We look to ancient Greece as the birthplace of democracy (power in the hands of the demos/people), which is fair, although it was the ancient Greek polis of Athens, rather than a consolidated panhellenic (all-Greek) effort, that developed democracy as a form of government. Not all ancient Greeks -- not even all people of Athens -- thought democracy was a good idea. Here are some of the major ancient Greek writers on the topic of democracy:

• Aristotle
• Thucydides
• Plato
• Aeschines
• Isocrates
• Herodotus
• Pseudo-Xenophon

1. Aristotle

In his Politics, Aristotle distinguishes between good and bad forms of ruling, whether it be rule by one (mon-archy), a few (olig-archy, arist-ocracy), or many (dem-ocracy).More »

2. Thucydides

Thucydides uses Pericles as a mouthpiece for his most famous passage on democracy. Pericles is delivering a funeral oration (recreated by Thucydides)during the Peloponnesian War. Thucydides supports Pericles, although his personal feelings towards democracy were less enthusiastic. Thucydides' Pericles says:

• Democracy allows men to advance because of merit instead of wealth or inherited class
• In a democracy, citizens behave lawfully while doing what they like without fear of prying eyes.
• In a democracy, there is equal justice for all in private disputes.

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3. Plato

In Plato's dialogue Protagoras, Socrates and the sophist Protagoras discuss whether or not a carpenter (tinker, tailer, sailor or passenger) can be virtuous enough to be a leader. As this is a typical Socratic dialogue, it is hard to see where it is heading. A point is made in this section, that it is impossible to impart political wisdom, yet everyone, no matter what his trade or level of poverty can participate equally in democracyMore »

4. Aeschines

According to Aeschines, an Athenian statesman, orator, and follower of Socrates, the defining characteristic of democracy is that it is rule by laws -- not rule by the people.More »

5. Isocrates

Isocrates, a famous Athenian orator and rhetorician, looks at how democratic societies tolerate evil.More »

6. Herodotus

Herodotus, the Greek historian known as the Father of History, describes a debate on the three government typesin which proponents of each type (monarchy, oligarchy, and democracy) tell what's right or wrong with democracy.More »

7. Pseudo-Xenophon

This is a puzzling treatise on the constitution of Athens, by "the Old Oligarch" or Pseudo-Xenophon in which bad legislation is described as the hallmark of a good democracy, and good legislation shows the forced imposition of the will of the more intelligent.More »