6.

The Drama of Politics

The Changing Governments of the Greek Cities
Importance of family background. Originally, only a small minority enjoyed political freedom and
equality in the Greek cities. This inequality in Greek society was rooted in the inequality found
within the Greek family structure. The family religion of ancestor worship made fathers very
powerful; the passing of this authority-as well as all property-to the eldest son produced
considerable inequality within large, extended families. People without a family religion were
regarded as inferior or "ignoble." Precarious monarchy. The first city governments reflected the
family structure. One man was responsible for the family religion, and one man was given
responsibility for the worship of the city's gods. In the cities, such men became known as kings.
This form of government was a monarchy, meaning rule by one. In ancient Greece, the powerful
heads of the families thought themselves equal to one another and to the king of the city. They
resented and resisted any king who tried to dominate them. Rejected by the family heads of the
city, a king might turn elsewhere for support. Because the heads of the families could not tolerate
this threat to their supremacy, kings were often run out of a city or stripped of all but their priestly
power. Aristocracy and the few "best." The rejection of the kings led to a new form of
government. The family heads as a group began to rule the cities directly. In this way, the Greeks
became the first people in world history to reject one-man rule. This new form of government was
an aristocracy [ar'is.tok'ra.se], meaning rule by the "best." Because of their noble birth and
important religious role, the heads of the great families thought themselves better than everyone
else in the city. Inheritance arrangements made them the wealthiest men in the city and, there-
fore, the most powerful. Warriors had to buy their own horses and equipment for the cavalry, at
that time the city's most important military force, and only the rich aristocrats [ə·ris'tô. krats]
could afford to do that. Oligarchy and the new rich, Business and commerce grew so rapidly
beginning in the 8th century B.C. that many men who could not claim noble birth became rich
from foreign trade. (Foreigners were beginning to highly value the olives and grapes that grew
abundantly in Greece.) These new rich could now afford to buy the equipment needed to be a
soldier in the heavily armed infantry, which was becoming more important and required more
men than the cavalry did. By this time, worship of the old family gods had grown weak and was
less respected. It was difficult for the heads of the great families to claim that they alone were the
"best." The new rich demanded that they be given a voice in the government and be treated like
true citizens. Thus a new form of govern- ment, an oligarchy [öl/ï·gär/ke], developed. Oligarchy
means rule by a few rather than one or many. In practice, however, it meant rule by a few rich
men. Sometimes the few rich men called themselves aristocrats and their government an
aristocracy. It was not long before these few men were claiming that being rich meant being best.
The many poor versus the few rich. By this time, the many poor were making an important
contribution to Greek military power and naturally resented the dominance of the few rich. A
large number could afford the equipment needed for the new lightly armed infantry, and anyone
could afford to be part of the navy, now the main military force of some cities. Thus, many poor
men refused to fight for the city unless they were recognized as true citizens with a voice in the
government. The rest of the history of politics in the Greek cities is primarily a story of bitter
struggle between the few rich and the many poor. Tyranny. One or two of the few rich, wanting all
of the power to themselves, encouraged hatred between rich and poor to achieve their goals.
They pretended to be friend and protector of the many poor against the few rich. "If you will only
trust me with power," said such a man to the many poor, "I will help you by hurting the rich." Men
who succeeded in these schemes established a tyranny [ur'a:ne], a bad form of one-man rule.
These tyrants [ti'rants] were selfish and interested only in their own good. Unlike the earlier kings,
the tyrants had no religious power and could not necessarily pass their position on to their sons.
But like the kings, they appealed to the common people as friends. Democracy and rule by the
poor. The people soon learned that tyrants are not the friends they pretend to be. Discontented
with tyranny, they rose up and established a democracy. Democracy means rule by the many or
the common people. In practice, however, it meant rule by the poor. It did not mean rule by all.
Even under a democracy, many people, including women and slaves, had no voice in the
government and were not true citizens. Slaves alone might number one quarter of a Greek city's
population. A vicious cycle of instability. The triumph of democracy in the cities where it occurred
did not stop changes in governments. Believing themselves to be "better," the rich deeply
resented the role of the poor in the government. They also feared that the poor would use their
political power to steal from the rich. Sometimes the rich managed to reestablish an oligarchy, at
least for a while. But there was still no stability. By the time of the Persian Wars and after, many
Greek cities were experiencing a vicious cycle of oligarchy, tyranny, and democracy. Sparta: A
Special Case Oligarchy based on force. Not all Greek cities followed through the complete cycle of
governmental changes. Sparta stopped short with oligarchy. A very small circle of men governed
Sparta through an assembly, while two so-called kings spent more time keeping tabs on one
another than they did ruling. The members of this small ruling class were the only true citizens of
Sparta; they alone had the privilege to participate in the government. These "true Spartans" were
very wealthy and owned the best land. A slightly larger middle class of merchants and business-
men conducted the industry and commerce of the city. Although this class lacked a voice in the
government, they did have certain rights and privileges. The largest class of all was that of the
Helots, the common laborers who farmed the land for the ruling class. While the Helots worked
like slaves in the fields, the ruling class spent its time training to fight. Spar- tan education was
