Ancient Greece was the first civilization to use a democracy. Democracy began around 500 B.C. in Athens. The change to democracy happened when Hippias, a tyrant who led Athens, ruled the people too harshly. The people got angry and overthrew him. After that, Athens tried a new form of government -democracy, or rule by the people - where every citizen was able to vote on every issue.
Athens used a form of democracy called direct democracy. A direct democracy is where every citizens shares ruling power. In the ancient Greek democracy, there were two main government bodies: the Assembly and the Council of 500. The Assembly was held about four times a month and consisted of at least 6,000 people. In the Assembly, citizens voted on bills by a show of hands. In the Council of 500, elected citizens approved of bills before they were voted on, controlled Athens' foreign affairs, and oversaw the city-state's finances.
Although a democracy was a good idea, problems still arose. Only certain people met the requirements to be citizens, so they were the only ones who had a say in the government. To be a citizen, a person had to be a free male whose parents were native to Athens. Only about 43,000 people of the 315,000 were citizens. This led to issues because powerful speakers could persuade citizens into voting unwisely. A voting decision could be reversed after a few weeks, so the ancient Greek democracy had some flaws. Even with the flaws, the idea that people should rule themselves has been an influential type of government.
Athens used a form of democracy called direct democracy. A direct democracy is where every citizens shares ruling power. In the ancient Greek democracy, there were two main government bodies: the Assembly and the Council of 500. The Assembly was held about four times a month and consisted of at least 6,000 people. In the Assembly, citizens voted on bills by a show of hands. In the Council of 500, elected citizens approved of bills before they were voted on, controlled Athens' foreign affairs, and oversaw the city-state's finances.
Although a democracy was a good idea, problems still arose. Only certain people met the requirements to be citizens, so they were the only ones who had a say in the government. To be a citizen, a person had to be a free male whose parents were native to Athens. Only about 43,000 people of the 315,000 were citizens. This led to issues because powerful speakers could persuade citizens into voting unwisely. A voting decision could be reversed after a few weeks, so the ancient Greek democracy had some flaws. Even with the flaws, the idea that people should rule themselves has been an influential type of government.