For nearly two centuries, Athens was a democracy, deciding most matters by popular vote. Hardly any text surviving from the time had a good word to say for this! I propose to explore how they got there, what the arrangements were (in theory and practice), and the views of various Athenians at the time such as Thucydides (unsuccessful general and historian), Aristophanes (comic dramatist), the 'Old Oligarch' (whatever he was), Alcibiades (general, probably blasphemer, and sometimes traitor), Plato and Aristotle (philosophers), and Pericles (general and in practice one-man ruler, who is our main source for a positive view). Unfortunately, we know little about the motivations of the creators of the democracy (apart from Solon). There will be a glance at Socrates, and also a summary of other systems (Corinth and Sparta). No knowledge of ancient Greek will be required.
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