Before the Persian Wars, Athens had a leader named Cleisthenes. He believed regular citizens, not just wealthy nobles or a king, should have a say in how the government worked.
Around 508 BCE, he began making changes that created an early form of democracy in Athens. Every adult male citizen was allowed to vote on laws, and ordinary people could hold public office. Taking part in the assembly, where citizens met to discuss the city’s business, was considered a duty.
The system Cleisthenes created is called a direct democracy, because all members of the assembly had an equal vote. A council would suggest a law, and people would make speeches for and against the proposed law. Then they would vote yes or no by a show of hands. If voters didn’t agree with a law, they could veto, or reject, it.
