How did the characteristics of the Greek city-states contribute to the development of democracy in Greece?

In Ancient Greece, democracy referred to a form of state, the polity, which in modern political terminology is referred to as democracy, democratic politics, and democracies. According to the traditional method of Herodotus and other classical scholars to divide the types of polity according to the number of people in power and their purposes and methods and means, it can be divided into three kinds of authentic polity and its corresponding three kinds of perverted polity: monarchical and tyrannical polity for the rule of one person; aristocracy and oligarchy for the rule of a few people; and democracy and ultra-democracy (or mobocracy) for the realization of the rule of a majority of the people [2] (pp. 133-134). 133-134). In this paper, democracy is referred to as a form of government in the slave-possessing city-states. This system of government, while placing the interests of the city-state as a whole in the first place, does ensure that the vast majority of citizens have a certain right to participate in politics, so that they can have a positive impact on all aspects of national life, and does enable the vast majority of citizens to ensure a certain degree of security of life and property.

According to the current historical data, among the ancient Greek city-states, the establishment of the Athenian democracy preceded other city-states in time, so it can be considered that Athens was the birthplace of the ancient Greek democracy, and the causes of the Athenian democracy can be regarded as the causes of the ancient Greek democracy. These causes are: the democratic legacy of primitive society; the development of industry and commerce and the stabilization of the economy of independent small-scale production; the strengthening of the power of the common people and the division within the aristocracy; the role of the individual, as represented by Thoreau and so on, all of which provided the possibility of the emergence of democracy in Athens.

The source of the long history of democracy in human society can be traced back to the prehistoric period of mankind. Engels in the book "family, private ownership and the origin of the state" said: "The emergence of the Athenian state is a very typical example of the formation of the state in general, on the one hand, because of its emergence is very pure and free from any external and internal violent interference ...... on the other hand, because in the here the highly developed form of the state, the democratic * * * and the state, arose directly out of the clan society." [3] (p. 115) ...... Although historians are still divided on the influence of primitive democratic factors on later states, especially Athens, it is recognized in Morgan's Ancient Society and Engels' The Family, Private Ownership, and the Origin of the State that Athenian democracy harbored the legacy of primitive democracy. When productivity was not very developed, primitive democracy effectively balanced and harmonized various interests and conflicts within the clan society. Primitive democracy mainly includes: members of the clan enjoy equal rights in social life [4] (pp. 44-45). And to the end of primitive society, with the development of productive forces, surplus products, private property and other social factors sprouting, primitive democracy in some primitive clans transition to military democracy. Engels once called this kind of military democracy "the most developed system attainable" by the primitive clan system, "a model system for the advanced stage of the barbaric age" [5] (p. 142). The three organs of clan-tribal management, namely, the people's assembly, the tribal council and the military chief under the military democracy, also reflect the democratic principles of the clan system. In general, the primitive democratic factors in all parts of the world into the country after the impact is not the same, but the impact on the Athenian democracy is significant, Athenian democratic institutions and operational mechanisms, to a certain extent, with the primitive democratic heritage. Therefore, one of the important factors in the emergence of Athenian democracy is the influence of primitive democracy.

At the same time that Athenian democracy inherited the legacy of the ancient primitive democracy, the development of its own economy was also an important factor that could not be ignored in the promotion of Athenian democracy. The natural conditions of Athens determined the rapid rise of its industry and commerce. The cultivation of cash crops, handicrafts and even shipping were all developed to different degrees. Athenian commercial interests far beyond the boundaries of its city-state, even as far as Sicily, Egypt, Phoenicia and other places [6] (p. 43). These illustrate the flourishing of industrial and commercial activities in Athens, which created industrial and commercial slave owners who played no small role in the trajectory of Athenian democracy. The development of industry and commerce also provided more opportunities for small and medium-sized craftsmen and small farmers to become rich and opened up a wider source of wealth. There is still disagreement among historians as to whether Athens was a commercial or agrarian society, but the development of commerce and industry as well as the small peasant economy in Athens did create a solid economic foundation for the emergence of democracy.

And the most important force driving the evolution of democracy in ancient Athens was the struggle of the free common people. The relatively large area of Athens, the large population, and the natural conditions for the development of both agriculture and industry, commerce and mining created favorable conditions for the expansion and development of the small and medium-sized owners, i.e., the commoners. These independent small and medium-sized owners are numerous and powerful, and are indispensable for the development and consolidation of democracy. Emphasizing the role of the common people in a democracy is also one of the main points of Aristotle's Politics [2] (pp. 183-192). The improvement of the economic situation and the growth of political power of the common people, i.e. the lower and middle classes of society, constitute the backbone and the basic masses of the democrats. The masses of the lower and middle classes of the society mentioned here mainly refer to the third and fourth classes, which were active in the fifth century B.C. and delineated by Thoreau's reforms, the third class including small and medium-sized industrial and commercial slavers and small peasants, and the fourth class mainly consisting of the landless poor. And it is due to the development of industry and commerce and small peasant economy, the democratic forces are growing, the relative weakening of the power of the aristocracy, thus causing a change in the contrast of class forces. It is generally believed that the common people were the backbone of the democratic system of government, and thus the growing power of the middle and lower classes of society contributed to the establishment of democracy and became the solid class foundation of Athenian democracy.

