Ancient Greek Democracy
Democracy - a government ruled by the people via election
How the Ancient Greek Democracy Functioned
The state in Ancient Greece that's most known for having a democratic government is Athens. In fact, the Athenians are the first known democracy. Democracy comes from the greek word dēmos, which refers to the entire citizen body. The Athenians aren't the only people to establish a democracy. Other greek states such as Argos, Syracuse, Rhodes, and Erythrai established a similar government, but Athens is the state we know the most about. The Athenian Democratic government met up to three times a month on Pnyx hill in a dedicated spot that could hold up to six thousand citizens. The voting requirements (by theory) are that you had to be a male citizen over 17. Voting was recorded by just a show of hands, and not only could you vote if you were a man over 17, but you could speak during assembly if you had something to contribute. Aside from the primary ruler, there were other roles such as the boulē, and the gerousia or council of elders. The boulē and the gerousia served as a sort of executive committee of the assembly, but the boulē consisted of 500 citizens, and the gerousia consisted of 50 elders.
Influences on Democratic Governments Today
There are democracies in all parts of the world, including the most obvious (at least to us): the United States. Ancient Greece had a big influence on present day democracies in the sense that we still vote, and have the ability to vote at the age of 18. We now have different branches of government, similar to the boulē and gerousia, but more developed and organized to fit our much larger society. Just like Athens had Pnyx Hill to meet up at, we have the White House. Of course we have made a lot progress, and don't do things exactly the way Athens used to do things, but we still get the general idea of democracy from Greece.