Question
Who could vote in the first democracy?
Answers
GPT-4o mini
In the first democracy, which is often recognized as ancient Athens around the 5th century BCE, voting was limited to a specific group of individuals. Only free male citizens of Athens who had completed their military training could participate in the democratic process. This meant that the following groups were excluded from voting:
1. **Women**: Athenian women did not have the right to vote or participate in politics.
2. **Slaves**: Slavery was a common institution in Athens, and enslaved individuals had no political rights.
3. **Foreigners**: While many foreigners lived in Athens, they were not considered citizens and could not vote.
4. **Metics**: Resident aliens (metics) who were free but not Athenian citizens also lacked voting rights.
Citizenship in Athens was typically granted only to those whose parents were both Athenian citizens. This means that voting in the Athenian democracy was primarily limited to a small segment of the population, estimated to be around 10-20% of the total population of the city.
1. **Women**: Athenian women did not have the right to vote or participate in politics.
2. **Slaves**: Slavery was a common institution in Athens, and enslaved individuals had no political rights.
3. **Foreigners**: While many foreigners lived in Athens, they were not considered citizens and could not vote.
4. **Metics**: Resident aliens (metics) who were free but not Athenian citizens also lacked voting rights.
Citizenship in Athens was typically granted only to those whose parents were both Athenian citizens. This means that voting in the Athenian democracy was primarily limited to a small segment of the population, estimated to be around 10-20% of the total population of the city.