The Radical Greek Idea: Democracy in Ancient Athens

A new, bold, radical idea emerged in ancient Athens in 508 BCE, the concept that the people could rule themselves. Democracy today is equated with good, just government, but in ancient Greece, it still had a lot to prove. The Athenians embraced democracy in its purest form: direct democracy in which each citizen participated in all the decisions of the state. They had no representatives; rather, they voted directly on all the laws and measures considered by the government. The question was:...