To understand how democracy developed in ancient greece, you must examine the polis, which was the greek word for a. the greeks shared a language and culture, but each polis had a different government. in 509 bce, athens created a new set of rules that gave power to the people. the greeks called this government a. members of the council of 500 were chosen.

To understand how democracy developed in ancient Greece, you must examine the polis, which was the Greek word for a city-state. The Greeks shared a language and culture, but each polis had a different government. In 509 BCE, Athens created a new set of rules that gave power to the people. The Greeks called this government democracy. Members of the Council of 500 were chosen randomly.

basic principles: federalism, separation of powers, checks and balances, judicial review, representative democracy, limited government, rule of law, individual rights and responsibilities, consent of the governed, majority rule, popular sovereignty, equal protection.