Did the Athenians invent democracy?

Watch the short video below on Athenian democracy and how it relates to democracy today. 

In ancient Athens, citizens would gather together on a dusty hill called the Pynx. Here they would decide the city’s laws and who should sit on its ruling council. This was ‘democracy’ or ‘rule by the people’.

All 30 000 citizens were men. Women and slaves didn't get a say. A citizen could speak for the time it took water to run from one jar into another. When this water clock ran out, it was someone else’s turn.

A jury of 500 citizens decided if someone was guilty of law-breaking. Punishments included death. Citizens could also vote to get rid of people they disliked. Each man wrote a name on a broken bit of pottery called an ‘ostracon’. Anyone named more than 600 times got kicked out of the city.

Today, we also live in a democracy. Unlike in ancient Greece, women get to vote, too. Juries of 12 people decide if someone is guilty of a crime - we don’t use ostracons anymore!