CLEISTHENES_

Picture a man famous for being invisible. A nobleman of ancient Greece remembered for being forgotten, for turning the power of antiquiy's "beautiful people," the aristocrats, over to the faceless masses. He is said to be the founder of democracy as we know it. The contributions of his more famous predecessor, the Greek statesman Solon, often are celebrated. Cleisthenes, sometimes spelled Kleisthenes, mostly has been ignored.

Born around 570 B.C. into the rich and noble Alcmaeonid clan, in Athens, he reformed traditional Athenian goverment, controlled by rulling tribes, into the first government "of the people" (the demos). He broadened the tribal Council into a larger assembly and, for the first time, established a one-man-one-vote system. He also divided the countryside into equal-sized "trittyes," similar to modern day districts, as a way of diffusing the power of regional tribal factions.

"The aristocracy was very disatisfied with him. He was really fighting against all odds and suceeded with the help of the people themselves."

Jim McGlew, a professor of classical studies at Iowa State University and a specialist in ancient Greek democracy, author of "Tranny and Political Culture in Ancient Greece." Cleisthenes' fundamental aim was to deny his personal existence. He taught people that through their interconnections and daily lives, and who they were, that they were really the demos, which is where democracy comes from,"

PBS_documentary "THE GREEKS: Crucible of Civilization,"

www.pbs.org/empires/thegreeks