“The Athenian Democracy” is the most important, the most studied, and the most relevant of the central themes in ancient Greek history. Distinguished researchers from successive generations have contributed—with articles, monographs, and compositions—so that our knowledge of Athenian democracy is abundant, diverse, and multifaceted.

This book presents a multifaceted and multilayered composition. It begins by comparing Athenian democracy with modern democracies. It highlights its economic and social conditions as well as its cultural sources. It recounts their emergence and evolution. It describes its institutions and practices. It explores the ideological and political contrasts between democratic and oligarchic systems.

It is concerned with its impacts on politics and culture. It assesses its achievements and weaknesses. It examines its position among ancient Greek democracies and the influence of Athenian democratic institutions and ideas on the formation of the new type of democracy.

Finally, it proposes the Athenian case as a response to the question of whether it is possible for democracies to exist today in pre-industrial and impoverished countries. The treatise combines scientific rigor with simplicity, as it consciously targets a broad spectrum of users: students and graduates of history, political science, law, sociology, archaeology, philology, as well as general readers of a higher educational level.