Professor Paul Cartledge explores the democracy in ancient Greece and the origins of the word, and how that distinguishes from today's notion of democracy http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/ten-things-you-really-should-know-about-ancient-greek-democracy
Myths abound about ancient Greek democracy - actually, there was no such thing. That is, there was no such one thing. Even Athens, which invented both the thing and the name, had at least three versions over a span of about 150 years. But although the ancient Greeks have given the world 'democracy', ancient Greek democracy was in several crucial and fundamental respects very different indeed from, if not opposite to, what passes for 'democracy' today.
The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/ten-things-you-really-should-know-about-ancient-greek-democracy
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