After the study of the Pharaonic civilization and the Mayan civilization came the role of the Greek civilization
The Greek civilization
Greece is today a small country burned by the sun and bathed by the blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea.
Who would believe it? 2,500 years ago, philosophy, science and democracy flourished on its shores. Thus Greece of this distant epoch is considered as the mother of our civilization!
Greece: Dreams and ideals
At the beginning of their history, the Greeks are a small people of peasants, shepherds and sailors who live badly on the dry and arid lands that surround the Aegean Sea.
cities jealous of one another:
The Greeks speak the same language and pray to the same deities. Yet they are divided into rival cities and do not end up waging war. They practice slavery, hold women inferior and despise foreigners.
The Greek cities lack agricultural resources on the spot. So they do maritime trade all over the Mediterranean.
To offer labor and land to their surplus population, they multiplied the colonies in Sicily, southern Italy and even in Corsica and Marseilles.
Thanks to trade and colonies, prosperity spread throughout the Greek world, even if the Greek cities did not end up quarreling and waging war!
Birth of a democracy
With the development of trade and prosperity, social injustices are increasing. The old noble families, who possess immense properties and govern the cities, are jealous of the wealth of the merchants.
On the other hand, the small peasant people are opposed to each other. Disputes multiply and civil war threatens ...
Solon and Athenian democracy:
To prevent the situation from worsening, the Greek cities set up assemblies and laws to bring civil peace between noble, rich and poor citizens.
Dracon, Solon and Clisthenes are the most famous lawmakers of Athens, a city promised a grandiose future. They establish the first democracy worthy of the name (even if it leaves many people aside as women and slaves).
The word democracy comes from the Greek demos, people, and kratein, to command). It designates the government by all citizens, in other words men over 20 years old, born of Athenian father and mother.
Dracon: he creates a penal code with very strict laws (it is still said of a severe measure that it is "draconian"). Thus he put an end to private vengeance and the temptation to do justice to oneself.
Solon: it opens the way to democracy. It allows all citizens, regardless of their level of wealth, to participate in political assemblies that vote laws and appoint magistrates and rulers.
But Solon does not solve all the problems of Athenian society and the civil war threatens to return. Then, a tyrant (of the Greek turannos which means master), Pisistratus, takes the power. It resolves conflicts in favor of the people, imposes the sharing of land and allows the poorest to be better heard in the assembly.
- Clisthenes: leader of the popular party, he abolished tyranny and consolidated democratic institutions.
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Athens: a very special democracy
Ecclesia means the assembly of all Athenian citizens.
They meet at least four times a month on Pnyx Hill.
- They debate and vote by show of hands the laws and declarations of war.
- Each year, they elect the strategists (chiefs of the army) and the archons (heads of government).
The word Ecclesia means assembly in Greek; we find it at the origin of the words ecclesiastical and Church.
La Boulê, or council of citizens, is made up of 500 people drawn by the citizens among volunteers from the richest class.
These people are responsible for administering the city and implementing the decisions of Ecclesia.
The Helium is a supreme court. Its 6,000 members are chosen by lot from all citizens, regardless of their level of wealth, which guarantees impartial justice.
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