For Democracy

I recently took a trip to Athens. The trip was made possible thanks to some frequent flyer miles and a hotels.com coupon (http://www.prlog.org/11996370-green-smoke-coupon-code-latest-working-coupons.html), but while I was visiting Athens I was intrigued by the history. One of the most intriguing things to me was learning that democracy may have had its roots in ancient Greece.

Democracy is a political system that is set up to give every member of society (http://www.prlog.org/11996509-checks-unlimited-offer-code-50-off-coupon.html) an equal say in the people chosen to represent them. Having the right to vote and choosing our leaders is what democracy is all about.

It is generally agreed upon that the concept of democracy (http://www.prlog.org/11996518-bh-cosmetics-coupon-codes-save-30.html) were created in Athens Greece in approximately 508 BC. However, there is evidence to suggest that democratic forms of government may have existed in a number of different areas around the world before that.

Thorkild Jacobsen, who was a renowned historian that specialized in Assyriology and Sumerian literature, claims that a primitive form of democracy may have existed in ancient Mesopotamia. However, other scholars (http://www.prlog.org/11996524-lifelock-promo-code-20-off-coupon.html) argue about his use of the word democracy because the evidence can be interpreted to demonstrate a struggle of power between monarchs and nobility of the time.

Sanghas and Ganas were independent republics of India that existed as early as the sixth century BCE where a form of democracy may have existed. There is not much evidence but Gana seems to have had a monarch while also having a deliberative assembly. The assembly (http://www.prlog.org/11996528-sittercity-promo-code-25-off-coupon.html) would meet on a regular basis and discuss all of the major decisions being made by the state. The way these early governments ran is very vague and there's not much evidence so it is still unclear whether true democracies existed at this time.

In ancient Greece there was a collection of independent city states known as poleis (http://www.prlog.org/11998277-tigerdirect-coupon-code-20-off.html). A lot of the poleis were oligarchies which is a form of government where all of the power lies within a dominant class, it is a government led by a small group of people. The government of Sparta at that time bore a strong resemblance to democracy. The Spartan government split the political power between four separate bodies. There were two Spartan Kings as well as representatives who oversaw the Kings and an assembly of Spartans known as the apella.

Many experts still argue over the true origins of democracy and it is impossible for me to sum up thousands of years of history on one page. However, the subject is something I am fascinated by and I intend to keep digging to find more information on the subject.