Die athenische Demokratie

In ancient Athens, democracy took shape as both an idea and a form of government. Angela Pabst demonstrates in her concise and accessible introduction that the study of this oldest precursor to our modern constitution is still relevant today. She brings to life not only the Athenian democracy—its political structures, offices, and laws—in their significance for the present, but also clarifies that it held a completely exceptional position among other forms of rule about two and a half millennia ago. The questions of why Athens pursued such a unique path and what consequences this had for the societal status of men and women lead to many surprising yet well-founded answers. Thus, the reader gains not only a detailed insight into the early development of democracy but also into the political everyday life and social reality of one of the most significant cities of antiquity.