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Pericles and the Rule of the Many

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Pericles and the Rule of the Many

Source a famous Athenian speech and compare four ancient governments.

Who should rule?

Read the passage. Then read the source and answer the questions.

One, a Few, or Many

1People in the ancient world argued about a hard question: who should hold power? Greek writers often sorted governments by how many people ruled: one person, a few people, or many. Their labels are still used today.

2In a monarchy, one ruler holds power. In ancient Egypt, a pharaoh usually ruled for life and passed the throne to a son or another relative. Egyptians believed the pharaoh stood between the gods and the people, so ordinary Egyptians had no part in choosing him. Persia was also ruled by a king, who sent governors to run its many provinces.

3In an oligarchy, a small group holds power. In many Greek city-states, a few wealthy families made the important decisions. Sparta is often called an oligarchy, even though it had two kings. A council of 28 elders over age 60, together with the kings, prepared laws, and five officials called ephors, chosen each year, held great power. Spartan citizen men met in an assembly, but they mostly shouted to approve or reject what the leaders proposed.

4In Athens, a different idea took hold. After reforms around 508 BCE, Athens became a direct democracy. Citizens met on a hill called the Pnyx, debated, and voted on laws, taxes and war themselves, instead of electing others to vote for them. Many officials were chosen by lottery, and juries could have hundreds of members. However, only free adult men with Athenian parents were citizens. Women, enslaved people and foreigners living in Athens could not vote. Historians estimate that citizens were perhaps 10 to 20 percent of the people living in Athens and its countryside.

5Rome tried yet another system. In 509 BCE, according to Roman tradition, Romans drove out their last king and set up a republic. Citizens elected officials to govern for them. Two consuls led the government and the army for one year at a time, and either one could block the other. The Senate, made up mostly of wealthy former officials who served for life, advised the consuls and controlled public money. Assemblies of citizens voted on laws and elected officials, and tribunes elected by the plebeians, or common citizens, could veto actions that harmed plebeians.

About the source: In 431 BCE, Athens went to war with Sparta. That winter, the Athenian leader Pericles gave a speech at a public funeral for soldiers who had died in the war. The Athenian general and historian Thucydides later wrote the speech into his history of the war. He explained that exact words were hard to remember, so he gave the general sense of each speech. The excerpt below is adapted from an English translation.

Adapted from Pericles' Funeral Speech, as written by Thucydides

Our government does not copy our neighbors; instead, others copy us. It is called a democracy because power is in the hands of the many, not the few. In private disputes, every citizen is equal before the law. When we choose someone for public office, we look at ability, not at which class he comes from. No man is kept from serving the city because he is poor, if he has something to offer. We do not say that a man who takes no interest in public affairs minds his own business; we call him useless.

1.
Why should a historian be careful about treating the excerpt as Pericles' exact words?
Question 1 options
2.
Think about the audience and the occasion of the speech. How did they most likely shape what Pericles said?
Question 2 options
3.
Circle the sentence in which Pericles explains why the government of Athens is called a democracy.

4.
Pericles says power in Athens is "in the hands of the many." Which detail from paragraph 4 most complicates this claim?
Question 4 options
5.
Pericles says officials are chosen for ability, not class, and that being poor does not keep a man from serving. Which kind of government is he most clearly contrasting with Athens?
Question 5 options

Compare the governments

Use the passage and the source.

6.
Sort each description by the form of government it describes.
7.
In the made-up city of Thalos, all 6,000 citizens may come to a meeting, debate each new law, and then vote on it themselves. Which government from the passage is Thalos most like?
Question 7 options
8.
Which statement best describes a key difference between Athens and the Roman Republic?
Question 8 options
9.
Each worry below is about power. Draw a line from each worry to the feature in the passage that was meant to guard against it.
10.

In a , citizens elect officials to make decisions for them. In a , citizens vote on laws themselves.

11.
Claim: Athens gave more power to ordinary people than the Roman Republic did. Do you agree? State your claim, give at least two pieces of evidence from the passage or the source, and explain your reasoning.