What Role Did Democracy Play In Athenian Society

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INTRODUCTION The Classical Period of Ancient Greece (508-338 B.C) was an era like no other there was much debate over whether the Athenians had reached their full potential as a society or if they could grow more in the terms of politics. Athenians are a polis meaning it’s an independent city-state therefore they run a Democracy. A democracy or Pure Democracy is where people can vote on the issues that are at hand but not everyone in this ”Democracy” was able to vote. WHO WAS ABLE TO CONTRIBUTE TO SOCIETY? Democracy wasn’t applied to everyone many of the citizens didn’t have the right to even vote on the issues that the Greeks claimed to be issues. The only people able to vote were adult, citizen men this means no slaves, women, or foreigners…show more content…
Men control all assets a women has before they get married and after and he also gets to choose the wife if the Dowry price is right. Men were the only people in the household to be able to keep a job and are the only gender that is considered a citizen where women are not. Men are also allowed to join armies and have a dominate role in society. Men are allowed to go to the markets to sell goods or buy produce and the only people that were allowed to participate in the Olympian Games. The Olympian Games is a game that is put on for the Greek God Zeus every four years it shows the balance of athletics and spiritual abilities of the male citizens. Men were the only people that were allowed to have a formal education they learn from a young age how to read, write and be a part of the Greek society. Just like women men had a special room in the home it was dedicated to hosting and entertaining male guests that would come over no women were allowed to be in the room only male guests and servants/slaves. "Our constitution does not copy the laws of neighboring states... If we look to the laws, they afford equal justice to all in their private differences; if no social standing, advancement in public life falls to reputation for capacity... nor again does poverty bar the way" (Thucydides 2.37) They knew that the laws that they had were unfair and were trying to change the way not just how women were treated but the society as a whole it wasn’t until Solon was introduced into the society. Solon was a man who introduced the ideas of letting all the people out of debt jails, this is when someone can be locked away for being too poor to actually pay back debts. He also implemented the idea of people not having to be a part of the wealthy blood line to run in an office and added the idea of

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