Athens on the way to democracy: the VIII --V century BC. Gushchin V.R.

The monograph examines the process of the formation of Athenian democracy during the archaic and classical periods (VIII - mid -5th century BC). Questions about what Afinsky democracy is, when it arose and what role in its appearance certain social layers played, remain discussion for a long time. The book shows that one of the significant stimuli of the emergence of democracy is the struggle for power and influence within the layer of the aristocracy, in which the Athenian demos was often involved. In the process of this struggle, on the one hand, equal conditions were created for the "best" (Eunomia, Isonomia), and on the other hand, there was an expansion of the political rights of the common people. The result of these processes is a state system in which collegial political institutions play a significant role, primarily a national assembly who elected officials, and Helieya (People’s Court), which exercised control over the annually elected magistrates.