Is democracy Greek-made?

Only adult male citizens could vote in ancient Greek democracy. Women, enslaved people, and foreign-born residents were excluded from political life. That left a minority of the population with power, but inside the Assembly, every citizen had an equal vote and the right to speak.

Direct. Citizens voted on laws, war, and policy themselves in the Assembly, which met around forty times a year on a hillside called the Pnyx, instead of electing representatives to decide for them. Usually, only a few thousand of the eligible men turned up to any single meeting.

Many officials were chosen by lot, not by election. The Council of 500, which ran daily government business and prepared the Assembly's agenda, was picked by lottery each year. Drawing names gave ordinary citizens an equal chance to serve and made it harder for a few powerful men to hold office.

Ostracism was a vote to exile a citizen from Athens for ten years. Voters scratched a name on a pottery shard, and the man with the most votes had to leave, provided enough people took part. It was meant to stop anyone from gaining tyrannical power, though rivals sometimes abused it.