Greek democracy
Ancient citizen rule
Greek democracy refers to the political system that emerged in ancient Athens around the 5th century BCE, where citizens participated directly in governance rather than through elected representatives.
Unlike modern representative democracy, Greek democracy involved citizens voting on laws and policies themselves in assembly.
The term often appears in discussions contrasting direct and representative systems: The town meeting is the closest thing we have to Greek democracy.
- ancient AthensGreek city-state, antiquity
- SocratesAncient Athenian questioning philosopher
- AthensGreece's capital city
- city stateAutonomous urban territory
- PlatoGreek philosopher, academy founder
Pericles · golden age · Solon · Aristotle · Parthenon · Agora · public debate · free speech · Justice · Freedom · voting rights · Mythology · Olympic Games · Federalism
Greek democracytyranny
Oppressive, absolute governance
autocracy · despotism · monarchy · oligarchy · dictatorship
Greek democracyrepresentative democracy
Governance through chosen delegates
parliamentary democracy · republican government · constitutional republic · modern democracy · liberal democracy
democracy, democrat, democratic, democratically, democratize, democratization, demos, demagogue, demagoguery