Athens was where the first
democratic practice emerged in history, a millennium before any other occurrences.
Democracy in Athens lasted about 200 years, and was held as one of the best
practice in history. How had democracy managed to emerge in Athens? There are
many records of the workings of Athenian democracy, including the governing
system and the public assemblies. On the other hand, the available information
on how Athenian democracy came to be is limited, since the democratic era was
preceded by the Dark Age of Greece, when little historical evidence is found,
if not at all. But with the little information we have, this was how the
Athenian democracy came to be.
Around 700 B.C, the population of
Athens was divided into two groups – the farmers and the landowners. This was
quite similar to feudalism, where farmers paid their landowners with their
products. But soon, the subsistence (produced just enough for food) farmers
became unable to pay their debt the landowners. The debt bondage forced the
farmers to become possessions, or slaves, of the landowners. And as Aristotle
commented 200 years later, “the many became the slaves of the few”.
At that time, Athens was governed
by the noble families, rotating and sharing power among them. Three leaders,
the archons, were chosen by their fellow nobles to govern the city. The archons
would serve ten years in office and then sit on the Areopagus (the parliament)
for life. But the system was replaced about one century later, when a prominent
citizen named Solon was asked by nobles to write up the new governing system
for their city. Solon was not of any noble ancestry. However the nobles felt
that Athens had fallen behind other wealthier cities and needed a change from
the stagnant rule of the nobles. Solon divided the citizens of Athens into four
classes – the wealthiest and the nobles (the pentacosiomedimni), two
classes of those who own large properties (the hippies and the zeugitae),
and finally, the common citizens (the thetes). The first three classes
were allowed participation in the government, and the common citizens were
allowed to sit in the citizens’ assembly, or ekklesia.
Every citizen of Athens was
allowed to join the ekklesia, be they farmers, blacksmiths, or merchants. On
the day of the assembly, which was every ten days, the Athenians would pause in
their work and gather together in a vast amphitheater, large enough to contain
thousands of citizens. In the front of the clearing sat the Council of 500, a
group of citizen-elected leaders, while were also citizens themselves, who
oversaw city operations and led the ekklesia. Before the ekklesia
began, a sacrifice would be made to the gods, as the Greeks believed their
democratic process to be a divine gift. After that, the ekklesia began. The
topics of discussion had been prepared ahead of time by the Council of 500. And
in the assembly, the members would express their opinions through discussions
and debates. All members would be allowed turns to speak their minds, and the
debates were often very passionately. While the conservations mostly remained
respectful, they could occasionally get rowdy and chaotic. Then, to find the
resolution to the discussion, all members of the ekklesia would vote
either by hand-raising or dropping pebbles into designated boxes. The results
would later be recorded in the city archives. The discussions would continue
until all topics were talked about and resolutions found, then the ekklesia
would conclude and the citizens returned home to resume their lives.
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| The Ekklesia |
The ekklesia was without a
doubt the symbol of Athenian democracy, seeing that it represented almost every
ideal of the ideology. Freedom of speech and opinion was not only allowed, but
rather encouraged among the members. The participation was much more opened
than other assemblies during the era, as not only the higher-class could
participate, but the lower class as well. Wealth and social status mattered
little within the ekklesia. Furthermore, the ekklesia had perhaps
the fairest voting procedure out of all democratic governments, even better
than the parliaments of today. The ban on political parties meant that the
voters would truly look out for his and only his interests, without outside
pressure from his peers or leaders. In conclusion, the citizen assembly created
an honest and fair atmosphere in which every citizen had a voice and the power
to speak it, regardless of their positions within the societies. Within the
assembly, they were all Athenians citizens seek to protect their rights and
interests. The ekklesia also united the people together, seeing that
they were involved in the city governance together, no matter who they were, or
what job they held, and Athens was stronger for it.
But the ekklesia was not
only the indicator of the Athenian democracy, as Council of 500 also stood for
many democratic ideals. The Council of 500 was a group of citizen-elected
leaders who managed and oversaw the city operations (as stated before). City
operation included infrastructure, sanitation, festivals, etc. The council
members also served as judges, juries, and civil/military leaders. With such
power in their hands, the Council of 500 was surprisingly uncorrupted, Why?
Because they were checked constantly! The council membership lasted only one
year and the members’ performance were evaluated directly by the people after
the term’s end. One citizen could also only serve two terms at most on the
council. Both of this meant that the overly ambitious men would not get their
hands on the seats of power.
Openness was truly a key to the
effective Athenian government. Public matters and decisions were discussed in
public forums, not behind private doors unlike governments’ today. Even in
trials, every citizen had the right to face his accusers and be tried in
public. The concept of transparency made the Athenian government much more than
a group of leaders, but the opportunity for citizens to involve themselves in
the affairs of their city.
The only point against the
Athenian democracy lied with the definition of the word “citizen”. Women and
slaves were not registered as citizens, thus had little rights in Athens.
Universal suffrage (right to vote) is the final step toward a true democracy,
where participation is opened to everyone in the society. Even in the system as
transparent and open as Athens, a major portion of people were still excluded
from the political meetings and their voices went unheard. Without complete
representation, democracy could never be whole. However, the Athenians still
had come further than most other civilizations would ever manage (with perhaps
the exception of the U.S), and creating a right mix between democracy and transparency
is a major achievement even today.
The Athenians believed democracy
to be a gift from heaven. And undoubtedly, they had made the best use of it.
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