The Athenian democracy of the 5th and 4th centuries BC was a more radical and participatory system than any that survived antiquity, and its practical workings have been illuminated by both literary sources and the physical evidence of the agora excavations.

The most distinctive feature was direct participation rather than representation. Citizens (adult male Athenians of citizen parentage) voted directly on legislation and decrees in the Assembly (ekklesia), which met roughly 40 times a year on the Pnyx hill. Any citizen could speak; any citizen could propose legislation; decisions were by majority vote of those present.

The Council of 500 (boule) was selected by lot — one of the most radical features of the system — from the citizen body, 50 from each of the ten tribes. It prepared the agenda for the Assembly and handled routine administration. The principle of selection by lot (sortition) rather than election is worth dwelling on: it reflects a theory that any citizen was qualified for most civic functions, and that the differential between citizens should be minimized.

The jury courts (dikasteria) were similarly large (typically 201, 401, or 501 jurors) and decided by majority vote without professional judges. The logographers — professional speech-writers like Lysias and Demosthenes — wrote speeches for litigants to deliver themselves, which gives us an unusually direct window into Athenian legal culture. The system was susceptible to demagogy and to the systematic silencing of opponents through politically motivated prosecutions, but it also produced the remarkable culture of public argument that shaped Western political thought.