Part 6 - The appearance & construction of Democracy - childhood to maturity in Greece
/As mentioned at the end of the prior post, the Funeral Oration of Pericles was the fullest explication of Democracy at the time and one of the most revered documents in the history of democracy. Since there is no known verbatim record of the speech, it was written down as remembered by Thucydides (a highly regarding historian of the day). While there is of course debate about the accuracy of what “someone said someone said’, it seems likely a reasonably true accounting for several reasons. First, Thucydides augmented his own memory with that of others who were present for this speech. Second, he may have actually heard the speech since he was in Athens in this time period, having fallen victim to the plague that afflicted the city shortly after the speech as delivered (a super-spreader event?). Third, this was a very emotional situation since Pericles had the challenge of seeking to boost morale after the extremely difficult first year of the Peloponnesian War. Given this and Pericles reputation as a master orator means that the speech would likely have been well remembered. Finally, Thucydides view of democracy was a begrudging acceptance at best yet his account of the oration is a broad and deep advocacy for democracy. Thus it seems unlikely that the oration as written down was representing the view of Thucydides.
To summarize the oration, “It departs from the convention of dwelling on the courage of the fallen, and for much of the time puts the emphasis instead on the form of government (politeia) and way of life (tropoi) that inspired the devotion (epitedeusis) that made Athens great (regale). Pericles saw the success of Athens as ultimately deriving from a new political order that produced a superior way of life and the will to protect it.” (Mitchell).
Pericles emphasizes the newness of what has been created and that it does not imitate other institutional forms but rather is a model for them. He gives the new system the name demokratia - power to the many. Equality before the law and a determination to not allow discrimination based on wealth or class were foundational. In addition, the Athenian system was one in which people themselves either made the decisions or made sure they were openly and well debated. The benefit of this form of decision-making brought greater understanding of positive and negative aspects and stronger determination and courage to act on decisions. This resulted in an unprecedented culture of political engagement.
Another important aspect of the Funeral Oration is that Pericles repeatedly made the point that democracy create a new way of life, not just a new form of government. He emphasized many components of the culture of democracy such as time for relaxation and many things to add enjoyment and positive outlook towards the world. And, he attributes the Athenian cultural, aesthetic, intellectual, and social interests as flowing from democracy.
Certainly, the Funeral Oration is a highly idealized and patriotic recounting. And, again, the benefits of democracy did not apply to women or slaves. However, while this was obviously a major flaw, the democracy developed in Greece over time inspired its expansion to include women and end slavery. Think carefully about the following core principles outlined by Pericles. They were actually very new at the time and I submit have inspired many for a very long time including in our present era of attacks on democracy. It should be noted that equal rights for women and the end of slavery took another 22 centuries to principally resolve. This is the clearest example of the long and tortuous road of democracy’s beginnings and expansion. Despite the long road, and the long disappearance of democracy altogether, we can see the power of ideas and principles continuing to influence and inspire generation after generation.
The principles of Athenian democracy: “freedom; equality before the law; a new form of political equality that put decision making in the hands of the people themselves, and allocated political responsibility purely on the basis of merit; a reference for the rule of law, including unwritten laws that were seen as inviolable; respect for authority; a caring public spiritedness that brought engagement with political affairs and active participation.” (Mitchell) It is difficult to imagine how inspiring this must have been at the time given prior history. Let us work to find our own inspiration in these ideals that ring true today.
Perhaps the key principle, was (and is) freedom, “not only the freedom that bestowed legal and political equality, but a freedom that permeated the entire life of citizens, public and private. It was a freedom that respected the right to the private space and private possessions, that ensured leisure enlivened by communal celebrations and entertainment, that did not impose harsh regimes in its military and educational systems, that allowed, alongside dedication to public service and political participation, a personal life that had a free and easy quality and was lived free of troublesome intrusions.” (Mitchell) Pericles was no doubt in part providing a contrast with the culture of Sparta, which recognized no personal liberty and subordinated all to the community. For Pericles, community certainly mattered but so did personal freedom. He made the case that it was personal freedom and the contentment that came with it that inspires service to the community.
Beyond the Funeral oration, additional surviving evidence indicates that individual freedom from oppressive action by either those with power or the government was well protected. Some key examples: laws could not be applied retroactively or applied to an individual; torture was forbidden as was execution without trial; a law of hybris, allowed public prosecution by any qualified citizen of anyone who physically assaulted any child, woman or man, free or slave; right to private property was renewed annually, and; likely a prohibition against invading the privacy of another’s home without a warrant.
Concerning the responsibility of citizenship, volunteering was emphasized as opposed to compulsion. The only required obligations were military service and service as an arbitrator for a year after the completion of military service.
Regarding religion, personal freedom was maintained. The supervision of religion and maintaining good relations with the gods to ensure their continued support was the responsibility of the state leading to strict regulation of the administration of religious groups and festivals. However, there were no specific rules for how individuals should conduct their lives. The only requirement was a respectful attitude towards traditional religious practices and views.
Finally, Pericles emphasized a law-abiding spirit as a particular strength of democracy. The notion of the law in general was seen as the source of justice and the defense of the weak from the strong and defense of the state against subversion. The continued development of democracy never resulted in a perfect system - always and forever democracy is a work in progress. Due to continued concern about the role of the powerful and the upheaval of the Peloponnesian War, a new “meta” law was passed that allowed for the indictment of anyone who advocated for and secured passage of a law that was contrary to existing law or not in the interest of the public. Other reforms in a similar vein followed over the rest of the 5th century. Remarkably, despite the times and the temptations within our species, the Assembly never had or sought the right to rule as it wanted. The concern was with permanent protection in law of the democratic principles proclaimed with such eloquence and force in the Funeral Oration.
But, (yes, another but..) in the next Post we will see the old constant companion of humans, power, come to the fore. Democratic Athens builds an empire with complicated and perhaps surprising effects on democracy.
