Episode 33 – Democracy and Republic, Part 1

“He added the Athenian people, who had formally not been in the center of things, to his own party, changed the names of the tribes and increased their number.  He made ten tribal commanders instead of four and distributed demes into the tribes ten at a time.  Once he had got the people on his side he had the upper hand over his rivals.” – Herodotus on Cleisthenes

Darius enlisted Greek tyrants in his Scythian campaign, then extended Persia’s dominion to the foot of Mount Olympus.  Spartan intervention put an end to Hippias’ oppressive rule.  Inspired by Cleisthenes’ bold ideas, the Athenians rejected both tyranny and foreign domination, and restructured their polis into the world’s first democracy.

Series References and Further Reading:

https://audio.ancientworldpodcast.com/TOS_References.pdf

3 thoughts on “Episode 33 – Democracy and Republic, Part 1

  1. Hey, just started listening to the podcast a week ago and I am already in episode 16. This is amazing work, keep it up mate! Cheers from Turkey btw 🙂

  2. Thanks, glad you're enjoying it! I got the chance to visit Istanbul as part of one of Mike Duncan's "History of Rome" tours a couple years ago – loved it! My favorite piece of art (period!) is in the Istanbul Museum – the Alexander Sarcophagus. Hope I get to the chance to visit the rest of the country someday. Take care – Scott C.

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