Athenian Democracy Established

Cleisthenes' reform was less an outbreak of idealism than a redistricting scheme with radical consequences. By mixing coastal, inland and city demes into each new tribe, he cut the territorial base of aristocratic factions.

A Council of Five Hundred, chosen by lot, set the agenda for an assembly open to all adult male citizens — perhaps a fifth of the population. It was narrow by our standards and unprecedented by any before it.