1. Foundations of
Democratic Thought:
Athens, Rome and Judeo-
Christian Contributions
Modern World History: Dan McDowell and Abigail Anders.

2. Set up notes: (Skip lines!!!!)
 Part I: Athens - Who’s who?
 Solon-
 Cleisthenes-
 Pericles-
 Message
 U.S. comparison?
 Socrates
 Plato
 Aristotle
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3. Again: skip lines!
Athens, Greece Pt II
 Government Structure:
 The Assembly
 The Council of 500
 The Board of Generals
 Judicial System
 Contradictions
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4. Athens
Olympics!
Democracy!
Classical Art and
Architecture!

5. Solon
 Came to power in 594 BCE
 Reorganized the government and economy to
allow for upward social mobility
 If a man could increase his income, he could be
eligible for office
 Reforms are moderate and no one is happy –
not enough for the poor, too much for the nobility
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6. Cleisthenes
 Came to power in 508 BCE
 Supported more reforms, considered by later
Athenians to be a principal founder of
democracy
 Set up the Council of 500 to help guide general
assembly
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7. Pericles
 Came to power in 460 BCE
 Believed that government officials should be
chosen based upon abilities – not wealth or
family
 Set up the jury system
 Often considered the father of democracy
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8. Pericles
 “Here each individual is interested not only in his own affairs but in
the affairs of the state as well: even those who are mostly occupied
with their own business are extremely well-informed on general
politics – we do not say that a man who takes no interest in politics
is a man who minds his business, we say that he has no business
here at all.” ~ Thucydides’ account of a speech by Pericles
1.Explain the author’s message about political participation in
Athens?
2.Is a similar attitude held in the United States of America?
Explain.
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9. Greek Philosophers
 Use logic and reason to investigate the nature of the universe
 Socrates-socratic seminar-a question and answer approach. His
greatest pupil---
 Plato-greatest work The Republic His vision of a perfectly
governed society was governed by the wisest, not by the rich and
powerful. His student-----
 Aristotle- examined the nature of the world and of human belief,
thought, and knowledge. In Politics, he wrote “Man is by nature a
political animal; it is his nature to live in a state.”
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10.  Plato
Socrates Plato Aristotle
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11. Plato’s Republic
“Until philosophers are kings, or the kings and
princes of this world have the spirit and power of
philosophy and political greatness and wisdom
meet in one………. cities will never rest from
their evils, nor the human race.”
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12. Socrates
 Socratic method- question/ question/ question!
 Believed people should seek truth and wisdom
 After Peloponnesian war, was accused of
dishonoring gods, condemned to death
 Plato was Socrates student, set up ‘the
Academy’
 Aristotle was student at Academy
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13. Government Structure
 Three major components:
 The Assembly
 The Council of 500
 The Board of Generals
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14. The Assembly
 Any male citizen over eighteen who could attend
the meetings held thirty-five times a year – every
one to two weeks
 Anyone could speak at the Assembly, however it
was a tough crowd unless you were a highly
respected citizen.
 Members could present laws
 Everyone in attendance voted on the laws
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15. Council of 500
 Athens & the surrounding countryside divided
into ten demes (or tribes).
 Each demes selected by lot fifty men who were
at least thirty years old to sit on the Council
 Members served one year terms, could not
serve two consecutive terms, and could only
serve twice overall
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16. Council of 500
 These term limitation rules ensured that many
different citizens would participate and that no
individual would have too much power
 Being on the Council was a fulltime job;
members were paid
 The Council prepared the agenda for the
Assembly meetings, researched the
resolutions for possible problems, and made
recommendations
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17. Board of Generals
 These men replaced the Archons who had
obtained power through wealth and nobility
 Each of the demes elected one member to the
ten person board
 Job included the execution and enforcement of
laws and resolutions passed by the Assembly
 These were the only elected positions in Athens
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18. Judicial System
 Juries drawn from 6000
citizens
 Size varied, but were at
least 201 people
 Jurors were paid for their
service
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19. Judicial System
 No attorneys: accused and accuser spoke on
their own behalf
 The trials lasted a single day to avoid any
chance of corruption in the jury
 There were no appeals and all judgments were
final
 Non-citizens were represented by owners or
employers – could not represent themselves.
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20. Contradictions
 The Athenian democratic
government was
revolutionary, but we
must not idealize it
 Of a city of 250,000 –
there were only 45,000
citizens
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21. Contradictions
 Women had no political or social voice and were
regulated to domestic affairs
 Resident aliens and slaves also had no political voice
 Only about 6000 citizens regularly participated in the
Assembly (about 13%) – compare that to modern voter
turnouts
 Athens participated in the colonization of the
Mediterranean region and later forced neighboring city-
states to pay to keep the Delian League up and running
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22. Pericles Funeral Oration P.
Now, write about what you read!
Your paragraph should be 5-7sentences AND answer the
following questions
•Who did Pericles address in his oration?
•What was the subject of Pericles’ oration? (what was he talking
about)?
•When was Pericles giving his address the Athenians?
•Where was Pericles giving his oration?
•Why was Pericles addressing the Athenians?
•How was Pericles addressing the Athenians?
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23. What do you remember about Greece?
The Roman Republic

