Greek+Government

**By:** David
 * Greek Government: Past and Present**

Ever wonder where you got the power to vote? Greece. Greece’s government is probably the most changing in history. It has had 4 different types of government in a matter of a few centuries. Those are monarchy, tyranny, oligarchy, and democracy [|(Carr)]. These significant changes are mainly due to peoples changing ideas on government. We can tell this from historical records written by people like Aristotle. Monarchy is when one individual has supreme power in government with no checks on authority. These were the first form of government that the city states had. Most of the city states had a kingdom until around 1200 BC. Some of the most famous monarchs during this time period are Agamemnon and Theseus (Williams). At one time all of the city states were monarchies, but after the dark ages, very few of them were still governed in this way. The only true monarchy left was Sparta, which had a very interesting government. Instead of one king, it had two. One would go off to fight war, while the other would stay to rule over the citizens. Both rulers were usually blood relatives, such as or cousins. Though it was considered a monarchy, most of the Greek royals had limited power. (Wright) Kings of the era had three main jobs. According to Aristotle’s book __Politics__, “the king acted as judge, general, and the head of religious observances" (Williams).

Oligarchy is a form of government in which many individuals have power instead of one (Groth). This, in essence, could be considered the beginning of democracy. While some of the city states still had monarchies, some had oligarchies. These were formed when a king selected leaders from the wealthiest households to help make important decisions. In other words, they were his advisors. As this practice became more popular, the collaborators became equal with the king to make multi-leader governments (Williams). Though this form can be closely compared to aristocracies, it can also be considered a Republic if very few people have the right to vote. Many modern countries with dictorships in place are in the form of oligarchies (Groth).

Tyranny is when one individual takes power through force or violence. These leaders were called tyrants, and usually ruled without any legality. These were first seen in sometime between 600 and 500 BC. Many of the tyrants were one of the powerful advisors, which, in most cases got power through the support of the poor. Nowadays, tyranny is seen as a negative form of government, but not in the times of Ancient Greece. Back then a tyrant was thought of as someone who had absolute power, and used it to practice tyranny. The first ever Greek tyrant was a man by the name of Cypselus who ruled until 657 BCE, when he died and his son took over. Many of the city states were taken over by tyrants, and stayed like that until the first democracy was formed in 510 in Athens. By 582 BCE tyranny grew unpopular in Greece, and democracies grew in Greece (Williams).

Democracy is "a government by the people and for the people," where they exercise their right to vote and other privileges. The first city state to form a democracy was Athens in 510 BC, other Greek city states soon followed in that practice. Cleisthenes, the first democratic ruler of Athens, followed what was called Athenian Democracy, by splitting Attica into small portions Cleisthenes was also known for creating a new system of counseling called boule, which had 500 members in total, 50 men from each trittys. The purpose of this council was to talk on debatable issues, meet foreign diplomats and politicians, and take observe appointments made by tax collectors. Because of Cleisthenes’ reforms and changes, Athens was on the right path to democracy. Another famous Athenian leader by the name of Pericles (governed 460- 429 BCE) followed another form called Periclean Democracy [|(The World of Ancient Greece)]. Not only did he have a strong belief in democracy, but he was considered the most influential Greek politician of his day. According to Thucydides’ book __History of the Peloponnesian War__, Pericles was “the leading man of his time among the Athenians and the most powerful both in action and in debate.” In Periclean Democracy, any man that served in the military for at least two years could participate in assembly, which met four times each month. Though there were about 60,000 citizens in Ancient Greece, only 6,000 were needed to carry out the jobs and duties of the assembly. Another reform made by Pericles was that of the jury system, which he paid people to do. This allowed a Greek citizen to give up jobs, and start a full time one in politics. One of the rights started by this type of government is voting. The people of Ancient Greece used to carve a name on a ballot and turn it in. This process was called ostracism, and became a popular idea for nations to follow (Williams).

Greek government today is not dissimilar to that of ancient times. It is still a democracy, and has an assembly (known as Parliament). Though this is true, Greece is also different too. Like the United States, Greece has three branches of Government. The two governing bodies are the President and Prime Minister which are housed in the executive branch. The president is elected by Parliament to two 5 year terms, and can appoint a Prime Minister. The jobs of the President are to serve as head of state, command the armed forces, represent international affairs, negotiate treaties, declare war with the approval of parliament, and veto bills. The Prime Minister is considered the main governing body of Greece, and has more duties than the President. They are the leader of Parliaments majority party, and act as head of government. He is responsible for cosigning bills signed by the President, and is in charge of dismissing ministers from their cabinet. Housed within the Legislative branch is the Voulli ton Ellinon, or Parliament of Greece. It is comprised of 300 members; 288 are elected from popular vote, and the other 12 are elected nationally by proportional representation. The job of Parliament is to pass laws, override the President’s vetoes, ratify treaties, and approves or disapproves of Prime Minister and cabinet. The Judicial branch is comprised of a Supreme Court, Council of State, Comptrollers’ Council, and Special Supreme Court. Members of the Supreme Court are appointed by President, and usually serve life terms. The Council of State is in charge of determining the constitutionality of a law and validity of government acts. The duties of the Comptrollers’ Council are that of overseeing government accounts and fighting government fraud. The Special Supreme Court resolves disputes between courts and makes a decision on election cases (__The Book of Rule__). There are several major political parties in Greece. To name a few there are the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK), New Democracy (ND), and Coalition of the Left (SYN) [|(Nagy)]. On a local level, Greece is broken up into 51 different prefectures, and 13 regions (__The Book of Rule__).

Greece can truly be considered the first when it comes to democracy, and the right of the people. It set the precedent for all the follow up nations, from Ancient Rome, to the American Dream. So, next time you go to exercise your rights as a citizen thank the Greeks.


 * Works Cited**

 Carr, Karen. "Ancient Greek Government - History for Kids!" //Kidipede//. 4 Nov.2010. Web. 28 Nov. 2010.. Williams, Jean Kinney. "Chapter 4- Politics and Society in Ancient Greece." //Empire of Ancient Greece//. New York, NY: Facts On File, 2005. 53-67. Print. Nagy, Kim. "Greece." //EBSCOhost//. Web. 1 Dec. 2010.. Groth, Alexander J. "Oligarchy." //World Book//. 2007 ed. 2006. Print. "Greece." //The Book of Rule- How the World Is Governed//. 1st American Edition. New York City, NY: DK, 2004. 250. Print. Wright, Anne. "Chapter 1- Government." //City States//. Armonk, NY: Sharpe Focus,2008. 9-17. Print. "Government." //The World of Ancient Greece//. Oracle Education Foundation. Web. 2 Dec. 2010. .