Athenian Democracy

Paper Summary:

The paper examines the real meaning of Pericles' famous funeral oration during which he praised not only Athens' fallen heroes, but the democratic government of the city state. The paper explains that the Athenian democracy was what it claimed to be - a government of and by the people. Not only were all citizens given equal chances to participate in the chief organs of government, they were also allowed the opportunity to pass judgment on one another. The paper points out, however, that those in charge of this business were not free to act as they pleased. The paper shows how those who climbed to greater power, wealth, or influence than their fellow citizens were quickly suspected of subverting the entire system.

From the Paper:

"In his oration, Pericles compared the governmental system of Athens to that of its bitter rival, Sparta. Though obviously favoring Athenian forms, it is less clear what Pericles considered to lay at the core of Athenian superiority. Athens was a democracy, and Sparta an oligarchy, but precisely what was the Athenian democracy? Was Pericles saying that his city state was a pure democracy - ruled directly by its citizens - or was he saying that it was superior to Sparta, and other oligarchies, because it employed democratic principles along with other useful, even oligarchic, methods of government?"

Sample of Sources Used:

• Harris, Edward M. "Pericles' Praise of Athenian Democracy Thucydides 2.37.1." Harvard Studies in Classical Philology, Vol. 94, (1992), 484.
• Oliver, James H. "Praise of Periclean Athens as a Mixed Constitution." Baltimore: PUBLISHER, DATE, 88.
• Ober, James. "Public Speech and the Power of the People in Democratic Athens," Political Science and Politics, Vol. 26, No. 3 Sept. 1993.
• Schofield, Malcolm. "Sharing in the Constitution." The Review of Metaphysics 49.4 (1996): 831+.
• Thorley, John. Athenian Democracy. New York: Routledge, 2004.

More papers on Athenian Democracy:

• Comparison Essay # 25229 : "A Comparison of Modern Democracy and Classical Athenian Democracy"
• Comparison Essay # 25081 : "Modern Democracy and Classical Athenian Democracy"
• Comparison Essay # 28172 : "Athenian Democracy"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: