A photograph of Greek voting tokens; round clay disks with Greek writing/names inscribed on them.

Source: Athen Stoa Ostrakismos, Wikimedia

Athenian citizens voted using small tokens like these.

While it's true that Cleisthenes implemented democracy in Athens, it was a very different type of democracy from ours! In the United States, anyone who is born here is considered a citizen. In ancient Athens, the right to participate in the government was limited to certain groups of people.

To explore the idea of citizenship in Athens we are going to play a game by clicking the link below. In the game, it will be your job to round up citizens to participate in a governmental assembly. As you play, keep this question in mind: who is allowed to participate in Athenian government and who isn't?

This activity might not be viewable on your mobile device. Interactive exercise. Assistance may be required.Click here to round up the citizens!