The Beginning Of The Democracy

The reform of Clisthenes has an important history status in the development of the westdemocracy. My paper begins with the historical reasons of the reform, focuses on the variousmeasures of the reform and explains the influence of the reform from various aspects whichinclude political, economic, military and religious.The preface of the paper expounds the research objectives, the research methods and theresearch innovations, and also includes the relevant research fields of the domestic andforeign. Generally speaking, the proportion of the research on the reform of Clisthenes islittle at home. Although there are large proportions of the relevant research in foreign, everyfaction has different prejudice. My paper is based on the different factions, clears the originsof the democracy and explains the great reform from the justice perspective. Our purpose isto make people have the comprehensive understanding of the value of the Athens democracy.This reform is the inevitable result of the social and the political development at the sixthcentury B.C. Although the reform of Solon has influenced the Athens at that time, thecompleteness of the Solon reform makes the tyranny rejuvenation. The lives of the most stillwere in extremely poor, there was the serious polarization. The tyranny was overthrown in510BC. But the fiercely Party struggles broke out within the ruling group, the politicalstruggles of the elites gradually evolved into the struggles which between the demos and thenoble. The revolution ended in the people’s victory, Clisthenes supported the people in therevolution, this laid the mass foundation for the following reform.The reform of the tribe is the first measure, Clisthenes breaks down the dividingtraditional which based on the clan blood relations, with the regional division to replace.Trittyes system is the second measure, there are thirty trittyes in all. Every phyle includes thethree parts—the city, the costal and the inland. In the political field, the two measures enlargethe opportunity of the citizens participation in political. In the military field, the unity of thesoldiers and the people not only solves the problem of the army supply, but also makes themilitary strength. In the religious field, the common faith makes people more closely together,the Athens society grows into a real community. In economic field, the economy of the costaland the inland, the city and the country interact with each other.On the legislation, although we can’t regard the five hundreds council as a perfectlegislative body, the turning elections and set term limits for the office have the profound influence on the modern democracy. The five hundreds council sets agenda for the assembly,and finally reviews the decisions that come from the assembly. Although it has voting rights,has no final decision. On the practical level, assembly is a collection of the legislation, theadministration and the judiciary. This collection embodies the principle of equality, everycitizen regards the participation in politics as the rights and obligations. Butnon-professionalization makes the decisions of the assembly lack of rational. In the judicialaspect, the exile of that time is more standardized and legalized, whether the process ofjudgment or the means of exile, they are all moderate. But the Ostracism was abused later, theAthens democracy descend into the extreme democracy.The Athens democracy comes from the reform, the active ingredients give birth to theempire, the negative ingredients destroy the empire. We can’t completely negative the reformof Clisthenes.