1. Democracy Lesson 2-4

2. Early Athens was ruled by an Oligarchy. Around 600BC a group of rebels tried to overthrow the Oligarchy. They failed and Draco punished them with harsh laws. Next came Solon who made the laws easier but the people were still angry. Peisistratus then took power and Athens was under tyranny. Today the word tyrant means a bad leader but back then, Peisistratus was a successful leader and well liked. After Peisistratus died, his son was not as successful and the tyranny went back to an oligarchy.

3. Cleisthenes was a member of one of the most powerful families in Athens! Although he was an aristocrat, he believed that the rich had too much power and wanted to give more to the people. In 500 BC, with the support of the people he overthrew the aristocrats once and for all. Instead of ruling as a tyrant, Cleisthenes decided to create a new style of government called democracy. Because of this he is known as…

4. Under Cleisthenes, all citizens would be able to meet in a group called the assembly. This group would now create the cities laws. These meetings happened outdoors on a hillside so that all citizens could attend. All citizens had the right to speak in front of the crowd and voice their opinion. Athenians loved debates and listening to speeches.

5. After everyone had a chance to speak, the assembly would vote. Most of the time, this was done with a show of hands. Sometimes Athenians would use a secret ballot. Whatever the result of the voting would be accepted. This is an essential concept of DEMOCRACY.

6. Democracy reached it’s height under the great leader, Pericles. He encouraged Athenians to take pride in their city. He wanted to encourage everyone to participate in the government and made one major change to Democracy. Pericles began to pay citizens who served the public on juries and in office.

7. In the 330s BC, Athens was conquered by the Macedonians. Athens kept its democracy but it had very limited powers. Macedonia was ruled by a king and he ruled as a dictator. A dictator is someone who rules with absolute power. Athenians had to be sure to not offend the king.