Athenian Polis

The Athenian Polis or Athenian Democracy (594BCE - 322BCE) refers to a network of citizen's assemblies spread out across the city of Athens where around a fifth of the population (as it excluded women, slaves, foreigners and the indebted) could participate in direct democracy. It is more accurate to refer to this as a dual power built in response to class struggle than a genuinely anarchist society.

History

Solon was appointed magistrate of Athens in order to maintain peace as class struggle intensified. He implemented reforms which laid the basis of the Polis which lasted for centuries. It was crushed briefly by Spartans in the Peloponnese War, but revolution led to its restoration again. It was crushed a hundred years later after Macedonians took the city and destroyed direct democracy in 322BCE.

Decision-Making

Athenian men gathered in assemblies called demes in order to collectively discuss and make decisions that affected the community as a whole. A confederal model was used as delegates managed each neighbourhood, scaling up the whole city.

Economy

Despite being a slave economy, there were very low taxes and little restrictions on ownership. People generously and voluntarily contributed money, resources and labor hours towards public projects that benefited everyone. However, it has been argued by Takis Fotopoulos that slavery ultimately led to the demise of Athens, creating an apathetic and unproductive population of slaves.

Environmental Protection

Athens struggled with soil erosion and deforestation due to an already delicate and thin mountainside plus overgrazing. However, the creation of a partial-direct-democracy allowed for environmentally-concerned citizens to convince other citizens to push for ecological restoration. Including the planting of grape gardens (viticulture) and orchards of fruit trees.

Culture

One serious flaw with Athenian culture was that it practiced slavery, was extremely patriarchal and enabled authoritarianism to emerge. Only adult male citizens with military training could vote; women, slaves, debtors, and all who lacked Athenian blood were excluded. At the very most, democracy involved less than a fifth of the population (40,000 people).

During the time that the Polis existed, Athens made extremely large strides in the area of culture, philosophy and science to the point that it is seen as the birthplace of Western Civilization and Western Philosophy by many. Some of the most major achievements include:

• The philosophy legends of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle.
• The rise of public speaking skills.
• The first developments in atomic theory.
• The first historians and economists.
• The development of the concepts of 'tragedy' and 'comedy' in theatre.
• The reconstruction of several major temples and the great Acropolis of Athens.
• The greatest sculptures and statues in the world at that time.
• The greatest military leaders of all time, Alexander the Great and Xenophon.