The Lasting Impact of Ancient Athenian Democracy

Athenian democracy was born in the 6th century B.C. (~510 B.C.)  in the famous Greek city-state of Athens.  A democracy is defined as a form of government that is ruled by the people, or by the assembly.  Greek democracy was a direct democracy—-meaning that all the Athenians voted on all of the laws. Although Athenian democracy would survive for only two centuries, its invention was one of ancient Greece's most significant and lasting contributions to the modern world. The Greek system of direct democracy paved the way for representative democracies across the globe. 

Athens' "first democracy," limited though it was, operated on two principles new in world history, namely that "we all know enough to decide how to govern our public life together, and that no one knows enough to take decisions away from us".  That system consisted of several features that became the foundation for people's efforts to create democratically self-governing communities, organizations, and nations.  The main values of Greek democracy were: freedom from tyranny, the rule of law, applied equally to all citizens, active debate, and general education designed to equip all citizens for social and political participation.  

The Pnyx was the official meeting place of the Athenian democratic assembly, which was also known as ekklesia. This is where most of the meetings and gatherings would take place. Sometime in the early 5th century, the meeting place was moved to a hill south and west of the Acropolis. This new meeting place came to be called "Pnyx" (derived from the Greek word meaning "tightly packed together". )

There were three major bodies of the government in the Athenians direct democracy which included: the Assembly, the Council of 500 and the Courts.  The Assembly (ἐκκλησία) was the regular opportunity for all male citizens of Athens to speak their minds and exercise their votes regarding the government of their city. It was the most central and most definitive institution of Athenian Democracy. Specific issues discussed in the assembly included organizing and maintaining food supplies, initiating legislation and political trials, deciding to send envoys, deciding whether or not to sign treaties, voting to raise or spend funds, and debating military matters.  The Assembly could also vote to ostracize any citizen from Athens who had become too powerful and dangerous for the polis. In Ancient Greece, any free, male Athenian citizen over the age of 20 could participate in the assembly. In fact, it was his duty or job to do so. 

The Council of 500, also known as the boule, represented the full-time government of Athens. It consisted of 500 citizens, 50 from each of the ten tribes, who served for one year. The Council could issue decrees on its own, regarding certain matters, but its main function was to prepare the agenda for meetings of the Assembly.

The representatives of the Council were not only elected by the Assembly, but they were also selected in a process called sortition 

The use of lot—or sortition—embodied the democratic principle of rotation. Athenians regarded elected office as an oligarchic or aristocratic institution because not everybody had an equal chance of occupying it. On the other hand, sortition allowed citizens to take turns ruling and being ruled.  Through most of the fourth and fifth centuries B.C. the state even paid office-holders so that ordinary citizens, otherwise constrained by economic need, could freely participate in politics. By some calculations, between one-third and one-half of all citizens in fourth-century-B.C. Athens could have been part of the council during their lives.  Institutionalizing the ancient principle of rotation in offices, would have uniquely modern benefits. First, it would ensure that decisions reflect the concerns of the average voter, who does not have to win over interest groups for campaign donations or the political support necessary for reelection. Secondly, it could ensure that women and minorities were represented at the table.

The Courts, or the Heliaea, was the supreme court of ancient Athens. 

The law courts (dikasteria) were composed of 6,000 jurors and a body of chief magistrates (archai) chosen annually by lot. There was a specially designed machine of colored tokens (kleroterion) to ensure those selected were chosen randomly, a process magistrates had to go through twice.  It was in the courts that laws made by the Assembly could be challenged and decisions were made regarding ostracism, naturalization, and remission of debt. 

Only free-born, adult male Athenian citizens who had completed their military training, ephebes, had the right to vote in Athens.

Slaves, women, freed slaves, and foreigners who lived in Athens were not permitted to vote. Therefore it’s important to remember that while we think of Greek democracy as equal and  representative, the democratic government in ancient Athens was effectively run by male Athenian upperclassmen.

It is fascinating to see the parallels between the Greek’s original concept of democratic government that was born over two thousand years ago and our modern form of democracy today. While many of its valuable principles have endured, citizens and leaders around the globe must continually strive to build honest, effective and truly representative forms of democracy.