Cleisthenes, father of democracy.



The term “democracy” first appeared in Ancient Greece to express the system of government in Athens. 

This word was derived from the terms “demos”, meaning “people” and “kratos”, meaning “power and governance”, and thus the Athenians use the term “democracy” to express what is known as “people rule.

” Meanwhile, the Athenian democracy reached its golden age during the era of the politician and Pericles, between 460 and 429 B.C., where the latter was distinguished by his support for freedom of expression.

Simultaneously, the Athenian democratic system — which most historians describe as the first democracy in human history — has been defined by many shortcomings, most notably the exclusion of women and slaves from political participation.

The first to lay the foundations of Athenian democracy is Solon, an Athenian legislator and legislator from the seventh century to the sixth century BC. 

The latter succeeded in establishing a set of laws that rid Athens of internal conflicts and saved it from the specter of civil war. 

Solon began his legislation by issuing a general amnesty and allowing many exiles to return and obtain their full rights in an effort to erase the bad memories of Athens in the past.

He freed individuals who had become slaves because of their inability to pay their debts, and introduced a law that prohibited enslavement because of their inability to pay their debts.

In addition to all this, the Solon Society was divided into four classes, according to income and tax laws, and was set up a council known as the Council of Four A Hundred, whose members are elected by the four tribes in Athens.

The council was entrusted with preparing projects before they are approved. Solon also established what was known as the jury, whose members were chosen by lot from all classes to look into various issues and disputes except murders.

Meanwhile, the politician and lawmaker Cleisthenes, born around 570 B.C., is known as the father of democracy, as he succeeded in overthrowing Athens and establishing a democratic system.

During that period, and like most Greek cities, Athens was characterized by its unique rule.

The ruler was a powerful statesman known as a tyrant, perhaps the most prominent of whom was a good man, known as Athena, during his reign. 

With the death of Hippias and Hipparchus around 527 B.C., his two sons,Hippias, and Hipparchus, joined the government. 

With the death of Hipparchus, Hipparchus took the stand alone to witness many crises, as the latter did not hesitate to execute and exile many Athenians accused of opposing his decisions.


Concurrently, Cleisthenes, who was in exile, organized a coup to overthrow Hippias. To achieve his goal, the father of democracy went to seek the assistance of a foreign party and to incite him to invade Athens.

The foreign side was only Sparta, whose people were so deeply condemned that Cleisthenes took bribes to the priests of the Temple of Delphi to offer false prophecies to the officials of Sparta and to call for the invasion of Athens and the liberation of Athens from Hippias.

Around 510 B.C., armies of Sparta rolled over Athens and forced Hippias to flee. Athens experienced a political crisis, with Cleisthenes supporters moving to demand democracy, while others pushed for the idea of governing the rich. 

With the victory of the Cleisthenes , Messendo's plutocrats did not hesitate to use Sparta again, which once again invaded Athens to expel the father of democracy with 700 families from the city and install Isagoras as governor.

The exile of  Cleisthenes was short-lived. He returned to Athens after a massive popular revolt that ended the rule of the rich and excluded the soldiers of Sparta from the city. 

Coinciding with the return of Cleisthenes, the Athenians released all the soldiers of Sparta who were trapped inside the city to avoid the danger of falling into a full war. 

In return, hundreds of those who supported Isaguirus's rule and used Sparta were executed.

Accordingly, Cleisthenes put an end to his opponents, following which Athens would witness the beginning of the democratic era.

In the following period, Cleisthenes put forward a series of new resolutions that consecrated democratic governance. 

The region was reorganized, and the council that Solon had put in place was expanded to include its members, who could be chosen by popular vote. 

Moreover, democracy changed the four tribes system, which was based primarily on blood, to be replaced by a new system that included a larger number of groups, whose members were randomly selected by place of residence.

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