Essay about The Father of Democracy Solon, Cleisthenes...

Since the beginning of time, humans have found habits to dominate one another. This type of domination is expressed from mere fighting, to more advanced systems like democracy. Democracy is a system of government by which the whole population is completed through elected officials. This advanced form of government was only beginning in ancient Greece. Between the 5th and 6th century of ancient Greece, Solon changed the world. The Athenian government was known to be established in 460BCE and was ran by tyranny. Despite the insanity, the basic outlines of development of democracy were established by no others than: Solon, Cleisthenes, and Pericles. Solon was the first to greatly influence the government of Athenian society. In the 6th†¦show more content†¦The first of four classes was known as the â€Å"Pentekosiomedimnoi†, this class required the members to produce at least five hundred â€Å"medimnoi† (measures) of grain per year. This group was the uppermost g roup of the system and had to finance for most public services, such as constructing a ship, festival, building etc. The third of the four assemblages was the â€Å"Hippeis†, or the knights. These Hippeis could only afford the expenses of maintaining a horse, and produced a minimum of 300 medimnoi per year. The second to last class of Solon’s reform was the â€Å"Zeugitai†. These middle class like citizens were required to harvest income of two hundred to three hundred menimnoi per year. These citizens also had to provide their own armor for military services in the infantry, in case they were called to war. The final group of this reform was known as â€Å"Thetes†. This group was the weakest of the four classes, only to produce below two hundred medimnoi. Most Thetes could not pay for their own armor and served as light infantry or slaves. Along with his reform, Solon was known to create the â€Å"Council of 400†. This council allowed citizens the right to vote the verdicts of magistrates and partake in the situation of the government. Despite the changes Solon’s reform brought to Athenian democracy, they did not completely reshape democracy, but rather inch closer to evolved version of it. Cleisthenes was a member of the Alcmaeonid family. CleisthenesShow MoreRelatedGreece : The Birthplace Of Democracy1600 Words   |  7 PagesTheorem, Hippocratic Oath, or the Socratic Method. But perhaps the greatest gift a man could receive from his government was democracy. Unlike other empires where a citizen’s opinion was considered inferior to the king’s, Greek leaders cared about their people’s opinion, especially the leaders of Athens. Athens is considered to be the birthplace of democracy. Democracy comes from the ancient Greek word demokratia which means â€Å"power from the people.† But what many modern day civilians do not knowRead MoreEssay on History Quiz - Western Civilization to Middle Ages1580 Words   |  7 PagesIt convinced the Greeks of their cultural superiority over barbarians. | | It ended Persian hopes of successfully invading Greece. | | It established the superiority of the hoplite and phalanx. | | It promoted the democratic reforms of Cleisthenes. | Question 4 of 60 Members of Darius Is elite guard were known as the immortals because their numbers always remained at 10,000 | True | | False | Question 5 of 60 After Darius I died, his son _____ took over. | Leonidas | Read MoreThe History of the Greeks: Hellenic and Hellenistic6253 Words   |  26 Pagesfrustrated by the new laws and were on the verge of civil war when Solon was elected chief executive in 594 B.C. Solon was a traveler and a poet with a reputation for wisdom. Both the aristocrats and citizens of Athens realized that the threat of civil war was imminent. In an effort to avert war, the Athenians handed over power of government to Solon. Solon set out to reform the laws of Draco in order to avoid an uprising. Solon believed that the aristocrats greed was the reason that Athens was