Ancient Greece and Rome laid the foundation for what would be the idea of democratic government in the future. Greece, in particular, championed the idea of parliamentary governments and “elected” representatives—which, in their case, was simply respected, trained elders and leaders of the people who debated in a congressional setting to decide on political and legal matters. This would lay the eventual foundation for democratic republics like the United States.

Ancient Rome, while it followed Caesar and officials who served in a patrilineal lineage, also had respected officials who served as advisors and counsel for the emperor. This would also help encourage future democratic systems but would also help lay the foundation for things like the president’s cabinet and other executive advisory groups.

Ancient Greece and Rome contributed quite a lot to the development of government, at least in the West. Athens--led by Solon, Cleisthenes, and Pericles--introduced the concept of limited democracy, which meant that more citizens (although not all) could participate in government than in older forms of government. However, not all Greek city-states followed Athens' lead; Sparta, for instance, had a monarchy, and other had oligarchies (rule by a small, elite group).

Rome's contribution to the development of government was the republic. Rome was originally a monarchy, but the monarchy was overthrown during the tyrannical reign of Tarquinius Superbus. Rome's republic featured two branches, divided by class: the Senate (upper class patricians) and the Assembly (lower class plebeians). This divided government was designed to prevent either the aristocrats or the common people from tyrannizing the other class. Like Athens' democracy, political agency in Rome was limited to free male citizens.

When the American founders sought to create their new government in the United States, they looked back to Greece and Rome for inspiration. Ultimately, they sought to fuse the best of the two systems into a democratic republic.