Analyze Athenian direct democracy (Cleisthenes' reforms 508 BCE through the Periclean period and the end of the Classical Athenian democracy in 322 BCE) — its institutions (Assembly / Council of 500 / popular courts / ostracism) AND its citizenship-exclusion ratio (~10-13% per Mogens Herman Hansen 1991): only adult male citizens could vote; women, enslaved people (~25-30% of Attic population), metics (resident foreigners), and children were excluded
Exercise
Difficulty 3
~4 min
hist.g6.f.ex_50
Short Response
Prompt
What is the difference between DIRECT democracy (Athens) and REPRESENTATIVE democracy (US)?
How it's presented
mode
text
Answer criteria
type
rubric scored writing
rubric
3 stars: Athens = citizens voted directly in Assembly; US = citizens elect representatives who vote + specific reference to G5-Spring constitutional principles. 2 stars: definitions only. 1 star: one defined. 0: 0.
Hints
- Athens: direct citizen voting in Assembly.
- US: representatives elected by citizens vote on laws.
Misconceptions to watch
- Conflating direct and representative democracy
- Forgetting Athenian exclusion ratio (Lesson 14)