The birthplace of democracy...

After a morning at the Acropolis Museum, an airy and attractive museum that tracks Athens’ history and houses 5 of the original maidens from the Temple of Athena, we met up with Vicky our local tour guide for the afternoon. 

A history teacher and debate coach, Vicky passionately taught us about the dawn of democracy in Athens.  Our first stop was Pnyx Hill, a hidden treasure of Athens, to see the most beautiful views of the Acropolis. 

Pnyx is the central hill in Athens and beginning in the 5^th century became the gathering spot for all Athenian men (because “total equality” still did not extend to women) over the age of 20 years to come and discuss the issues and decisions of the city.  The hill actually went through 3 stages of development, to properly respect the Acropolis and Athena and also the growing number of participants.  To vote, the men each used broken pieces of pottery – either in white or black – to cast their decisions.

So serious were they about people participating in the democratic process, that they took several steps to ensure participation:

•        On each meeting day, they paid every man a day’s worth of wages so he wouldn’t lose out for showing up, and
•        Perhaps even more effective, they had men go around town with whips and paint, whipping any man who was caught missing.  The whips were covered in paint, leaving a lasting stain that showed a man to be unwilling to do his civic duty. Being considered an “idiot” was the highest form of shame in town, meaning to be uninformed and disengaged.

The Speaker's Pulpit

Although they viewed all men as equals and that everyone with a voice that should be heard, this did not extend to women.  Although Athena was pretty much the goddess of everything that made the city function, the Athenians enthusiastically saw women as second-class citizens, relegated to home tasks, disengaged from the economy and disallowed from attending city meetings and even most theatre performances, except for the tragedies as they instilled “important life lessons”.  Unsure exactly of why this class system existed, Vicky explained that Athena was born out of Zeus’ forehead and thus may have been seen as an output of a man, rather than as a woman leader in her own right.

Socrates/ Prison

In addition, democracy as it functioned did have some limitation.  For example, the freedom of religious thought.  Socrates, for example, was imprisoned and put to death as a result of wandering around the Agora (the local marketplace) and encouraging men to think critically and realistically about the Greek Gods and whether they might not be reality.  Ultimately, Socrates was put to death for his free thought.

Many also argue that their embrace of democracy is ultimately what led to Athens’ destruction – a critical vote sending limited financial resources to expand the Acropolis rather than fund their army. Perhaps women’s critical and practical thinking could have helped with that decision!