24. Set up Notes for Rome! SKIP LINES!
 Roman Republic
 Three social classes:
 1.
 2.
 3.
 Branches:
 2 Consuls (exec.)- skip 2 lines for ea. branch
 Senate
 Assembly
 Roman Law (skip four lines here)
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25. Foundations
 The Roman Republic was founded in 509
BCE when the Etruscan king was forced out
 Set up a Republic which evolved over the
next 200 years
 Republic – A government where citizens have
the right to elect leaders who make
government decisions
 res publica means “public affairs”
 First representative government
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26. Social Classes
 Patricians – Wealthy landowners, usually part of
the nobility
 Plebeians – Commoners of Rome, including
merchants and farmers
 Slaves – Prisoners of war, debtors, and criminals
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27. Power Struggle
 Initially Patricians held all of the power
 Plebeians had no rights, and all of the laws
strongly favored the Patricians
 During the “Conflict of Orders,” the Plebeians
struggle to gain social, economic, and political
equality
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28. Power Struggle
 As Rome begins to expand its dominion the
Plebeians become more valuable as soldiers
 Patricians eventually trade political rights for
military service – the Assembly is set up
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29. The Roman Republic
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30. Government Structure
 Three branch system created
 Each branch had different powers and relied
upon the other to be successful and efficient
 An early form of checks and balances
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31. Branches
 Two Consuls
 Usually Patricians and military generals
 Elected for one year terms, but they could be re-
elected
 During a national crisis, the consuls could appoint
a temporary dictator to make quick decisions
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32. Branches
 Senate
 Patricians selected by the two consuls, served life
terms
 Were the most influential citizens in Rome
 Assembly
 Patricians and Plebeians elected into office
 The assembly held some power, but not enough
to make any significant changes
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33. The senate and
the people of

34. Roman Laws
 Brought system of laws to conquered lands
 Laws published universally
 All citizens received equal treatment before the
law
 A person was innocent until proven guilty
 Burden of proof stood with the accuser
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35. What do you remember about Rome?
Judeo-Christian Tradition

36. Set up Notes: Judeo- Christians
 Judeo-Christian Tradition
 Judaism
 1.
 2.
 3.
 4.
 Christianity
 1
 2
 3
Monotheistic Legacy:
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37. 37

38. Judaism
 Covenant with god in which he would protect
them and they would follow the ten
commandments
 God was just because of his religious laws
 A high standard of moral conduct
 A religion of justice, morality, and individual
relationship with god
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39. Christianity
God's kingdom open to all
Should love your fellow human
beings (“Golden Rule”)
Teachings of love, equality, and equ
salvation would attract poor,

40. Legacy of Montheistic Religions
Duty of the individual and the
community to combat oppression
The worth of the individual
(individualism = belief in the
importance of the individual and in
the virtues of self-reliance and

41. Connection?
What does this have to
do with the United
States?
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