THE DEVELOPMENT OF DEMOCRACY

Democracy is one of Ancient Greece's most prominent inventions to the modern world. In 507 BCE, the leader of Athens Cleisthenes, introduced a political system called 'democratia'. This compromised of three main bodies:

- The Ekklesia

- The Boule

- The Dikasteria

The Ekklesia

The Ekklesia were a governing body that wrote laws and dictated policies. They were very high up in sociaety and enjoyed a relatively good lifestyle.

The Boule

The Boule were a council of representatives from each of the ten Athenian Tribes. The tribes were:

Tribe 1 - Erechthesis

Tribe 2 - Aegeis

Tribe 3 - Pandianis

Tribe 4 - Leontis

Tribe 5 - Acamantis

Tribe 6 - Oeneis

Tribe 7 - Cecropis

Tribe 8 - Hippothontis

Tribe 9 - Aeantis

Tribe 10 - Antiochis

These tribes were formed by Cleisthenes to organise the population into groups. The Boule consisted of 500 men, 50 from each tribe. They met daily to discuss what was going well and what needed improving in their local communities. The positions of the Boule were decided on chance, not by election. This was because a random lottery was more democratic than an election and could not be influenced by things such as money or popularity.

The Dikasteria

The Dikasteria were the popular courts of ancient Greece. Every day, 500 men over the age of 30 were chosen to be the jury of local courts. Philosopher Aristotle argued that the Dikasteria were the most vital group in the formation of democracy, as they almost had unlimited power. Jurors were paid for their work so that the job was accessible to everyone, not just the popular and wealthy.