The Origins of Democracy

The Green Family Introductory History Unit

The state of California has established the following standards to be learned in the tenth grade.

10.1.1 Students will analyze the similarities and differences in 10.1.2 Students will trace the development of the Western
political ideas of; the Rule of Law, Democracy, and Tyranny

Greco-Roman and Judeo-Christian views of Law, Reason, Faith, and the duties, and responsibilities, of the individual.

1. INNOVATION means a brand new thought, invention, or strategy... The Ancient Greeks innovate a culture that becomes the foundation of Western Civilization. Odysseus A. Drama B. Architecture C. Science D. Mathematics E. History F. Politics G. Philosophy H. Government

Greek lecture:

The Sirens

This is me if you dont do your homework!!!

Greek drama: antagonist, catastrophe, catharsis, character, chorus, comedy, conflict, dialogue, drama, epic, foil, hubris, legend, motivation, myth, ode, persona, plot, protagonist, scenery, setting, tragedy.

columns

Greek Architecture

Euclidmathematics (geometry)

Herodotusthe father of history

Pythagorasmathematics

2. GEOGRAPHY Played an important role in Greeces developmentwhy do you think? Greece occupies a small, mountainous peninsula. The mountains isolated Greek communities, so they followed their own ways of life These communities developed into city-statesthe POLIS The polis consisted of the city and the surrounding countryside. Politics meansthe things of the polis
There are 100s of little islands in the Aegean

Greek City-statesthe POLIS

All political, social and religious activities took place in the polis From polis we getpolitics, Metropolis Acropolis

Cosmopolitan
And Police These city-states become very independent and even fought each other. Check out the mapsee how isolated from each other they are? You will notice that Greece has a huge coastlinelots of sea The sea made the Greeks explore and set up new cities and settlements throughout the Mediterranean.

PoliticsGreek style

The running of the polis soon fell into the hands of local rich men, called? An Oligarchy a form of government where a few wealthy people hold power over a larger group of citizens. The gap between the rich and the poor grew wider under the oligarchy system and this led to? The rise of Tyranny an authoritarian form of government where one man seizes power and rules single-handedly Some Tyrants were good for their city-states while others were cruel and power hungry Tyrants were rulers who were not subject to the lawthey could do anything they wanted Should rulers/leaders/politicians be above the law? In the Greek city-state of Athens, tyranny did not last longsoon Athenians were asking for more say in the way their city was run. They rejected authoritarian forms of government, such as tyranny, chieftains, or kings They developed a form of government where all adult males were members of an assembly, or legislature. We call this form of government? Democracy democracy is 2 Greek wordsdemos=people and cracy=government. Democracy then means rule of the people

Women, in Greece, were not allowed to participate in law-making In fact, women were not even allowed to eat at the same table as their husbands

The male citizens of Athens met about 40 times a year to debate and decide public issues. They declared war, signed treaties, and spent taxesmaybe thats why they didnt allow womenIm just kidding! So, from the lowliest worker to the richest man all had the right to vote, to hold public office, and to express his opinion in the assembly. Clearly, such a system was based on the belief that the average citizen was capable of participating intelligently in the affairs of state. The greatest Athenian statesman Pericles said: Our constitution is called a democracy because power is in the hands of the many and not the few

Pericles and other men meeting in the assembly

Pericles

A modern Greek drachma coin

The ideals of the democratic state could only have happened in a society that had a respect for human intelligence and the power of reason. The Greeks were the first people to try to explain nature, human behavior, and culture, scientifically. Earlier peoples, including Greeks, had interpreted the worldnaturethrough myths.
There was a human named Narcissus. He was so handsome that every girl or boy that saw him immediately fell in love with him. But Narcissus had no heart and loved no one. An example of a mythhow One day, Echo met Narcissus and fell in love with him. Echo could do you explain an echo? not speak to him, but she had felt she needed to see him. So Echo followed him, just enough to see him, but not enough to be seen. Narcissus became lost and called out, "Is anyone here?" Echo said, "Here, here, here." Narcissus told whoever was there to come out. Echo came out and, because she couldn't talk, used her hands to show Narcissus how much she loved him. Narcissus, annoyed that so many people liked him, rejected her love. Echo, heart-broken, prayed to Aphrodite for death. Her prayer was answered, but Aphrodite loved her voice, so she let her voice live on.

