Understanding Citizenship: From Ancient Greece to Rome

Source of Citizenship: A Common Definition

According to the definition of citizenship, citizenship seems to have these features:

• Members of a community that reside on a permanent basis in a territory.
• Enjoyment of rights that must be protected by the city or state, is the opportunity to participate in the work of the community's government policy directly or indirectly.

Citizenship in Greco-Roman Antiquity

In Roman law, the term civis was reserved for members of the community: men, not slaves, of age, born to Roman parents, etc. Women, slaves, foreigners, etc. were not considered citizens and had fewer rights. In Greece, the recognized political term used to refer to the citizen was a member of the political community that met the requirements. In some Greek cities, the citizens came to be very active because they could actively participate in the government of the polis of the city-state and democracy. Through Greece and Rome, the citizen was someone who was recognized by a corpus of rights and duties and stressed in particular the duty to defend the city, wielding weapons if necessary.

Citizenship in Greek Democracy: The Political Tradition

Being a citizen meant, above all, to participate actively in politics. It was a responsibility to come to the House and take part in public debates about the problems of the city. The meetings were held 40 times a year in the agora. Most public offices were assigned by lot, to be exercised for a year. To encourage the participation of poor citizens, various financial incentives were established that paid attendance at the Assembly and the performance of the charges. The minimum age for admission as a citizen was 30 years. For the Greek citizen, it was primarily dealing with public issues and doing so through deliberation by an open discussion in which arguments are exchanged, reasons and opinions together to reach agreement on what should be done in each case. This was complemented by the participation in the Assembly. Voting was governed by three principles:

• Isonomy or equality before the law: Every citizen had the same basic rights and duties as any other.
• Isegoria or equal word: Every citizen had the same right as any other to make use of the word and express their views before the Assembly.
• Koinonia or community cooperation to achieve the public good: The good of all rather than focusing on the particular good, distinguished between the particular and common.

Citizenship in Ancient Rome: The Legal Tradition

Citizenship was the legal recognition of some people as full members of the Republic and later the Empire. The citizen was one who enjoyed the legal protection afforded by laws and institutions. As Gaius said, the citizen is one who acts under the law and expects the protection of the law throughout the entire empire. The Greek citizen was an active subject who is held accountable for governance while in Rome it is best understood as a legal title that can claim certain rights.