Week #4 Daily #4

Question: Was Athens really a 'democracy'?

Answer: There were times in Athenian history when the people really did have the power, but after the death of the ruler Pericles, Athens changed for the worst.  There were many wars and some of the decisions made cost them the war and the entire Athenian ship fleet.  A democracy is when the government is ruled by the people and there were times in Athenian history when that was true.  There were many great minds who contributed to science, math, art, and literature.  One of the great Athenian minds was Socrates.  He questioned the ways of Athenian life and used reason and logic to study the world.  After the Spartans defeated the Athenians and the death of Socrates the city was never the same again.  They were no longer the rules of the Mediterranean.  The Athenian government was not giving the people the power because of the drastic changes in their world.  Athens might not have been as powerful but they made so many contributions to the ways we live our lives today.  The ancient Greek society really did contribute a lot to politics.  They gave some of the choices to the people but because of some the rulers of the city who wanted as much power as possible, then the citizens never got the full power they deserved.