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11.6. Democracy in ancient Athens and today.

In the 5th century BC, in Athens, a democratic system was established based on the participation of citizens in governing the city:

  • In the Council, (Boulé) 500 citizens, designed by lottery, prepared the laws.

  • In the Assembly (Ecclesia) the citizens voted for laws and elected their leaders (Magistrates: Strategists, Archons and Treasurers).

  • The members of the Courts (Helie) imparted justice and judged crimes. They were designed by lottery.

However, Athenian democracy was limited, as not all the citizens had the same rights. What does it mean?

Is our current democratic system the same as the one that ancient Greeks developed? Find out!

This time you have to draw up a table in which you compare the ancient democratic system and the one we have today in Spain. Pages 202 and 203 from the textbook and the following video will help you to organize your ideas.

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