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Athenian Democracy

Type Object Region Athens Time c. -508–-322

A polis political system centered on the assembly, combining sortition and election with direct citizen participation;…

Timeline

  1. c. -508Acropolis of Athens · AthensCleisthenes abolished the four old tribes based on kinship, created ten territorial tribes, and established the Council of Five Hundred and the assembly, distributing public office through a combination of sortition and election, breaking the aristocracy's monopoly on politics.
  2. c. -461–-429Pnyx assembly ground · AthensDuring Pericles' leadership the assembly's power reached its peak; pay for public office allowed poorer citizens to participate in politics, while ostracism checked individual power, with democracy advancing alongside imperial expansion.

Sources