The Athenian Democracy. A User’s Guide

Athenian democracy, with its emphasis on direct citizen participation and the practice of lottery-based selection, is often idealised as an innovative and counter-democratic model, offering alternatives to modern systems shaped by economic monopolies and global information networks. Ancient historians play a pivotal role in this discourse, not merely as observers but as active participants, tasked with providing historically informed insights to enhance public understanding. The reception of Athenian democracy has undergone significant evolution over centuries,adapting to meet the shifting needs of political ideologies and discourses. The article challenges the mythologization of iconic symbols such as Pericles’ FuneralOration and the kleroterion, emphasising the importance of contextualising thesewithin their true historical settings. Rather than a static or idealised system, Athenian democracy is better understood as a historically evolving process, comprising complex structures, procedures, and networks of social groupings that facilitated democratic engagement. It is in these elements—multiple, intersecting groups enabling collective governance—that Athenian democracy holds potential lessons for modern political systems.