What Is The Importance Of Athenian Democracy

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Ancient Athens has one of the most sophisticated and famous histories. Although it is famous for a lot many things such as its advances in art, literature, technology, etc., it is also famous for what is or was perhaps the only fully developed democracy of the pre-modern era. A democracy which helped lay the foundations for the arts, literature and sciences of the ancient and modern worlds. In 508 BC, the Athenian dēmos (people) rose up against a leader once again aiming for tyranny, expelled him and the foreign troops backing his attempt, and arrested and executed his upper-class supporters. The people of Athens could not accept the tyranny rule anymore and could not bear the civil struggles amongst the rich. Having gotten fed up of their leaders/rulers, the people wanted their voices to be heard and wanted an active role in the decision making of the city.…show more content…
The people’s wish to be part in the decision making of the city was fulfilled by Cleisthenes. He imposed a democratic reform and made the assembly and a new popular council of five-hundred members the judge of public actions and laws. The importance of Cleisthenes’ take down of the nobles and bringing in democratic reforms was so huge that he was regarded as the founder of Athenian Democracy. The democratic reforms brought in by Cleisthenes was a complex reworking of governing rules/methods which had lived on for centuries and were used by tribes and other associations before. The reform was an effort aimed to make and bring the different regions and factions and people of Athens as one. They planned to do this with a popular assembly, and whatever else was necessary to make the assembly

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