After the Spartans helped the Athenians to expel the tyrant Hippias in 510 BC, the aristocrat Cleisthenes won the support of the people and in 508 or 507 BC reorganised the citizens of Athens into ten new tribes based on place of residence instead of kinship, with a new council of 500 members chosen by lot. Ostracism, by which citizens could vote to exile a dangerous politician for ten years, is traditionally linked to his reforms. These reforms gave power to the Assembly of all male citizens, and are the origin of Athenian democracy, which reached its peak under Pericles.
Before and after
- from c. 510 BCE to 323 BCEClassical Greece
- c. 510 BCEThe Roman Republic is founded
- from 509 BCE to 27 BCERoman Republic
- 509 BCEOrigins of Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus
- c. 509 BCECleisthenes lays the foundations of Athenian democracy
- 6th century BCEConstruction of Parthenon
- c. 500s BCEOrigins of Delhi
- 6th century BCEConstruction of Royal Road
- 6th century BCEConstruction of Bam Citadel
More in Wars, politics & history
- c. 3,101 BCENarmer unifies Egypt
- from c. 1,258 BCE to 1,180 BCETrojan War
- 147 BCERome destroys Carthage
- from 74 BCE to 72 BCEThe slave revolt of Spartacus
- 24 August 410 CEAlaric and the Visigoths sack Rome
- 451 CEAetius and Theodoric stop Attila at the Catalaunian Plains
The era
This moment belongs to the Ancient civilizations (3,200 BCE to 500 CE), writing, cities and empires. You can also browse everything in the 6th century BCE.