Roughly 2,500 years ago, the elite classes of Athens gradually ceded power to the inexperienced masses, thus establishing a radical democracy in which power derived from the votes of everyday citizens. The sequence of events that led to this development is astonishing, and the society that flourished under Athenian democracy is one of the greatest-even if greatly flawed-achievements in world history.
Today, when the foundations of our own democracy are under greater and greater scrutiny, the Athenian experiment in citizen rule offers a powerful object lesson in national politics. How did the Athenian system of democracy work? What were its strengths and weaknesses? And how does it compare to democracy in our world today?
Find out in Athenian Democracy: An Experiment for the Ages. In these 24 engaging lectures, Professor Robert Garland of Colgate University unpacks the development of Athenian democracy, going inside the assemblies and courts to reveal how democracy worked-and where it came up short.
You may be familiar with the broad strokes of Athenian history, but Professor Garland's unique lens offers a wealth of insights into everything from taxation and welfare to military structure and strategy. Discover what life was like for the people living in the democracy, from the "demos" citizen body of freeborn males, to the women, immigrants, and slaves who were not eligible to participate. Unprecedented, flawed, relevant to our time, and captivating in its own right, the story of Athenian democracy truly is one for the history books.
All Lectures: 1. Why Athenian Democracy Matters 2. The Origins of Greek Democracy 3. Solon: The Father of Democracy? 4. Cleisthenes the Innovator 5. The Nearly Bloodless Coup 6. Democracy at War 7. The Popular Assembly 8. The Council and the Magistrates 9. The Citizens of Athens 10. "The Empire You Hold Is a Tyranny" 11. The Age of Pericles 12. Public Speaking in Athens 13. Pericles's Funeral Speech 14. Democracy under Duress 15. The Culture of Athenian Democracy 16. Political Leadership in Athens 17. The Brutality of Athenian Democracy 18. Athenian Defeat in Sicily 19. Suspension, Restoration, and Termination 20. The Democratic Theater 21. Law and Order under Democracy 22. Ancient Critics of Athenian Democracy 23. Post-Athenian Democracies 24. Democracy Today, Democracy Tomorrow