The influence of the primitive democratic heritage, economic factors, and the strengthening of the power of the common people all provided the possibility of the formation of Athenian democracy. The transformation of the possible into reality required the cooperation of subjective conditions, i.e., the activity of human beings as the creators of history. According to Marx's historical materialism, man is the creator of history, and "man" in this proposition should include outstanding people. Especially in the development process of Athenian democratic reform, a series of outstanding democratic politicians, such as Thoreau, Ephialtes, Christini, and Pericles, were the key figures in promoting the process of Athenian democratic reform. Under the above objective historical conditions, these key historical figures pushed Athenian society, from monarchy to aristocracy, from aristocracy to democracy, and even the continuation and perfection of democracy.

Around the 8th-7th centuries BC, the Athenian aristocracy collectively deposed the early monarchy and established the aristocracy, thus blocking the early monarchical centralization from arising. The aristocracy of Athens was a precursor to democracy, and it was established by the legendary reforms of Theseus. The key to changing this aristocracy was the reform of Thoreau in 592 B.C., which was a political revolution and a victory for the common people in their struggle against the aristocracy. According to the Cambridge Ancient History, the essence of Thoreau's thought was justice, and this fairness and justice were mainly concerned with social affairs [7] (p. 391). And the first variety of the plebeian polity is the one that most strictly observes the principle of equality [2] (p. 189). In the Sauronian system of government there appear to have been three points of the most plebeian character, the first and most important of which was the prohibition of lending on the security of the person, the next was that all who wished to do so were permitted to redress the grievances of those who had suffered injustice, and the third, which, it is said, is the one by virtue of which the people chiefly gained their strength--their access to the courts of public justice, and their right of access to the courts of justice. The third point, by which, it is said, the people most of all gained strength--was the institution of recourse to the tribunal of public trial [8] (p. 302). This democratic mechanism enabled Athenian political rule to take the first step towards democratization, thus building the basic framework of democratic institutions and a solid social foundation.

Under the usurpation of Pisistratus, the momentum of Thoreau's reforms was maintained, and he pursued a more civic-political policy in public ***** affairs than the usurpation [8] (p. 308). He developed the social economy and created favorable conditions for the establishment of democracy. Under the influence of the internal division of the nobility and the strong demand for democratic reforms in the society, the Christiani Reforms appeared. The significance of this reform was epoch-making. The struggle of the commoners against the nobles finally won a decisive victory and democracy was finally established. Christiani strengthened the power of the Citizens' Assembly and the Council of Five Hundred, creatively implemented the law of banishment of shells, formed a mass monitoring mechanism to safeguard the democratic system, and the sovereignty of the people, mainly the commoners, including some of the nobles, was finalized. At this point, Athenian politics underwent a qualitative change, forming a democratic system with both form and content. It was on this basis that in 462 B.C. Ephialtes relegated the Council of Consuls, which was controlled by the clan nobility, and the Council of the Mount of Battles, which consisted of the outgoing consuls, to a subordinate position. The Citizens' Assembly, in which all citizens had the right to participate, became the highest decision-making body for internal and external policy in Athens [9] (p. 237). Soon after the establishment of Athenian democratic politics, the Hippocratic War broke out, Athenian democratic politics in the war withstood the severe test, steady development and prosperity. After the Hippo War, Athens commercial trade further expanded, industrial and commercial slave owners increased in power. The small peasant economy and the production of handicraft workshops developed, and the power of the free people of the third and fourth grades rose, so that the economic foundation of democratic politics and the mass base became broader. During this period, there appeared another historical figure, Pericles, who greatly contributed to the democratic political process in Athens. From 443 B.C. to 429 B.C., Pericles was the chief general for 15 years, which is called the "Pericles Era". During the reign of Pericles, Athens showed prosperity in politics, economy and culture. Marx said, "The period of Greece's internal prosperity was the Age of Pericles." [10] (p. 113)

During the time of Pericles, the democratic politics of Athenian slavers was highly developed and flourished. All citizens were given the right to vote and to be elected to all levels of office, and those who held public office began to receive monetary stipends, and citizens had equal rights to determine the system of the state and to administer the state. According to Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War, Pericles gave a speech, "Our system is called a democracy because the power is in the hands of all the citizens, not in the hands of a few, and in the settlement of private disputes every man is equal in law ...... "[11]

(p. 130) Plutarch's biography of Pericles also says: "There was no one like Pericles, who was able to be moderate in his severity, and majestic in his moderation, and whose enviable power, which was once called tyrannical dictatorship, now seems to be the mainstay of the polity! ......"[12] (p. 501) Thus, Berkeley, with his political vision, his firm belief in democracy, and his personal charisma of honesty and diligence, became the preeminent democratic statesman, and his perfected and innovative democracy is still celebrated today.

