Athenian Democracy and Sparta Essay

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1.Ancient Greece faced several political problems prior to the introduction of democracy. At first the form of government was a monarchy, which then evolved into an oligarchy. Hesiod a poet who follows Homer, complained about the judicial system. The arbitrary administration of unwritten laws was a concern. Power held by certain aristocrats and not others was concerning. Also, there was a lack of voice in the government by wealthy men of non-aristocratic background. Unfortunately, aristocrats maintained their power as long as they were the military backbone of the state. There were tyrants, or tyrannos called by the Greeks, who were people that seized power unconstitutionally. These were the political problems Ancient Greece faced.
2. People in power do not easily surrender such power. Unwanted rulers were excluded from ruling circles.
3.Ostracism was a measure meant to provent Athens from tyranny but exiling any citizens who was suspected of committing tyranny in the future. This allowed Athenian Democracy to be protected agianst tyranny and therefore maintained.
4.Every January the Assembly would vote to decide whether or not an ostracism was needed that year. If at least 6000 votes were cast, the person whose name appeared most often on the ostraka was sent into exile.
5.The similarity between Athenian democracy and today's democracy is that in both cases voting is used at some point.
6.I believe that Athens' policy of ostracism was anit-democratic because a democratic state is known for being just and reasonable. Sending someone into exile because they might commit tyranny is not just or reasonable. For this reason democracies should not have

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