Freedom of speech in a democracy

IT is common knowledge that democracy began in Athens, sometime around 500BC. The word “democracy” itself was derived from the Greek word “demos”, which means “people” and “kratos”, which means “power”.  “Democracy” is thus “power of the people”.

The ancient Athenians practised a form of democracy known as “direct democracy”. Citizens of the city-state were allowed to speak in the legislative assembly, and also to vote on laws and public business. However, women, foreigners and slaves were excluded from this process.