Greek Democracy
Uploaded by Mack55_23 on Dec 14, 2000
After watching the videos on Greece and talking about their way of life, I have learned a lot about them. I found that what they did affects us greatly today. They have helped organize democracy to what it is today.
The Greek culture influences the democracy we have today. While watching the video I was amazed to find that they used voting so long before us. They would use rocks and by throwing them into a large pot they would vote. If they agreed with what was being voted on they would throw in a white rock. If they disagreed they would throw in a black rock.
Today in our American culture we vote very similar to what the Greeks did way back so long ago. Now days instead of rocks we use paper to record our vote. Then all the votes are added up and this helps determine the outcome. One difference is that now days the peoples votes don’t influence the outcome as much. Instead, at least for the president we go by electoral votes.
The Greeks law was quite different from ours now days. Back then in order to keep peace, the people wrote on rocks who they would like to see banished from the city. They would also throw these rocks into a pot and the person that came up the most would have to leave the city. Now days our law is much stricter and these people would be put in jail, or other punishments would be inflicted.
Another factor that was influenced by the Greeks was leadership. In Greece they had a figure similar to a king. He ruled the people and could do pretty much anything he wanted. There was a voting but other than that the people couldn’t control much. If they had a bad leader, they could overthrow him with enough votes. Today we have a president instead. He helps make decisions but everything he decides is voted on before becoming law. Similar to the Greeks our president can be overthrown with enough votes.
Overall the Greek society greatly influenced the democracy we have today. Many of the ideas haven’t changed much over the years. Without the Greeks influence our democracy may have been completely different.