ABSTRACT
We learn in school about the ancient Athenian mass assembly—the ecclesia. However, the assembly was not the defining feature of ancient Greek democracy. Many non-democratic Greek city-states, such as Sparta, also had such assemblies. But, unlike democratic city-states, such as Athens (and there were many other democracies throughout Greece—it’s just that Athens is the best known and well documented), Sparta’s agenda was controlled by an elite. Sortition was sacrosanct to the Greek democrats. Athenian magistrates, the courts (dikasterion), legislative panels (nomothetai) that passed new laws, and the administrative Council of Five Hundred (boule), which set the agenda, were all selected from among everyday citizens using this random lot procedure.
