Ancient Athenian democracy and rational thought
Channel: TheStoryOfUsHumans
Date: 2016-03-31

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This video contains a classroom summary of thought and democracy in Ancient Athens. Ancient Athenian democracy was more thorough than is that of today's republics. In Athens, the people were the government and judicial system. Each year, 3% of the male citizens were randomly selected to hold various offices. Each person served just once in his lifetime. About 40 times per year, the citizens met to decide -- by a show of hands -- every detail of the city's operations, including the construction of a building or the voyage of a vessel. To prepare for each meeting, a group of 500 citizens selected the issues on which the 5,000 citizens would vote.

Video from Athens is used to summarize the two textbooks

The Origins of Greek Thought, Jean-Pierre Vernant, 1982, Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York.

     The Classical Athenian Democracy, David Stockton, 1990 Oxford University Press, Ofxord.