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Rise Of Athenian Democracy Essay

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Democracy was comprised of different influential leaders that enforced and created new policies, or developed them further, causing a major upheaval in ancient Athens. Major leaders from many diverse backgrounds grew in prominent power to forever change the influence of their people. Democracy in Athens’s didn’t consist of just an evolutionary or revolutionary transformation alone, but a combination of both. Significant leaders consisted of Solon the law giver, tyrant Peisistratus, democrat Cleisthenes, Athenian statesmen Pericles and Cimon.
Prior to the build-up of democracy, Athenian government was ruled by an aristocratic council called the Areopagus. Soon to follow a man named Solon erected a new upheaval in political government to forever …show more content…
A tyrant named Pisistratus born with aristocratic influence, seized this power in 560 BC and changed Athens for a short period of time. Past reforms assembled by Solon were abrogated and Pisistratus ruled as he pleased, creating new policies that favoured the people. Before his protracted tyrannic rule he was exiled twice by aristocrats, but each time he returned to power. Pisistratus attained a large following and love from people especially the poor from his new policies by redistributing land of the rich to please the poor, maintained archonship that had very little power and created the first ever tax in Athens of 5%. People admired him because he encouraged sport, art, literature additionally improving the economy with exports and mining of the Larium. During his reign, the people endured a time of peace and prosperity, according to Herodotus his rule ‘…took over the power in Athens; yet he in no way deranged the existing magistracies or the ordinances but governed the city well and truly…’ His intentions seen were to extract power from the rich and transmission it to the poor while retaining harmony among the people. Pisistratus’s rule ended in 528 BC as a tyrant, but is remembered as a time of peace. Reforms created by him were no major change from former regime, but an evolution of its

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