Athenian Democracy: An Experiment for the Ages

1 5 The Nearly Bloodless Coup According to Professor Garland, the conclusion of the Greco-Persian Wars in the early 5th century B.C. was Athens’ finest hour. Then came the truly astonishing reforms of 462 B.C., when Ephialtes and Pericles attacked the aristocratic Areopagus and instituted radical democracy – direct, participatory rule for all Athenian citizens, an unprecedented experiment.