The ancient Athenians played a role in how the United States government was established. Its laws and government served as models for countries in the modern world. For example, the idea of two legislative bodies reflects influence from ancient Greece. Use your knowledge of the role played by Ancient Athens on how the United States government was established to complete the missing boxes on your third chart.

Athenian Government

Athenian Concept

American Democracy

American Democracy Concept

The Archon

Athens set 30 years as the minimum age to be an archon

The President

The United States set 35 years as the minimum age to be president.

The Council of 500

The lower house legislature of France under the Constitution

The Constitution

The U.S. Senate has two people to represent each state.

Athenian House



House of Representatives

The Constitution gave Congress the power to determine the size of the House and to divide representation according to state population. States with large populations have more representatives than small states.

The Law and Courts



Supreme court

The U.S. uses judges and juries. The U.S. has 12 jurors per case.



Every citizen had to vote on every issue. Decisions were made based on a consensus from the majority of voters.

Representative/Indirect Democracy

When citizens elect people to vote for them.

Citizenship limited





Over the years, the laws have been changed to allow citizens who were non-landowners, former slaves, Native Americans, and women to vote. In 1965, the Voting Rights Act was passed to support minorities and remove the literacy requirements for voting.

Focus Question: How important of a role did the ideas from ancient Greek civilizations play in the development of the American political process?