The Formation Process of the Democratic System in Ancient Greece

Ancient Greek civilization is the source of western civilization and the cradle of ancient democratic thought. The most precious legacy left by the "blue ocean civilization" in ancient Greece is the democratic system in Athens. In the era when the monarchy prevailed in human society, Athens implemented a democratic system of people's sovereignty and taking turns to govern, which had complex and profound social factors.

I. Physical geographical environment

The coastline of Athens in ancient Greece is fragmented, with narrow plains and mountains. The peninsula is divided into small areas by criss-crossing mountains. Many areas are isolated from each other and have no conditions for unified large-scale agricultural production. It is difficult to form a unified political center and establish a vast centralized country. So Athens formed a loose federal state based on city-state democracy.

Second, economic factors.

The special geographical environment with a small land and a large population made the ancient Greeks actively colonize and expand overseas and develop overseas trade by virtue of many favorable conditions of the seaport. The frequent commercial activities, developed economy and free commodity circulation environment in Greece are the economic reasons for the formation of the democratic system in Athens.

Third, ideological and cultural factors.

Colonial expansion promoted the development of commodity production and overseas trade in ancient Greece, which not only broadened the horizons of Greeks, but also enabled them to absorb advanced civilization achievements. The ancient Greeks accepted the idea of equality and mutual benefit earlier, and the wise men put forward the theme of "people" and investigated social problems with people as the center, which promoted the establishment of democracy in Athens.

Fourth, historical conditions.

The ancient Greeks believed that the polis meant absolute independence of the same blood type, region, politics and economy. This understanding strengthened the cohesion within the city-states and promoted the development of the city-states, but it also became the reason for the constant wars between the Greek city-states. War requires unity within the city-state. Democracy and freedom not only meet the requirements of commodity economy, but also meet the aspirations of the people. It has become an important means to mobilize people's unity, which is the historical reason for the formation of democracy in Athens.

Verb (abbreviation for verb) political situation

In Solon's reform, social classes were divided according to property, and Cleisthenes broke the blood standard by region. At the same time, he also established a 500-member parliament and a Committee of Ten Generals, which established the framework of the democratic system in ancient Greece. The democratic politics in ancient Greece was completed in political reforms again and again.

Generally speaking, when studying the causes of democracy in Athens, we should see the complex and comprehensive effects of a series of factors such as economy, politics, history, culture and natural geographical environment in Athens at that time. These factors are closely related and work together to form democracy in Athens. The natural geographical environment is the decisive factor in the formation of Athenian democracy, and the special mode of production in Athenian society is the fundamental reason for the formation of Athenian democracy.