The term democracy comes from the Greek language and means "government of the people". (Democracy Building 2012) Democracy in Athens represents the events that led to modern democracies. Like our modern democracy, Athenian democracy was created as a reaction to the concentration and abuse of power by rulers. Philosophers defined the essential elements of democracy as separation of powers, fundamental civil rights, human rights, religious freedom, and separation of church and state. The most current definition of democracy is that of “government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or their elected agents in a free electoral system.” (Dictionary.com). American democracy was greatly influenced by Athenian democracy. The founding fathers of American democracy borrowed ideas from the Athenian way of governing. Currently, Americans live in a democracy very different from that of Athens and from what the founding fathers of American democracy imagined. While there are some commonalities between Athens and what our Founding Fathers intended, there are also major differences. The differences between modern American democracy, Athenian democracy, and what the Founding Fathers envisioned are the size of democracies, the eligibility of a citizen to participate in democracy, and how a citizen participated. Athens was known as a city/state. Athens was the size of a city in modern America and was made up of rural communities. There are varying estimates of the population of ancient Athens during the 4th century BC. There were approximately 250,000-300,000 people in Athens. Athe...... middle of paper ......k for large companies, a private individual or even the public. The goals and strategies are the same for all lobbyists. First of all, they must be very good at the art of persuasion, a pillar of their work. They understand how to influence politicians to vote on legislation in a way that benefits the interests they represent. In our American democracy, people who are not elected representatives determine the laws of our country. If we continue on this path, one day our democracy will also become extinct. We need to go back to the roots of democracy and remember what the true meaning is. Power to the people! Works Cited Author, Auster Lawrence (2007). View from the right. Retrieved from http://www.amnation.com/vfr/archives/023748.html Author, Dr. McDonald Michael (2013). Turnout rates in the 2012 general elections. Retrieved from http://elections.gmu.edu/Turnout_2012G.html.