By Bolin Miao
Democracy, a form of government in which power is vested in the people, has been around since the 6th century BCE. In modern times, the United States or Great Britain might immediately come to people’s minds as the epitome of democracy. However, no discussion of democracy would be complete without a look at democracy in Ancient Greece.
Ancient Greece was a collection of independent city-states, each with its own government and system of governance. The city-state of Athens is perhaps the most famous of these, known for its contributions to philosophy, art, and politics; however, most importantly, it was the birthplace of democracy.
Through artifacts displayed in the Agora Museum located in Athens, we can see that the existence of direct democracy is evident. In addition to granting voting rights to all citizens, Ancient Greeks invented Kleroteria, machines used for an allotment that is constructed using wooden or stone slabs, to eliminate any chance of bribery and corruption. They randomly select individuals for public office, jury duty, or other important roles. The process of selection was considered absolutely fair and impartial. The successful adoption of Kleiroteria ensures that positions of power were not concentrated in the hands of the wealthy and influential few and that bribery is useless, as people attending jury service and the case they discuss that day are totally unpredictable. The legacy lives on in modern systems of representation and governance that strive for fairness and impartiality.
Another thing worth noting is that citizens had the power to ostracize politicians by inscribing their names on the Ostraka and putting them into a pot in the Agora. Officers count the number of ballots and ostracize the politician with the most votes for 10 years. This approach largely prevented the existence of a dictatorship and protected Athenians from harsh rulers. However, some flaws were present. A glass case in the museum presented Ostrakas inscribed with Themistocles, which dated back to 428 B.C.E. This poses a question mark on the effectiveness of Athenian democracy: do people possess the ability to judge rationally and make inappropriate decisions? Themistocles was a preeminent Athenian general who led the win against the Persians in the Battle of Marathon and a prominent politician who practiced law and “wooed the poor,” according to the historian Herodotus. However, he was exiled and forced to come to the service of the new Persian Emperor Artaxerxes due to his perceived arrogance among Athenian citizens. Additionally, the death of the great philosopher Socrates is often associated with people’s credulous nature and inability to rule justly. These cases left a crucial and knotty problem for us to consider: how much power should we give to the people and how to find a balance between giving rights to people and making historically “correct” decisions?
While Athenian democracy was not without its flaws and limitations, it represented a major step forward in the development of democratic principles and values. It was unbelievable to think about people over 2000 years ago having such active participation in decisive matters of the city-state.
Today, the legacy of ancient Greek democracy can be seen in modern democracies around the world, where the principles of citizen participation, accountability, impartiality, and the rule of law continue to shape our political systems and institutions.
