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Pericles was the leader of Athens for thirty years. He was not a monarch or despot. The people of Athens elected him year after year. He declared that Athens was a democracy. In Athens, power was “in the hands of many rather than the few.” Pericles was correct about saying that Athens was a democracy at that time. Compared to other ancient governments, Athens was democratic, but it does not seem that way today. When he spoke of government by the people, he should have said government by the citizens. Citizens had more rights in Greeks cities than any of the others. They could do almost anything they wanted to do. They could own property, take part in politics and the law. Most of the men in Greece were citizens, but women, slaves, and foreigners could not be. In Sparta only rich men were citizens. Citizenship was like a family. It depended on birth. Only children of citizens could be citizens themselves. Children that lived in Athens all of their lives were not citizens if their parents came from other places. Athens seems undemocratic to us because women had no voice in government. Slaves were normally captured prisoners of wars. They were sold to people and whoever bought them owned them. Some slaves lived good lives with their owners. Others lived in terrible conditions or toiled in mines until death. Unlike slaves in America, slaves in Greece got paid and if they saved their money they might be able to buy their own freedom. Peloponnesian War
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