Week 4 Blog 1

Grace Leung

2/14/11

Western Civ

Was Athens really a 'democracy'?

            Athens was a ‘democracy’ because of the many wars and conflicts that were fought over.  There were many different tyrants and rulers in Athens, causing lots of blood shed among the people. Also with the greed of the families, arguments lead to war. The peasant people of Athens were treated creul and among the peasants treated poor was the potters. Potters were not at the very bottom of society, but were regarded as unimportant. There were a group of people that were leaders of society and served the tyrants and depending on the ruler, sometimes the people of Athens were treated poorly. Another reason Athens is a ‘democracy’, besides all the war is the want to succeed or follow in ‘hero’s’ footsteps. In Greek history, many people who were referred to as ‘hero’s’, were people who won wars or took over countries. Clymondies, was a follower or strong believer that a real hero could take over a country or start a war. He followed in these ‘hero’s’ footsteps and took over the throne. He shed blood, but in the end succeeded. He is just one example of the many people who slaughtered for power or pride. This greed contributed to Athens being a ‘democracy’, not knowing who will be king next. Athens is a ‘democracy’, because of the uncertainty of leadership and the large wars that broke out throughout history