How did humans discover fire? According to the ancient Greeks

Prometheus is the Titan chiefly honored for stealing fire from Zeus in the stalk of a fennel plant and giving it to mortal humans for their use. For that, Zeus ordered him to be chained on top of the Caucasus mountains. Every day an eagle would come and eat his liver, but since Prometheus was immortal, his liver always grew back, so he was left to bear the pain every day. He is depicted as an intelligent and cunning figure who had sympathy for humanity. Prometheus bound up

Prometheus bringing fire

Prometheus statue in New Yorks Rockefeller Centre

Lets get back to reason, science and human potential

The first Greek philosophers were not satisfied in explaining nature, and how it worked, to be the actions of the godslightning was not Zeus throwing bolts from Mt. Olympus. Instead, all things in the Natural World followed predictable patterns, which they called Natural Laws. The rules of nature could be discovered by human beings through careful observation and reasoned enquiry. Socrates was the first of the three great Athenian philosophers (the other two are Plato and Aristotle). When Socrates was in his forties or so, he began to feel an urge to think about the world around him, and try to answer some difficult questions. He asked, "What is wisdom?" and "What is beauty?" and "What is the right thing to do?" He knew that these questions were hard to answer, and he thought it would be better to have a lot of people discuss the answers together, so that they might come up with more ideas. So he began to go around Athens asking people he met these questions, "What is wisdom?... Sometimes the people just said they were busy, but sometimes they would try to answer him. Then Socrates would try to teach them to think better by asking them more questions which showed them the problems in their logic. Often this made people angry. Sometimes they even tried to beat him up.

We do not have any pictures of himjust sculptureshe was supposed to be pretty ugly!

Socrates loved Philosophy the love of wisdom. He taught a number of studentsnot for payhe believed the role of education was to improve the individualhe questioned everything! His questioning of authority led him into trouble with the leaders of Athensdoes this sound like Antigone? He was tried and found guilty of treasonand sentenced to death by hemlock poisoning.

The Death of Socrates

One of Socrates students was PLATOprobably the greatest philosopher in western civilization. When Plato was a young man, he went to listen to Socrates, and learned a lot from Socrates about how to think, and what sort of questions to think about. Plato began to write down his own ideas about philosophy instead of just writing down Socrates' ideas. One of his earlier works/book is The Republic, which describes what Plato thought would be a better form of government than the government of Athens. Plato thought that most people were pretty stupid, and so they should not be voting about what to do.can you blame him? And, he hadnt even met my mother-in-law! Instead, the best people should be chosen to be the guardians of the rest. Plato was from a rich aristocratic family, so he probably considered himself among the best people!. Plato believed that for society to work it needs to have orderOrder gives stability House point challenge: Law and justice give order and stability What was the Academy?

One of the ways Plato tried to explain his ideas was with the famous metaphor of the cave. He said, Suppose there is a cave, and inside the cave there are some men chained up to a wall, so that they can only see the back wall of the cave and nothing else. These men can't see anything outside of the cave, or even see each other clearly, but they can see shadows of what is going on outside the cave. Wouldn't these prisoners come to think that the shadows were real, and that was what things really looked like? Suppose now that one of the men escaped, and got out of the cave, and saw what real people looked like, and real trees and grass. If he went back to the cave and told the other men what he had seen, would they believe him, or would they think he was crazy? Plato says that we are like those men sitting in the cave: we think we understand the real world, but because we are trapped in our bodies we can see only the shadows on the wall. One of his goals is to help us understand the real world better, by finding ways to predict or understand the real world even without being able to see it.

What is truth?

What is reality?

