Democracy and theatre in Athens
In fifth-century BC Athens, citizens voted by a show of hands and watched plays together. Who could vote, and what did a theatre look like?
Why
At elections in Belgium all adult Belgians vote, men and women. Was it the same in the first democracy, in Athens?
No. In Athens in the fifth century BC only adult male citizens could vote. Women, enslaved people and foreigners living in the city could not. Yet the Athenians called their system δημοκρατία (dēmokratia): the rule of the people.
The same citizens sat together in the theatre, on the slope below the Acropolis, to watch tragedies and comedies. Theatre, scene, orchestra, democracy, politics: they are all Greek words we still use every day.
Opening Kaft Plus…
Kaft Plus
The rest of “Democracy and theatre in Athens” is in Kaft Plus
The learning path and the first 3 topics of Zuil are free. Kaft Plus opens every topic and exercise.
Already have Kaft Plus? The same button signs you in and brings you straight back.