The thetes are later needed to row for the Athenian naval forces they are given the right to hold office, nearly 100 years following the reforms of Solon. In the mid-5th century, Pericles grants the Boule, or the Council of 500, and the Assembly true political power in Athens which placed power in the hands of the people. While rule by the many came to be, those whom compromised the many deserves further investigation. .
The direct nature of democracy in Athens inherently separates it from subsequent democracies. Except for a few cases, Athenians voters did not elect politicians to represent them but directly decided on the laws and policy the city-state would adopt. With direct democracy, the voter is guaranteed that his interests will influence policy making. With representative government, the representative can pledge that he will act in the interest of constituents but is not obligated to. Also, even if he/she does act in the interests of his constituents, the minority opinion will probably not be represented. None such occurs with direct democracy. The voter represents himself and is not influenced by constituents, political party, or re-election. In regard to the success of the system, Josiah Ober in his The Ideological Hegemony of the Masses comments, "Athens is an example of a direct democracy that achieved genuine, long-term, stable methods of decision making by the masses and that was not coopted by the growth of an internal ruling elite" (66). With direct democracy comes effective, uncorrupted representation, which is important in defining the nature of Athenian democracy. .
One of the strengths of Athenian democracy lies in the notion of equality before the law. Hansen's Democracy as an Ideology points out that equality did not extend to the economic and social sectors, and therefore equality was not a natural phenomenon. Men are not equal simply because they are all human.
