Athens

Athens was a city of learning, beauty, and free speech. It became the world’s first democracy, where citizens voted on laws instead of kings giving orders. Voting was simple but clever — people dropped pebbles into jars to say “yes” or “no.” This way, every citizen’s voice was counted!

Athenians loved art, theater, and philosophy. They built marble temples, debated in open-air assemblies, and filled their city with music and ideas. The leader Pericles encouraged all Athenians to take part in public life and said, “We are lovers of the beautiful, yet simple in our tastes.”