How Effective was Athenian Democracy? Essay -- right to vote, minoriti

Plan of Investigation Between the years of 508 BCE and 322 CE, Greece flourished under democracy. However, some question if the flourishing of Athens is due to the democracy that was in place as opposed to other factors relevant in building a successful community. This investigation will examine the effectiveness of Athenian democracy in Greek society. Relevance of Athenian democracy can be seen in foundation of many democracies found worldwide. In this investigation the right to vote, protection of minorities, use of social class, the structure of democracy and how Greek democracy has influenced the world will be addressed. The place investigated will be Greece, specifically the capitol Athens. The effectiveness of Athenian democracy can be seen in social structure, protection of minorities, and right to vote, as well as its structure and influence of other countries around the world. â€Æ' Summary of Evidence Basic- †¢ Democracy literally means â€Å"people-power† †¢ 4th century BC o hundreds of Greek democracies spread over Greece o not a single political entity but a collection of 1,500 separate poleis or 'cities' around the Mediterranean and Black Sea o Those cities that were not democracies were oligarchies†¦ ï‚ § Where power was in the hands of the few richest citizens o Or monarchies †¢ Of the democracies, the oldest, most stable, was Athens Social Structure/Class- †¢ Households o Within the household there would be a land owner o Wife and children of the house owner would come next in the hierarchy o Paid servants o Slaves †¢ â€Å"The foundation of Athenian democracy was the deme , a sort of village ward.† o communities that gave members political identity †¢ The next level of structure was the tribe o 1... ...fornia: University of California Press, 2010. about:newtab. Saxonhouse, Arlene. Free Speech and Democracy in Ancient Athens. 1st ed. Cambrige, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, Sao Paulo: Cambridge University Press, 2006. Vermeer, Dura. â€Å"Structure and Agency in Modern Greek Education, Photograph.† Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost. Structure and Agency in Modern Greek Education. Accessed April 8, 2014. about:newtab. â€Å"Women’s Political Participation,† July 2013. http://www.iwdc.org/resources/fact_sheet.htm. â€Å"World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras - Athenian Democracy.† Accessed April 8, 2014. http://ancienthistory.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/586553?terms=Athenian+democracy. â€Å"World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras - Greek Citizenship.† Accessed April 8, 2014. http://ancienthistory.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/586950?terms=Greek+citizenship.