SS3H1 the Student Will Explain the Political Roots of Our Modern Democracy in the United

Study Guide

Ancient Greece

Standards:

SS3H1 The student will explain the political roots of our modern democracy in the United States of America.

a. Identify the influence of Greek architecture (columns on the Parthenon, U. S. Supreme Court building), law, and the Olympic Games on the present.

b. Explain the ancient Athenians’ idea that a community should choose its own leaders.

c. Compare and contrast Athens as a direct democracy with the United States as a representative democracy.

At the end of this unit you should be able to:

· Locate Greece on a map.

· Describe examples of Greek architecture.

· Explain the meaning of being a democratic society.

· Compare and contrast direct and representative democracies.

Vocabulary –

ancient – belonging to a remote period of time, very old.

architecture – the art and study of building design and structure.

column - a supporting pillar.

Athenian – someone living in Athens, Greece.

culture – advancement of knowledge of a civilization.

community – a town, city, suburb, or other place where people live and work. A society.

representative – one acting in the place of another.

democracy –a form of government in which people exercise power.

The Ancient Greeks

The early Greek way of life has become a part of many cultures. Many people call the Greeks “the founders of Western civilization” . The ancient Greeks were known for their love of art, learning, and athletics. In fact, the ancient Greeks were the first to hold the Olympic Games.

The Influences on Architecture

The ancient Greeks prided themselves on their beautiful cities with great stone buildings and temples. Many of these buildings were surrounded by columns.

The Doric columns were the oldest kind of column. The top of a Doric column was simple and flat.

Ionic columns were taller and thinner like an elegant lady with her hair in curlers on each side of her head because the tops of Ionic columns had curly scrolls on each side.

Corinthian columns were taller and thinner. The tops of Corinthian columns were fancy. They were covered with carved acanthus leaves.

Doric Ionic Corinthian

One of the most famous buildings in Athens was the Parthenon. Often thought of as one of the most important buildings of its time, much of the building still stands today. It is easy to see how the Greeks have influenced architecture in the United States in the beautiful government buildings we see today in Washington D.C.

The Parthenon in Athens today. The U.S. Supreme Court building.

The Influences on Government

When the founding fathers of the United States created the world’s first modern democracy they claimed to take their inspiration from the classic Greeks, but even though the United States would use the democracy of ancient Greece for inspiration, it is important to remember that there are many differences between our government in the U.S. and the government of Athens over 2000 years ago. The three main differences between our modern democracy and the Greek’s democracy are:

1. Size: The current population of the United States is 1200 times larger than the population of ancient Athens.

2. Eligibility: The second key difference is eligibility (who is allowed to participate in the government). In ancient Athens, only adult free males were considered citizens. Women, slaves, and foreigners were never allowed to participate in the government. In the United States, all people (men and women) over the age of 18 are considered citizens, foreigners who go through the citizenship process are also allowed to participate in the government.

3. Participation: Like ancient Athens, the United States has a democratic government in which the people hold the power, but the two democracies were very different. The biggest difference between the two forms of democracy was how citizens participated in their government.

Athens : Direct Democracy / United States: Representative Democracy
All citizens participated and gathered together (usually on an outdoor hillside) to argue, debate, and ask questions before they all voted on an issue. Each person had an equal say (one vote) in what the government would do. There was no “separation of government” or elected officials. The citizens of Athens used a simple majority (most votes wins) to decided what to do. The citizens directly created new laws, acted as judges, decided when to go to war, and who to make alliances with. When there were not enough people to make a decision, slaves were sent out to force citizens to show up and vote. / The United States uses a representative form of democracy. In this system, the citizens go and vote for people to represent them in the government. In this way, we chose who we want to speak for us in the government and who we want to make our decisions for us. In the U.S. we choose many different representatives; president, senators, congressmen, governors, judges, and mayors. In a representative government the people have the power to choose who makes their decisions but usually do not have the power to vote on individual issues like new laws and when to go to war. Our government is also divided up into 3 branches, and each branch has a different job.

Suggested Websites:

http://nsnipes.edu.glogster.com/greecedemocracy/