Birth of Athenian Democracy

Under Pericles' leadership (~461–429 BCE), Athens entered its Golden Age. Citizens could directly vote on laws, serve on juries, and hold office — revolutionary stuff for the ancient world. Sure, 'citizens' excluded women, slaves, and foreigners, so it was mid by modern standards, but the concept of government by the people? That was a whole new operating system for humanity. Archaeological evidence from the Agora confirms the voting mechanisms.