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Conveniently ignoring the fact that the word "citizen" in Athens referred to wealthy (free) adult males who had completed military service, whose parents were b
by ramesh31 1y ago
Conveniently ignoring the fact that the word "citizen" in Athens referred to wealthy (free) adult males who had completed military service, whose parents were both citizens, and even then not always. It was in no ways representative, even if nominally democratic among those privileged few. We take the 14th amendment (birthright citizenship + equal protection) for granted now, but it was truly a revolutionary act in all of world history at the time. Our modern systems of mass elected representative democracy were shaped in the aftermath of that, and are far more equal than anything the people of Athens could have ever dreamed of.
- WesolyKubeczek 1y ago> the word "citizen" in Athens referred to wealthy (free) adult males > whose parents were both citizens Something does not compute here for me.
- ramesh31 1y agoAthenians had many subtly different tiers of citizenship. Women of noble birth, whose father had served in the military, were considered "citizens" in the sense that their male children would be considered legitimate, and they would be granted certain social and economic rights, although this did not extend to political rights for themselves [0]. [0] http://athensjournals.gr/history/2017-3-2-2-Che.pdf http://athensjournals.gr/history/2017-3-2-2-Che.pdf