Democracy: Preservation of the Idea

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I will now begin a third series, The Impact of Athenian Democracy on the re-appearance of Democracy and its further development.   First, I will discuss the influence of Athenian democracy on the re-emergence of democracy in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and its initial forms. Second, I will turn to the question of whether or not Athenian democracy has any lessons to offer the world of today, a vastly different place than when democracy first developed.    

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Part 17 - The appearance and construction of Democracy - childhood to maturity in Greece

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After the alliance with Sparta, initial military action was inclusive and sporadic.  Athens began to move to re-establish its empire with limited success. Then, after some success by both sides, a crucial battle took place. 

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Part 8 - The appearance and construction of Democracy - childhood to maturity in Greece

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At first glance, the attitude of the Athenians to either rule or be ruled sounds reasonable - they chose not to be ruled and therefore needed an empire to ensure this. However…

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Part 7 - The appearance and construction of Democracy - childhood to maturity in Greece

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Democracy in Greece played a part in the successful performance of Athens in the Persian wars which ended in 468. The result of the wars was an Athenian empire. But, as is often the case (or always?) with empires, there is never enough - power and wealth want more power and wealth. Power and wealth walk hand in hand becoming imbued with hubris and arrogance along the way.

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Part 5 - The appearance & construction of Democracy - childhood to maturity in Greece

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Pericles was a member of the highest ranks of the aristocracy. And, importantly, his education went considerably beyond the traditional upper class education. Here again, we will see the power of ideas in effect even in a time of near constant warfare and an emphasis on military power.

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Part 3 - The appearance & construction of Democracy - childhood to maturity in Greece

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Over its first 40 years, the fledgling Athenian democracy was severely challenged by nearly continuous war. As part of outlining this period, I invite the reader to test the following hypothesis: While the timeframe and many other details differ, are there notable (and instructive) parallels between this period and beyond, and the first 140 years of American democracy?

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Part 2 - The appearance & construction of Democracy - childhood to maturity in Greece

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As we have seen repeatedly, movement forward in Democracy’s development was often triggered by discord and its’ frequent consequences of violence and chaos. This continued at the end of the reign of Peisistratus (see the appearance of Democracy, birth to infancy in Greece, Part 5).

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Part 1 - The appearance and construction of Democracy - childhood to maturity in Greece

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In this second series, I continue outlining the early years of Democracy. The prior 5-part series, The appearance of Democracy - birth to infancy in Greece, covered the development of the seeds and some saplings (750 to 500 B.C.).

This section, The appearance & construction of Democracy - childhood to maturity in Greece, moves forward in time to the growth of a fully formed tree. (500 to 322 B.C.).

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Part 4 - The appearance of Democracy - birth and infancy in Greece

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Given the changes outlined previously, the centralized aristocracy system came under significant pressure for changes in the structure of power and societal administration. As is often the case with those holding entrenched power, the aristocracy did not respond well.

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Part 3 - The appearance of Democracy - birth and infancy in Greece

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There is some evidence that by the middle of the 7th century BC, the polis had developed into a more formally organized system and the hereditary aristocracy was well developed and closely intermingled. However, near the end of the 7th century and the early 6th century, an era of revolutionary upheaval

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Part 2 - appearance of Democracy - birth and infancy in Greece

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Democracy has been described as “one of the rarest, most delicate, and fragile flowers in the jungle of human experience”(Donald Kagan, Pericles). “It has been a fleeting phenomenon in the history of government and has lain outside the experience of the vast majority of the peoples of the world down the ages.

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