The democracy that developed in Athens had several unique characteristics and was run very differently than any democratic governments in the modern world.
Athenian Citizens
After Pericles’ citizenship law was accepted only children that were born to parents who were both citizens of Athens could become citizens themselves. Males who were citizens of Athens were able to participate in the democratic affairs once they reached the age of 30. The citizens of Athens were divided into various groups depending upon where they lived. Each family was part of a precinct and children that qualified as citizens could be enrolled in the precinct or demos, as it was called in Greek. Each precinct also belonged to a certain area that could be broke up into voting blocks, called tribes.
The Assembly
The assembly was composed of men over the age of 30 and met about three times a month. They made important decisions for Athens, such as whether or not ostracism was justified. Decisions made by the assembly were the final word. The assembly could be made up of as many as 6,000 men.
The Executive Council
The executive council, or boule, was in charge of preparing the agenda for the assembly. To make up the council 50 citizens from each area were chosen by lot each year. The executive council was also in charge of the everyday running of the state including finances, authority issues, and foreign relations among other things.
The Judicial System
Part of Athenian democracy was a court system with an appeals court and a body of jurors whose decision was final. A jury could consist of anywhere from 200 to 1000 men and trials were conducted under the supervision of magistrates. The juries were selected at the last minute from the 10 precincts, which helped to avoid bribery. Courts saw two types of cases: cases brought by a private party against another private party and public cases brought by a private party for the people of the state. Court cases ran similar to modern courts. Each party was allowed to speak for an equal length of time and then witnesses were called. Witnesses could not include women, children, and slaves. Then the jury would deliberate and vote using ballots (items placed in urns). Their decision of either conviction or acquittal was usually final.
Under this system Athenian citizens had an amazing amount of power. The power of the citizens was wielded through their speech and so the ability to speak well and persuade became highly valued. People who were very good at this skill were termed demagogues. These people could sway the people, just as highly skilled speakers can affect the government in various ways today.
