Government in Greece

The Age of Tyrants

      Democracy is just one of many political systems developed by humankind to govern its communities. The Greeks were the first people to invent a formal democratic system in which citizens governed themselves through voting. The word democracy comes from two Greek words, demos meaning "the people" and kratos meaning "the rule" or "power." But democracy was not invented easily -- it was arrived at after a long, painful process. Other systems of government had been tried and failed. 

      The early Greek states were usually focused around the main town in a valley area. The normal system of rule was government by a king, and each king acted as the chief judge, leading administrator, military leader, and at times, priest of the state cult (religion). These kings, however, did not have absolute power, nor was their power automatically passed on to their heirs. A king's authority was limited by the rights and powers of a small, close-knit group of aristocrats who acted as his counsellors. 

      During the Dark Ages, many of the kings lost some or all of their powers to other members of the local aristocracy. Arbitrary rule by aristocratic families replaced the monarchy in some Greek states. But arbitrary administration of unwritten laws was just one concern. The power held by some aristocrats and not by others provoked dissent, as did the lack of a voice in government for wealthy men of non-aristocratic background. Poorer Greeks suffered loss of land, debts, and even enslavement for debt at the hands of wealthy nobles. However, the aristocrats could keep their power as long as they continued to be the military backbone of the state. Down to the early seventh century BCE, fighting depended on heavily armed individual warriors backed up by their lightly armed supporters. Only wealthy aristocrats could afford the arms and armour needed for this style of warfare. 

      This all changed in the period ca. 675-650 BCE, as a new style of warfare was introduced, one that depended on the unified movement of larger numbers of warriors, called hoplites. These were heavily armed men with large round shields, shin protectors (greaves), helmets, body armour, and spears, which they thrust rather than threw. by standing side by side, six to ten lines deep, and maintaining their places in the lines, these warriors could easily defeat the old style of fighting. Large numbers of warriors were crucial to preventing the hoplite lines from being surrounded and attacked from behind. But there simply were not enough aristocrats to fill the new battle lines. Consequently, any citizen who could afford the armour eventually came to stand shoulder to shoulder with the aristocrats. The strategic importance of these new soldiers was probably one factor that led to their demand for more political power. 

      People in control of a government usually do not surrender their power willingly. In the richer Greek states near the Isthmus of Corinth, a man of noble blood named Cypselus was excluded from the ruling circle of nobles at Corinth, despite his ability and great ambition. He gathered a military force composed of other discontented citizens and in 657 BCE defeated and forced the ruling clan of nobles into exile. Cypselus took control of the government and began to rule for the benefit of the middle class people who had supported him. The Greeks called such a person, one who had seized power unconstitutionally (for good or bad), a tyrannos or tyrant. 

 Writing: ECHOES from the past published by McGraw-Hill Ryderson Ltd.