theater — and to architecture, engineering, and mathematics. Their genius in these last three areas is reflected directly in their democracy. The Democracy Circle they created is political architecture, building it is political engineering, and getting the proportions just right is political mathematics. Looking at the Democracy Circle this way, we can find numerical guides to help us build democracy circles of our own.
The total number of full citizens in the Athenian Democracy Circle was about 30,000, and the number of citizens who could meet in the Assembly at any one time was about 6,000. This is a ratio of 5:1. We need to take these numbers seriously since the Atheninan Democracy is our only model of real democracy. These numbers also deserve our attention because the Athenians are justly famous for their sense of proportion in all things — seen in their love for the good, the true, and the beautiful. Many believe the Parthenon, which still stands in ruins in Athens today, is the most perfect building ever made. This is partly because every aspect of it is built with a 9:4 ratio that makes the proportions
very pleasing to the eye. The Athenian Democracy worked well for almost two centuries. This is partly for good, practical reasons that are directly connected to the 5:1 ratio.
The Athenian Model shows us that the Democracy Circle and the Assembly which makes the laws cannot be, and should not be, the same size. To be an enduring sovereign democracy, the Democracy Circle must be small enough so that the people, each and all, can rule themselves, but the Democracy Circle must also be large enough to give the people a critical perspective on their own ruling decisions.
The 5:1 ratio made this possible. With the citizen population of Athens only five times larger than the Assembly, it was possible for this entire population to rotate through the Assembly many times a year and for each individual to be many times part of the ruling majority as it passed specific laws. At the same time, a citizen population five times larger than the capacity of the Assembly kept their ruling decisions open to question and change. The Athenian Democracy