Democracy
Understand democracy — the system of government by the people, born in ancient Athens and continually debated, adapted, and reinvented ever since.
Democracy — from the Greek demos (people) and kratos (power) — was first practiced in Athens beginning around 508 BCE. The Athenian version was direct democracy: citizens gathered in the assembly to vote on laws and policy personally, rather than through elected representatives. It was a radical experiment in an ancient world dominated by kings, tyrants, and aristocratic councils.
Athenian democracy was both more and less democratic than modern systems. More, because citizens voted directly on every major decision — war and peace, taxation, public works, criminal trials. Less, because citizenship was restricted to adult males born to Athenian parents. Women, enslaved people, and foreign residents were entirely excluded. At its peak, perhaps 30,000 to 40,000 men out of a total population of 250,000 to 300,000 held full political rights.
The Athenian experiment ended with Macedonian conquest in the late 4th century BCE, and democracy effectively disappeared as a form of government for over two thousand years. When it reemerged in the 18th century, it took a fundamentally different form — representative democracy, where citizens elect legislators rather than voting directly. The Athenian original remains a powerful reference point in debates about political participation, direct action, and the tension between popular sovereignty and expertise.