Britannica Sources used in this answer

Who could participate in government in the Greek polis?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Dense crowd of people walking through the brightly lit Shibuya shopping district in Tokyo, Japan, surrounded by colorful store signs and billboards in Japanese and English. — city Crowds of people in Tokyo's Shibuya shopping district.

In the ancient Greek polis, participation in government was generally restricted to a specific subset of the population, though the degree of involvement varied depending on whether the city-state was a democracy, oligarchy, or another form of government.12

In the Athenian democratic model, which serves as the most well-documented example, political rights were limited to adult male citizens. Membership in the dēmos (the body of citizens) was hereditary, and by the 5th and 4th centuries BCE, it was restricted to males who were at least 18 or 20 years of age. These citizens were eligible to participate in the Ecclesia (the Assembly), where they could vote on policy and legislation.324

Participation was exclusive; a substantial portion of the population was systematically excluded from political life, including:
* Women: They were generally barred from political office and voting, though they could hold certain religious priesthoods.5
* Slaves: As noncitizens, they had no political rights.13
* Resident aliens (metics): Despite living and working in the city, they were excluded from the dēmos.36

Consequently, the governing body of citizens often represented only a small fraction—estimated at 10 to 15 percent—of the total population.32