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The rise of Athens is a good example of the Marxist belief that the struggle between rich and poor is the motor force that drives history. The rise of a republican form of government in Athens is a consequence of the struggle for political power between the aristocracy and the common citizens. The process of Athens becoming a republic was slow; it took hundreds of years of change before Athens became a republic which, helped to alleviate some of the tension between the rich and poor citizens. Although the struggle between rich and poor never truly ends, there is lessening of the tension between the two classes when Athens finally becomes a republic which, allows both rich and poor citizens to participate in government.
One of the most important factors in turning Athens into a republic was the Hoplite Revolution. During the Archaic Age (750-47 BCE) in Greece, there formed a new style of community called the polis. Greece was divided into many different poleis that were self-governed by the aristocratic families living in the community. Greece was able to grow and expand its influence during the Archaic Age, because of increased trade and colonization; new wealth flowed throughout Greece. The new wealth meant that non-aristocratic men were able to purchase weapons and armor to become soldiers, and aid in the defense of their community. The new citizen soldiers, called Hoplites, were infantry troops that fought in units called Phalanxes . The Hoplites felt that because they aided in the defense of the polis, they should also be allowed to wield political power within the community. The mostly poor Hoplites demanded power in the community from the rich aristocracy that traditionally held all of the political power in community. As a direct result of the Hoplite Revolution, a new type of political leader arose. These new leaders were called tyrants. These tyrants came from an aristocratic background, and they ruled over their polis like kings. The tyrants only held power because they were supported by the Hoplite Soldiers, therefore a tyrant had to make reforms in the community give the citizens political power in their community in order to keep the Hoplite support. The struggle between rich and poor in the poleis of Greece lead from an oligarchic type of rule, in which the only the elite aristocracy held all political power, to a tyrannical form of government lead by a single tyrant king. However, these tyrant kings orchestrated vast change that gave more power to the poor citizen, and lead to a more democratic society.
In the case of Athens, there were a series of these tyrant kings that slowly implemented reforms to make Athens into a republic. Athens is the most famous of the Greek poleis, and it was the first democracy in the ancient world. Most peasants in Athens were indebted to the aristocracy and if they could not afford to payback the money to the aristocracy they risked becoming slaves. During the early part of the sixth century BCE, Athens was on the brink of a civil war between the poor peasants and the rich aristocrats that controlled almost all the political power and wealth . Fortunately, before real civil war broke out a tyrant king named Solon came to power. Solon (650-570 BCE) was a member of the aristocracy known for his wisdom. The tyrant Solon limited the power of the aristocracy and split the Athenian population into four economic classes. Solon also created several governmental institutions, which laid the groundwork for future Athenian democracy. In Solon’s government economic class determined in which governmental institution a person would be allowed to serve. The aristocrats were members of two highest economic classes and could hold the highest offices of archon, which represented the highest court . Members of the third economic group could become members of the Boule, which prepared the agenda of the general assembly. Then all male citizens of the poorest class could serve on the general assembly. Solon’s reforms were important to setting the framework for later giving more political power to the poorer citizens.
The struggle described so far has shown the poor fought to change their government but the rich aristocracy also fought to preserve the status quo that leaves them in power. In 561 BCE, an aristocrat named Peisistratus lead an aristocratic rebellion against the reforms of Solon, and Peisistratus became the new tyrant of Athens . Peisistratus ignored the reforms of Solon and temporarily slowed the process of forming Athens into a republic. The rise of the tyrant Peisistratus was only a temporary set back for the poor in their struggle for equality because the sons of Peisistratus were greedy with their power and they did not want to share their power even with the aristocrats. Therefore, in 510 BCE the aristocrats along with the help of another Greek polis Sparta were able to get rid of Peisistratus. The rise of the tyrant Peisistratus was an attempt of the aristocrats to end the progress the poor citizens had made in gaining political status.
After the rule of Peisistratus’s family was ended, the general assembly created by Solon met in 51 BCE and selected Cleisthenes to reorganize Athens. Cleisthenes built upon Solon’s reforms and moved Athens closer to being a democratic polis. Cleisthenes broke the power of the aristocratic family and ensured that every male citizen would get to voice their opinion in the government. Athens would formally be lead by a council of 500 male citizens, which would make the decisions for the Athenian community. The poor members of Athens had struggled for centuries to gain a political voice in government. As a result of the class struggle between the rich and the poor Athens’ government had been revolutionized into the very first democracy in the ancient world.
After the Greeks repelled the Persian forces in during the Persian war (40-47 BCE), Greece entered its classical age. During the Classical Age of Greece Athens was the dominate power in the Greek world, it was also home to some of the greatest artists, poets and philosophers in the ancient world. A leading figure during the glory of the Classical Athens was Pericles, and he was an important government official from 461 BCE to his death in 4 BCE. In Athens there was a citizen’s assembly, which met every ten days, the council made all of the final decisions on war, peace and public policy. There was also a bureaucracy that took care of public business; this council was eventually expanded to include 1500 members. Pericles himself was elected to the position of general continually. There were ten generals that directed the Athenian military and handled the high affairs of state. Members of the aristocracy held the position of general but they were popularly elected. The greatness of the democratic Athens can be seen in the funeral speech for Pericles, it states “class considerations are not being allowed to interfere with merit.” In Athens during this time the poor citizens had won a great victory because they actually held political power and they had the chance to win political office. The Funeral Oration of Pericles goes on to state the greatness of Athenian society, the strength of their republic and the superiority of Athens to other poleis. However, when reading the Funeral Orations of Pericles, one must realize it is a very optimistic view of Athens. The view presented in the Oration leaves out the fact that women, slaves and non-citizens living in Athens were given no voice in government even though these groups made up a large part of the Athenian population. Aristocrats also did not look kindly on the Athenian Democracy. One unknown author states “the common people [of Athens] dress as poorly as the slaves and they general appearance is no better.” The author goes on to state that the common men of Athens still do not try to excel at athletics, art or philosophy because the common man knew he could not never do these things well. The document of the unknown author is not to discredit the Funeral Oration of Pericles but to give the reader a different perspective than the one provided by the oration. The truth about Athens probably falls somewhere in the middle of the perspective of these two authors. The struggle between rich and poor had driven Athens to a more fair and democratic society but it was still far from utopia.
The rise of the Athens Republic was a result of hundreds of years of conflicts between the rich and poor citizens. The struggle between rich and poor was the motor force that drove Athens slowly toward becoming a democratic state. One can see that it was not an easy progression and at like the rule of Peisistratus, Athens moved farther away from democracy. However, eventually Athens did become a democracy and while not perfect, the Athenian Republic was a revolutionary experiment in government. Although the height of Athenian power was short lived, the ideas and institutions of Athens still live on today.
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