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The largest and most famous polis was Athens. People in Athens loved freedom and decided to try a new kind of government called a democracy. This name came from the word for people, demos, and the word for power, kratos. Athenians believed that every citizen should have a voice in how to be governed and what laws he had to obey. In fact, they believed it was his duty to participate in the government. However, only free men (over 18) who were born in Athens could be citizens. Women, slaves, and foreigners had no say in how things were run. All Athenian citizens became members of the Assembly. They were expected to go to meetings regularly or they would be charged a fine. The Assembly met once a month, outdoors. At the meetings, citizens listened to many speeches. If the speakers were boring or made a mistake, the crowd would boo and hiss and the speaker would have to pay a fine! The Assembly was the part of the government that had the power to make laws and set taxes. Citizens voted by raising their hand, and decisions were always made by majority rule. Another part of the government was the Council. Any citizen could propose a law or ask to speak to the Assembly, but they had to get permission from the Council first. Since there were thousands of

people in the Assembly, the Council helped to organize meetings in advance so everything would run smoothly. Their main roles were to set the agenda for Assembly meetings and handle day-to-day business for Athens. The Council was made of 500 citizens whose names were chosen randomly. They served for one year, and were paid for their work. Athens did not have lawyers or judges, but there was a court system. Each year 6,000 volunteers were chosen to serve on juries. Many poor citizens were happy to have this government job because like the Councilors, jurors were paid. Juries had at least 201 members, but for more important cases there could be as many as 1,001. Jurors listened to the plaintiff and defendant briefly tell their stories. Then they voted by placing pebbles into one of two pots: guilty or innocent. The only people in the Athenian government who were not randomly chosen were the generals. Ten generals were elected each year, with the most skilled chosen the Commander in Chief. The generals were in charge of using the army and navy to defend Athens. However, the generals had to obey the Assembly. If the Assembly voted to go to war the generals had to fight, even if they thought it was a bad idea. Generals who lost too many battles could be fined.