This volume contains three lectures on classical Athenian democracy between 500 and 399 BC. They deal with the dialectics of similarity and difference between ancient and modern democrats, and introduce new perspectives on the theory and practice of Athenian democracy. The first lecture is a study of when and how the first Athenian democracy emerged; the second deals with the fact that the most forceful opponents of Athenian democracy were themselves citizens of Athens; the third discusses how Athenian democracy rebounded after being overthrown twice within one decade, and how the democrats dealt with their critics and adversaries. German text.