Importance of the origin of the Athenian Democracy

There are different ways to label the idea of democracy, since it can be parliamentary, assembly, direct, popular or participatory. Each of these and other labels provides a specific nuance to the fundamental idea, which is none other than the government from town. However, there is a general agreement on the historical origin of democracy, since It was in the Athens of Pericles in the 5th century BC. C. when a system of government was established for the first time in which not a few were in charge, but all the citizens were involved in the government of the city.

The Athenian model is the universal reference for the set of democratic systems that currently exist

The citizens of the polis of Athens had awareness to belong to an independent community before democracy was established after the period of the Thirty tyrants.

All citizens participated in the assembly, also known as ecclesia. In it they deliberated on the affairs of the city government. In this sense, only the current governments of the Swiss cantons have a system similar to that of the Athenians.

To be part of the assembly it was necessary to meet certain requirements: be the son of Athenian parents and have fulfilled the age of majority established (it was reached at 18 years, but during the following two years the service had to be fulfilled military).

Although foreigners did not have Athenian citizenship, through a decree a foreigner could obtain the status of citizen. On the other hand, if an Athenian committed certain crimes he was disqualified and lost his civic rights. It should not be forgotten that slaves and women were not included in the category of citizens.

The calls for the assembly and the agenda were announced four days in advance in order to minimize citizen absenteeism.

For the Athenians, participating in the assembly was a moral question, since personal happiness could not be separated from collective well-being. The Athenians not only participated in the assemblies but could also be appointed members of the different courts of justice.

From a historical point of view, the Athenian democratic system was the consequence of a series of political transformations, such as the Solon or Cleisthenes reforms. With both proposals, the Athenians intended to put a stop to any tyrannical regime. However, the great promoter of democracy was Pericles (among other measures, he introduced a salary for citizens who obtained public office and favored the access of the popular classes to life public).

Not all Athenians valued the democratic system positively

In the comedies of Aristophanes a satire was performed to ridicule the democracy of Athens (in his comedies there were a critique of the election system for public office, the demagogy of some populist leaders and the corruption).

The philosopher Plato was especially energetic against the ideals of democracy, since he understood that the people are not capable of directing the affairs of a state.

For Aristotle, the government of the people could easily lead to a tyranny of the majority.

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