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Athens
The people of Athens created a democracy: a government ruled by the people instead of a king. Every adult male born in Athens became a citizen and a member of the assembly. The assembly voted on how the polis was governed. To ensure equal opportunity for every citizen, Athens chose it’s leaders by lot rather than by holding elections. The elected officials served for one year. At the end of the year, the leaders were called before the assembly to account for their work. Not everyone participated in Athenian democracy. Athens
encouraged outsiders to move to their polis, but did not allow them to
vote. Women Athenian democracy was limited, but it gave some people
the opportunity to make decisions about how they were governed. Participation
in government by common people was a new idea that later became a model
for other governments. |
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Athens
was a polis on the southeastern part of the Greek mainland. The Athenian
people valued reading, writing, and music, subjects that the Spartans
scorned. Unlike Sparta, the leaders of Athens allowed the people born
in their polis to visit other places and learn new ideas.
could
own land, but could not actively participate in the assembly. The members
of the assembly accounted for only about one-sixteenth of the total population
of Athens. About one in four people were slaves. The slaves did most of
the work in the polis, making it possible for the members of the assembly
to spend more time on public affairs.