Lets finish Plato with a quick look at one of the most important works in literature

The Republic In The Republic he writes about the perfect form of government

He didnt like democracy because he didnt think people were ETHICAL. House point challenge: what do the following meanETHICAL, WISDOM, COURAGE and MORAL? In The Republic Plato divides society into three: A. at the topphilosopher kings who were inspired by wisdom B. second groupwarriors who protected society C. the restthe masses, people who are not driven by wisdom or courage but by a desire for material things stuff

**** Very important and you must remember itor!!! PLATO BELIEVED THE NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY, NOT THE HAPPINESS OF THE INDIVIDUAL WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING

ARISTOTLE was a student of Plato Unlike Platowho believed in a perfect state Aristotle did not think a perfect state could exist He examined a lot of different kinds of government around at that time House point challenge: identify and explain what the following governments are CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT MONARCHY ARISTOCRACY OLIGARCHIES TYRANNIES DEMOCRACIES REPUBLICS 10 POINTS FOR EACH ONE Aristotle favored constitutional monarchy Dont get mad He believed women were inferior to men and should be subordinate in marriage and society

As we finish with the Greeks lets remember one of their greatest achievements They questioned the old ways of looking at the world. Over time, every aspect of Greek civilization science, art, literature, drama, and politics showed a growing reliance on reason and inquiry and less dependence on the supernatural or traditional explanations With this achievement, the Greeks broke decisively with the past.

Let us do a comparison between two Greek city-states

ATHENS
Democracyall citizens (free males) participated in government activities All citizens were equal before the law Women and slaves were denied citizenship Young Athenians developed their artistic, and intellectual sides. Philosophy, mathematics, science, and drama flourished. Pursued individual wealth

SPARTA
Totalitarianism: a form of government that uses force and power to rule its own people. Spartan society was divided into 3 groups; 1. slavesprovided food and labor 2. womentaught to be fit, brave, patriotic, and make babies for Sparta 3. Menall became warriors Newborn babies judged to be weak were killed Boys at the age of 7 were taken from home to live in army barracks and received military training They were barefoot and wore minimal clothing to toughen them up Gave up wealth as unpatriotic Spartan men glorified war! No room for individuality State before the individual is most important

Individuality very important Individual quest for happiness important

The following modern quotes are more like Athens or Sparta? All development is struggle Only force rules all men are created equal

liberty and the pursuit of happiness

history has been determined by the principle of force and power governments derive their power from the consent of the governed Two men are responsible for these quotes. One stressed equality and democracy. The other stressed totalitarianismstate before individual. House point challenge: who were they?

What does this political cartoon have to do with what we are learning?

Let us jump ahead, from the Greeks to the Romans

We have seen how the ancient Greeks contributed to the development of WESTERN CIVILIZATIONIndividualism, science, government, drama, architecture, art, philosophy, exploration, and innovation. The Romans contributed to the development of Western Civilization too The center of this civilization was the city of Rome, in Italy.

The Romans set up a REPUBLIC a form of government without a king or queen the term "republic" is generally applied to a state where the government's political power depends solely on the consent of the people governed. The Roman republic grew to be a great power by conquering lands and then bringing the conquered peoples into its system Everyone wanted to be a Roman citizen! While the Greeks lived in small city-states, each governed by different laws, the Romans controlled an enormous amount of territory.

House point challenge: What language did the Romans speak? What modern languages are derived from _ _ _ _ _? What did Romans use for toilet paper?

