Ancient Greek Government

Ancient Greek Government

A man is questioned

There were different types of ancient Greek government, this was because at that time, there were different cities and townships, and each with their own demands and requirements.

They were called Polis, which is where our word for politics evolved.

In the Bronze age the ‘City States’, in Homers Illiad, he mentions Mycenae, Sparta, Athens, Corinth Ithaca and others, that were all a kind of democracies, or Polis city-states.

Athens and Sparta were city-states that were quite powerful government, Sparta being a kind of Military ancient Greek government and Athens was a democratic government. Eventually, the ruling governments took note of people’s opinion and law slowly changed for the better. This system is still going strong today.

A Reveller at Court

These ancient Greek Government systems were classed as, monarchies, oligarchies, tyrannies, democracies.

As today, none of those governments were without problems, and women, slaves and foreigners and children had no say in what happened in government.

Early laws were not always official and families sorted their own law and punishment; usually with endless feuds, killings and bloodshed.

As time went on the legal system went from a pre-legal society where there wasn’t really an established way to deal with right and wrong that went on in society.

Then they had a kind of proto-legal society, where the government, new the social standards that needed to be met and they tried to distinguish what was right and wrong, not always with success.

Finally, their legal society evolved, and Acts of law were established and developed punishment was defined and used.

Again, not always getting it right but getting there slowly. All sorted by appointed officials called Law Givers.

Draco

As in our own early development, Greeks had Tort Laws, written by Draco and Solon. Mostly, involving monetary penalties. This resulted in the creation of Family Law, Public Law and eventually Procedural Law.

Draco was very severe in his punishment and set the death penalty for lots of offences. He was succeeded around 594BC by Solon.

Solon was the first major constitutional reformer of Athens. As far as providing any voting power to the lower classes, he did modify economic policies as much as possible to favour the lower classes and the cause of debtors.

The lower poorer classes were thereby raised from complete servitude, and in later years, gained still more legal and voting rights.

Solon

In his younger years Solon supported himself as a merchant or trader, and travelled widely to Greek colonies throughout the Mediterranean.

He also distinguished himself as a great poet. He came to prominence as an ancient Greek government political leader when he rallied the city of Athens to reclaim the island of Salamis, that it had lost in a conflict with Cirrha.

Athens was at the time in the midst of a civic crisis, with the lower, and debtor classes on the verge of open rebellion.

Solon was elected because he had the trust of both the nobles and the debtors, and was given wide latitude to rewrite the laws of Athens to be more fair to all classes.

He threw out the laws of Draco, and wrote a new set which stopped short of abrogating all debts and slavery, but did much to relieve the oppression of the poorer classes, and prevented Athenian citizens from being sold into slavery to pay debts.

After spending many years administering to the ancient Greek government of Athens, Solon retired and spent ten years travelling throughout Egypt and Asia Minor.

It was during this trip that he made his famous visit to the court of Croesus. By the time Solon returned to Athens he was an old man, and Pisistratus had made himself tyrant.

Solon opposed Pisistratus, because he suspected him of setting himself up as a tyrant, but his warnings went unheeded.

Pisistratus did not treat him as an enemy, but honoured his laws, and paid him great respect. He died a few years later, in 558 B.C., and his ashes were scattered around Salamis.

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