goverment+in+greece

__Government in Athens and Sparta __ __Athens__The government in Athens used to be an aristocracy, in which the city-state thrived. There was the Ecclesia (Athenian Assembly) which represented all 4 classes of wealth in citizens, voted on policy, and served as a court as well. There was also the council of 400 which took care of the day to day business of Athens. However citizens felt as though they did not have enough say in the government and its decisions. Athenians then looked for a solution, and found it in democracy, which gives power to the people, and is even the basic building blocks of our government today. People believe that a man named Cleisthenes of Athens is most responsible for this type of government. As a ruler, he gave the Ecclesia more power, turned to the council of 400 in the council of 500, and allowed citizens to be involved with their government directly, also known as a direct democracy. However involvement in the government was limited to free men only at that time like most civilizations. That meant no women or slaves could vote. Democracy had remained in Athens until the time of Pericles.

__Sparta__Sparta was ruled by 2 kings, who were the heads of the richest aristocratic families in the land. In addition to the kings, there was also the Council of Elders, 28 strong, they proposed laws and settled court cases. To make sure that the Council of Elders power was always in check, there was the Spartan assembly as well, which represented all the male Spartans on Sparta, and they could either approve or reject the council’s decision. Sparta also elected 5 Ephors to oversee the military and monitor the actions of other factions. Military was Sparta’s main objective, and with this in mind they formed a military oligarchy after they conquered Messina as the Helots there outnumbered them terribly, so they had to keep a strong military at all times to prevent revolt.