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Athenian democracy

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An ancient Greek relief from around 336 BC showing the personified spirit of the people (Demos) being crowned by Democracy, located in the Ancient Agora Museum in Athens.

Ancient Athens and Democracy

Athens was a busy city in Greece a long time ago. People there tried something new: letting many people help make rules. This idea is called democracy.

Only grown-up men who were free could help make laws in Athens. Leaders like Solon, Cleisthenes, and Pericles helped shape this way of living together.

The word "democracy" means "people power." It comes from two old words: dêmos, meaning "people," and krátos, meaning "power."

Even though not everyone could join, Athens is remembered for trying to let people have a say in their town’s rules. This idea inspired many places around the world much later.

Images

A historical painting depicting Pericles delivering his famous Funeral Oration, an important moment in Ancient Greek history.
Diagram showing the political organization of Athens in the 4th century BC
An ancient Greek papyrus manuscript containing the text of Aristotle's Constitution of Athens, providing a glimpse into historical writing from around AD 100.
A historical site in Athens known as the Pnyx, where ancient citizens gathered.
A marble bust of Pericles, an important ancient Athenian leader, displayed in the Pio Clementino Museum.

Related articles

Classical Athens
Solon

This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on Athenian democracy, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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