extremely harsh and almost entirely physical. It was designed not so much to train citizens for war
as to help them control the Helots by force. Reluctant for war. In spite of their reputation as
terrific warriors and their city's image as a big army camp, the Spartans only reluctantly fought
wars. True citizens were too few to man an adequate army. People with no part in the
government-people who were for all practical purposes foreigners-had to be armed and called
upon to fight. War made it harder for the small ruling class to control the Helots. The
Peloponnesian League. To multiply her military strength, Sparta formed an alliance with Corinth
[kôr'inth], Megara [měg's·ra], and other cities in the Peloponnesus [pěl'a·po·nê/sas], a region in
southern Greece. During the Persian Wars, this Peloponnesian League, as it was called, joined
Athens and her allies to ward off the Persian invasion. Just fifty years later, however, Sparta and
her Peloponnesian League would be at war with Athens herself. The Athenian Democracy Solon's
laws. Athens followed the cycle of changing governments beyond oligarchy to democracy.
Athens's movement toward democracy began with the laws of Solon, an aristocrat who
introduced democratic principles to Athenian government. Solon's laws gave all free adult males in
Athens the right to participate in the assembly, the body which voted on all new laws and made all
major decisions. Pericles and direct democracy. Pericles [për' ·· klez], an aristocrat who dominated
Athens from 461 to 429 B.C ., brought the Athenian democracy to its fullest measure. Until
Pericles came on the scene, the right to attend the assembly and to hold public office had been of
little practical value to the poor. Men who had to work for a living could not afford the time to
participate in politics. Pericles called for fees to be paid to those serving in government. For the
first time in world history, political participation became a realistic possibility for the many poor.
Periclean Athens had a complete democracy virtually unknown today. In a modern representative
democracy, the people elect a few men who represent them in the government. Athens was a
direct democracy: the people themselves made the big decisions of government directly, rather
than indirectly through representatives. Only relatively small places like the Greek cities can have
direct democracy. In ancient Athens, all adult free males could assemble in one place, speak and listen
to speeches, and then make decisions for the city. As the history of Athens shows, direct
democracy is stable and workable only when it is blessed with extraordinary leaders such as
Pericles. Pericles' leadership and speaking ability Pericles owed his position of leadership to the
great intelligence he displayed in his power of speech. Speaking ability counted for more than
anything else when the Athenian assembly met. A man like Pericles who could give beautiful and
persuasive speeches almost always carried the day. Pericles used his eloquent speeches to lift the
eyes of Athenians above petty selfishness and encourage strong patriotism. Belief in the gods of
the city was no longer enough to unite the city and her citizens. The city's gods were gradually
going the way of the old family gods, In his greatest speech, Pericles made no mention of the gods.
He tried instead to make the individual and the city one by painting a beautiful word picture of
Athens. The great city he described was an ideal, but it was close enough to the real Athens that
people really believed in it for a while. The selfish struggle between rich and poor was temporarily
suspended as all looked upon Athens as a city worth dying for. Pericles spoke of a city destined for
immortal fame and glory in which all citizens could have a share. Above all there was freedom: -
freedom to have a say in public business, -freedom to live a private life without undue
interference, -freedom to rise, by one's own merits, from poverty and obscurity to renown and
wealth. Yet this freedom did not mean lawlessness, or so Pericles said. Athenians -freely obeyed
the laws and authorities, freely refrained from injuring one A nother, -freely displayed the valor
necessary to defend the city in war. Undoubtedly for the average Athenian, the most stirring parts
of Pericles' speeches were when he spoke of the Athenian empire. The Athenian Empire After the
Persian Wars, Athens eagerly became the leading city in Greece. To guard against possible future
attacks by the Persians, Athens formed a defensive alliance called the Delian League. At its peak,
the league contained about 250 Greek cities on the coasts and islands of the Aegean Sea; each
member supposedly had an equal voice, but Athens dominated the league. Gradually, the Delian
League became an Athenian empire as membership ceased to be voluntary and "members" began
to send money, ships, and soldiers to Athens as tribute. Having acquired an empire, the Athenians
soon found that they could not live without one. The Athenian democracy depended upon the
empire. The empire was a central part of the ideal Athens that inspired rich and poor to
temporarily suspend their hostility toward one another. On a more practical level, many people
made their living by serving in the Athenian government or navy, and the empire provided the
money to pay these people. Inevitable war. Athens could not enjoy the benefits of empire for long
without increasing its empire. The more prosperous Athens became, for example, the more wealth
it took to maintain the prosperity. Without "new worlds to conquer," what outlet would there be
for the great Athenians? The stronger the Athenian empire became, the more cities outside the
empire had to fear. Threatened by Athenian expansion, Sparta and the Peloponnesian League
began to prepare for the inevitable war with Athens.

Section 6.3 Review

1. How did the government of Greek cities

reflect the structure of Greek families?

2. What form of government did Sparta have?

3. What name was given to those in Sparta

who did not belong to the ruling class?

How did the ruling class spend its time?

4. Describe Spartan education.

5. Why were the Spartans reluctant warriors?

6. Who brought Athenian democracy to its

fullest measure?

7. What is the difference between

representative and direct democracy?

Which form did Athens use?

8. How did Pericles encourage patriotism in

Athens?

9. How did Athens become dependent upon

its empire?