The democratic politics of Athens began with the reforms of Thoreau and was established at the time of the reforms of Christiani, and reached its zenith in the age of Pericles, when the democratic process moved along an upward course, and the impact it brought was immense. The citizens of Athens, having more democratic rights, thus exerted their enthusiasm in political participation and deliberation, injected new vitality in the defense of national defense, state management, and supervision of officials, and played a decisive role in strengthening the national power. Democratic politics also protected the interests of industrial and commercial slave owners, small producers strengthened their own power, and the national economy showed unprecedented vitality. Coupled with the democratic politics of the Athenian city-state, it attracted many famous scholars and artists to Athens, as well as encouraging citizens to actively participate in cultural activities, contributing to the prosperity of Athens and even the whole of Greek culture, with achievements in philosophy, literature, and sculpture ranking among the world's top at that time. To a certain extent, the city-state democracy allowed individuals to develop their creative abilities to the fullest extent, and fully absorbed the legacy of the ancient civilization of the East in all aspects of the economy, military, science, technology, culture, art, etc., digested it, transformed it, and improved it with a leaping speed [13] (p. 153). Lenin once regarded the ancient Greek countries such as Athens as the most advanced, civilized and enlightened country of its time, mainly also because of its democratic politics [14] (p. 50).

It was indeed the most thoroughgoing political democracy that ever existed, and its influence pervaded all corners of the city-state. However, we must be clear that the essence of Athenian democracy was Athenian slave-owning democracy, which was based on the brutal oppression and exploitation of two or three hundred dependent states and two hundred thousand slaves, and which stifled or limited the ability of another part of society - slaves and foreign immigrants, as well as dependent nationals - to develop on their own, and actually blocked the ability of the dependent nationals to develop on their own, and actually blocked the ability of the dependent nationals to develop on their own. ability to develop themselves, and actually blocked the further improvement and development of their own democracy, and thus served as both a catalyst for a great civilization and a prominent manifestation of social slavery and injustice [4] (p. 204). This limitation makes Athens in the Peloponnesian war in the military situation is more and more unfavorable, Athenians also gradually lost confidence in democratic politics, the city-state crisis is deepening, democratic politics is more and more become a shell, lost the glory of the past.

While Athenian democracy had to end with the conquest of Alexander of Macedon, its democratic ideas were bequeathed to future generations through the writings of many ancient scholars, such as Plato's "Ideal State", Aristotle's "Politics" and "Athenian Political System", and even to the Roman era, Polybius' "General History", Cicero's "On the **** and the State" and so on. These works have been passed down through the Middle Ages to the Renaissance and then to the modern era, the West and even modern Eastern socio-political thought and theory development has played a significant impact and role.

While feudalism and Christianity ruled the Middle Ages, the undercurrents of democracy and democratic thought surged during this period of more than a thousand years, which not only inherited and developed the legacy of ancient democracy, but also established, on the basis of the inheritance of the ancient democratic legacy, the British parliamentary system and the three-tier parliamentary system in France, which had a great influence on the later generations. Despite the barbarian invasions in the early Middle Ages, democracy continued to flow in Western Europe. The Germanic tribal democratic legacy; Roman political law and thought in the democratic and **** and factors as well as the feudal contract, the charter of the democratic legal factors, etc., are embodied in the democratic legacy and elegance. To the middle and late Middle Ages democracy and democratic thinking is becoming more and more perfect, the British Parliament and the development of representative system, the origin and evolution of the three-tier parliament in France, Machiavelli's **** and thought, etc., in the Reformation, the Renaissance movement are embodied and development. Even the modern British bicameral parliamentary system, the parliamentary system of French bourgeois democracy can not be said to have a historical relationship with the medieval British parliamentary system and the French three-tier parliament, and even the ancient Greek democratic tradition.

The Renaissance set off a boom in the study of democracy and culture in ancient Greece. Athenian democracy, democratic thought, and related writings appeared in large numbers, forming a powerful trend of democratic studies together with the democratic thinking of the Middle Ages, which not only influenced the thinking of the people at that time but also had a great impact on the future generations, and has never ceased to exist.