In 507 BC, Cleisthenes, the ruler of the city-state of Athens, introduced a new system of governance: democracy. Never before in history had any nation tried governance by the people on such a large, radical scale. However, while Ancient Athens may have laid the groundwork for future governments to institute true democracy, Athens was not a true democracy.
To understand how Athens was not a democracy, one must first understand the events leading up to the age of “Athenian Democracy.” The origins of the Athenian ‘democracy’ pre-date most written records. However, historians have through the use of texts such as Homer’s Odyssey and Iliad that “In the earliest history of the Greek world…