The Romans allowed conquered peoples to keep their cultures and traditions, butthey established one system of laws for the whole empire. Romans, like the Greeks, believed laws should be based on principles of Reason and Justice and should protect citizens and property. An example of a Roman lawsee if you recognize it No one should suffer a penalty for what he thinks. House point challenge: what similarity can you see between this law and the first amendment to the US constitution? Here is another one in inflicting penalties, the age of the guilty party must be taken into account

NATURAL LAW Like the Greeks, the Romans believed the RULES OF NATURE could be discovered by careful observation show me you understand by writing an example. The Romans also believed that all human beings were born alike and should all be subject to the same moral laws and principles Human laws SHOULD agree with natural law.that isall people are born with certain natural rights that NO government can take away, or deny. Now give me examples of natural rights

JUST THREE OF THE EMPERORS WE WILL NOT BE STUDYINGWHAT A SHAME, BECAUSE BORING THEY ARE NOT

CITIZENSHIPWHAT IS IT? During Roman times a person was proud to say I am a Roman citizen Roman citizenship was a kind of invisible shield of respect. It meant that the citizen was protected by the laws of the Roman Empire. Men and women could be citizens. Of course, only male citizens could hold public officethey were also expected to fight for Rome. The idea of CITIZENSHIP, like many of our basic ideas of government, began with the ancient Greek city-states and the Roman Republic. When people had both rights and responsibilities in their communities, people became citizens. As we will see in the next unitAmerican and French Revolutionsmodern states developed and the term citizen became common again. All modern states not just democratic ones- have citizens, though their rights and responsibilities vary. In general, citizens are expected to be loyal to the nation, obey its laws, pay taxes, and perhaps give military service. In return, the state is supposed to protect its citizens. House point challenge: With the other members of your house discuss the rights/things you have/receive from our governmentand list them. Discuss, and list, the rights/things you think we should have, but dont.

The Judeo-Christian Tradition Ancient Greece and Rome are two sources of Western democratic ideals. A third source is the Judeo-Christian Tradition The ancient HEBREWS had, by about 1000 B.C. established the State of Israelalso know as Judea. They were the first people to believe in monotheismthe belief in one God. They set down their laws and traditions in a sacred bookThe Bible, or The Torah.it is also known as The Old Testament. The Hebrews, or Jews as they would become known asthey came from Judea. They believed in one God, a God that is perfect, all-knowing, all powerful, and eternal. Earlier peopleslike the Greeks and Romansbelieved in many gods. The Hebrews/Jews believed that it was Gods wish for people to live moral lives.

Hebrew alphabet

The Hebrew scripturesthe Biblestate that human beings are created in Gods image. This meant within each human being is a divine sparksoulwhich gives everyone a dignity that cannot be taken away. For the Greeks and Romans human beings had dignity because they had the ability to reason. For the Hebrews, each person had dignity simply by being a child of God. The Hebrews believed that God had given humans moral freedomthe capacity to choose between good and evil. Therefore, each person was responsible for the choices he or she made. And thats why God gave the Hebrews the 10 Commandmentsto live a moral life. The spiritual leaders of the Hebrews were the prophetsmessengers of God. The prophets attacked war, oppression, and greed. The Hebrews believed all people have the right to be treated with justice and dignity. They believed that it is the responsibility of every person to denounce injustice and oppression and the community should assist the poor and unfortunate. The prophets held out the hope that life on earth could be improved, that poverty and injustice need not be accepted And, every individual was capable of living to a high moral standard.

Moses with the 10 Commandments.

You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal

3 examples

The movie

The sculpture

In the first century a Jewish Rabbiteachernamed Jesus was traveling throughout Israel preaching. Israel had been conquered by the Romans and had become a province of Romeno longer an independent state. The Romans changed the name of Israel to Palestineafter the Philistines, Israels enemy. Jesus adopted much of the Prophets moral outlook. Like them, he believed human beings were Gods children and were judged according to high moral standards. Like them, he spoke out against injustice. Like them, he saw morality as the essence of Jewish faith ..do unto others only what you would have done to yourself The early Christians were Jews. Unlike the other sects of Jews, the Christians were evangeliststhey wanted to spread their beliefs to all people. Christian missionaries worked throughout the Roman Empire to convert people to Christianity. And so, from the Judeo-Christian tradition there emerged several ideals that have been crucial to the shaping of a democratic outlook The sacred worth of the individual The duty of the individual and of the community to combat oppression And the equality of people before God.