In ancient Greece, Athens was the leading city-state. Although Sparta’s military was arguably the strongest, Athens had been developing all aspects of civilization. Athens had a unique government, laws, and entertainment. However, the people of Athens would soon be tested when the great Persian Empire attempted to invade the Greek mainland. 

In 621 BC, a man named Draco established a new justice system for the city of Athens. Before Draco, the families of murder victims or other violent crimes took it upon themselves to punish the perpetrator. Draco understood that families would still want to enact vengeance upon the person who harmed their loved one, but wished to create an unified justice and trial system. To attempt to satisfy the families, particularly harsh and heinous punishments were implemented. Later in 594 BC, Solon reformed Draco’s laws and lessened the severity of punishments. He also canceled all public or private debts, freed debt slaves in Athens, and changed the criteria for political participation from ancestry to wealth. Before Solon, only individuals born into certain families had a say in the government, but it was changed so the rich or property owners also had representation. 

The government of Athens consisted of the Assembly, the Council of Five Hundred, the courts, and the magistrates. All male citizens were members of the Assembly. However the Council of Five Hundred and the courts were made up of random men chosen from the citizen body. The magistrates were the highest authority in Athens and were either elected or chosen officials. A common punishment issued by the Athenian people was ostracism. This was the practice of exiling a citizen for 10 years if 6,000 or more citizens wrote his name on a pottery shard. There did not have to be concrete evidence that this person committed any sort of crime, but if 6,000 Athenians wanted him gone, he would be banished.

Athens, like many others of its day, was a slave society. The enslaved were former POWs, criminals, victims of slave raids, or debt slaves, before Solon’s reforms. Because slaves usually did all the manual labor, labor of any sort was looked down upon in society. To labor with one’s hands was to degrade oneself to the level of a slave. Therefore, it was not acceptable for a citizen to labor. Similarly, trade and commerce were also held in contempt. Merchants were seen as untrustworthy liars and were generally scolded by the populus. 

A career in the military was praised and encouraged in Athens, though not forced like in Sparta. Athens’ military might was especially impressive in regards to their navy. During the Persian Wars, the Athenian navy bested the Persian navy on numerous occasions, establishing themselves as the preeminent naval power of their time. 

Athens was an influential civilization in many ways. From becoming the first democracy to expanding navy warfare, it’s hard to deny the city’s historical reputation. Although at one point being the leading Greek city-state, long wars with Persia and Sparta would soon weaken Athens, ending their golden age.