Researched
Democracy in Athens
Cleisthenes' reforms make the assembly the center of power; for the first time, citizens decide laws directly.
Open in the interactive tree →Only adult free men of Athenian descent could vote (roughly 10-20% of residents); women, slaves and immigrants were excluded. Sortition, popular courts and ostracism limited the concentration of power. The model echoes through the Roman Republic, the Enlightenment and modern constitutions.
Prerequisites
- Codified Law~1754 BC
- Philosophy~585 BC
Unlocks
More in Society, Economy & Law · Antiquity
- State & Administration~3000 BC
- Codified Law~1754 BC
- Money~600 BC