Jigsaw:Athenian Democracy

The Athenian Constitution (Document A)

Source: The following excerpt comes from “The Athenian Constitution,” written by the Greek philosopher Aristotle between 330 and 322 BC. Aristotle was the leading Greek philosopher of the time, and is credited with writing accounts of the constitutions of 170 different Greek states.

At the time that we are speaking, the people have secured their control of the government. Everything is administered (run) by vote.

The right to vote and participate is open to all men who are of citizen birth by both parents. They are enrolled (registered) as citizens at the age of eighteen. If the candidates (nominees) are not of the right age, then they are sent back into the ranks of the boys. If the city decides that the candidate has no right to be enrolled as a citizen because the candidate was not born from two free parents, he is sold by the city as a slave.

All the magistrates (government officials) that are responsible for the normal administration of the city are elected in the Assembly by lottery (a raffle). However, some special positions are elected by vote. All military officers are also elected by vote.

Guiding Questions

1. Who has the right to vote in Athens?

2. What happens if the city decides that someone does not have a right to be a citizen?

3. How are magistrates and other government officials chosen in Athens?

The Athenian Population (Document B)

Source: The data below comes from the book “Wealthy Hellas,” written by Professor Josiah Ober in 2010. Ober is a professor of Classical Civilization and Political Science at Stanford University.

Population Group

Total Number of people

Percentage of the population

Ability to vote

Citizen men 29,900 12% YesCitizen women

29,900 12% No

Children of citizens

74,750 31% No

Metics 25,775 11% NoSlaves 80,000 34% No

Total Population: 240,235 Percentage of Total Population Able to 12%

Vote:

*Metics were foreigners or Greeks from other city-states that settled in Athens, normally for business or trade. They became a key part of the city-state’s economy, industry, and education system.

Guiding Questions

1. Which groups of Athenians were able to vote? Which groups were not able to vote?

2. What percentage of Athens’ total population was able to vote? Do you think Athens was truly democratic based on this?

Pericles’ Funeral Oration (Document C)

Source: The following excerpt is from a speech known as ‘The Funeral Oration” given by the Athenian general and politician Pericles in 431 BC. Pericles was the leader of Athens when it was most powerful. He gave this speech during a funeral for Athenian soldiers that died in the first year of a civil war against Sparta, Athens’ biggest rival.

"Our constitution (government) favors many people instead of only a few. This is why it is called a democracy. If we look at the laws, they give equal justice to all people. Whether someone is rich or poor is not allowed to stop someone with talent from succeeding, and poverty (being poor) does not block the way to success. If a man is able to serve the city, he is not stopped by the unimportance of his social class.

The freedom that we enjoy in our government extends (spreads) also to our ordinary life. We are not jealous of each other. We do not feel angry with our neighbor for doing what he likes, even if they participate in something that we do not like. Yet all this freedom in our private lives does not make us lawless as citizens. Rather, we are taught to obey the magistrates (government officials) and the laws. Even unwritten laws cannot be broken without people feeling disgrace.”

Guiding Questions

1. How does Pericles describe the Athenian constitution/government?

2. How does Pericles describe the private lives of Athenians?

Professor Paul Cartledge (Document D)Source: The following document was written by Professor Paul Cartledge, and published by BBC News on February 17, 2011.He is Professor of Greek History at the University of Cambridge, and was the main historical advisor for the BBC TV series ‘The Greeks.’

“The ancient Greek word demokratia means 'people-power'. But which people actually had that power? Was it all the people? Or only a small amount of people that were considered citizens?

The total population of 5th century Athens was around 250,000. Of those 250,000, about 30,000 on were full citizens. These were adult males of Athenian. Of those 30,000 citizens, only 5,000 might regularly attend (go to) the meetings of the voting assembly.

Only adult male citizens had full rights in the democratic government. Women, even Athenian women, were totally excluded (left out). This was a men's club. Foreigners, especially unfree slave foreigners, were extremely excluded. The citizen body was a small group of elite men that was closed off to everyone else.”

Guiding Questions

1. Who created this document? Do you think it is reliable?

2. What are TWO reasons the author gives for why he believes Athens was not really democratic? Do you think these are good reasons?

Lead Tokens (Document E)

Source: The image below is of lead tokens from Athens in the 4th century BC. These small tokens were turned in for money, allowing for poor citizens to participate in the Athenian Citizens’ Assembly without losing a day’s pay. This made sure that all citizens, even those of the poorest class, could participate in political life.

Guiding Questions

1. What were these lead tokens used for?

2. Why might this be important in a democracy?

Ostracism (Document F)

Source: The image below is of Ostraka fragments from 5th century BC Athens. The Ostraka were used by Athenian citizens to vote in a political procedure known as Ostracism. Ostracism was an official vote held each year to exile (send away) a certain Athenian citizen from the city for ten years. At least 6,000 Athenian citizens voted during the Ostracism, and the citizen whose name appeared on the most Ostraka was exiled. Though originally intended to protect against monarchy, Ostracism was most frequently used as a political weapon against Athenian politicians who had become too popular with the people. This way, politicians could remove their chief rivals. Many of Athens’ greatest leaders were either exiled through the Ostracism or nearly exiled in very close votes.

Guiding Questions

1. What were Ostraka used for? Explain the political procedure

2. Do you think Ostracism is helpful or harmful to democracy? Explain.

Athenian DemocracyMy group’s document: ________________________

What I know about who created the document: ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The main ideas of the document were:

1.

2.

3.

Based on the information in this document, Athens…(Circle below)

WAS DEMOCRATIC WAS NOT DEMOCRATIC

I think this because: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Name:__________________

Was ancient Athens really democratic?

Athens WAS democratic!

Evidence 1:

Evidence 2:

Evidence 3:

Athens WAS NOT democratic!

Evidence 1:

Evidence 2:

Evidence 3:

Group Agreement:Discuss the evidence with your group and reach an agreement on whether

or not Athens was truly democratic! Provide at least TWO reasons from the documents to support your claim!

After discussing the evidence, my group believes ancient Athens WAS/WAS NOT democratic because _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________