, boys, women and
children, black and white entered the White House." (Counts, 20)
One of the key aspects that both democracies value is the Freedom of Speech. In the
Athenian democracy every citizen had the right to address the assembly. This form of
Freedom of Speech is insured in the American democracy through the Bill of Rights. The
Bill of Rights of 1791 clearly states the ability of a citizen to assemble peacefully and
to petition and lobby their representatives in Congress. Although both societies valued
the freedom of speech it is clearly stated in the United States.
Another important difference between the democracies of antiquity and of modern is the
people able to participate. In ancient times the only people who were able to participate
were male citizens. Women, children, and slave were unable to vote at the start of
democracy. Although in its inception by the founders of government only males were able
to participate in the political aspects of life; we have transgressed to include all
citizens. In today's society everyone has equal rights to vote whether they are women,
poor, or a different race everyone has the equal ability to participate in government.
The concept of democracy is not a new ideal invented by the Founders of our government.
The ideals of democracy date back to the ancient Greeks. The Athenians placed this form
of government of democracy because it allowed for participation by not only the elite but
the entire citizenship of Athens. Although today our democracy is different than that of
the Athenians or fundamental priority still remains the same. Democracy is exactly what
it is broken down to mean, Demo means "the people" and kratos "power," therefore power to
the people. The ancient Greek culture has created a lasting effect on the type of lives
we live today. We thrive on our freedoms of equality and the ability to exercise in our
government. If the Athenians had not created democracy would we under control of an
oligarchy or a king. Thus, the Athenian ideals have shaped our society to ensure "all men
are created equal."
Bibliography
Aristotle. The Politics. New York: Putnam, 1932.
Cohen, Carl. Democracy. Athens: University of Georgia, 1971.
Counts, George S. The Prospects of American Democracy. New York: John Day Company, 
1938.
Els, J.M. Freedom and Democracy: Greek Concepts. Fort Hare University Press, 1977.
Finley, M. I. Democracy Ancient and Modern. New Jersey: Quinn and Boden Company, Inc.,
1973.
Herodotus. The Histories. New York: Penguin Books, 1996.
MacLaren, Malcolm. "Tyranny." The Greek Political Experience. London: Oxford University
Press, 1941.
Madison, James, and Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay. The Federalist. Cambridge: Harvard
University Press, 1961.
McGlew, James. Tyranny and Political Culture in Ancient Greece. Ithaca: Cornell
University Press, 1993.
Mosley, D. J., and Sir Frank Adcock. Diplomacy in Ancient Greece. London: Thames and
Hudson, 1975.
Strauss, Barry. "American Democracy Through the Ancient Greek Eyes." History Today.
April, 1994, pgs. 32-6.