Why did ancient Athens choose its leaders by lottery?

Athens picked most of its officials by lottery because its citizens believed that was what democracy meant. Elections, they thought, favoured the rich, the famous and anyone able to buy votes. A random draw ignored popularity and money: every eligible citizen had the same chance, so nobody could buy their way into office. Many Greek writers said it outright: choosing by lot is democratic, while elections are oligarchic, rule by the few.

The numbers are striking. About 1,100 Athenians held office each year, and only around 100 of them were elected. The rest, including the 500 members of the city council, were drawn by lot. Elections were kept for jobs where skill or wealth really mattered: the ten generals, and officials who handled large sums of money, partly because any stolen funds could be recovered from a rich man's estate.

To make the lottery fair, Athens built a machine. The kleroterion was a stone slab carved with rows of slots for citizens' name tokens, with a tube that released black and white dice. Each die chose or rejected a whole row of names at once.

The system had safeguards. Only male citizens over 30 could be drawn, those chosen were vetted, and each one had to account for his year in office. No office won by lot could be held twice, because the Athenians feared people building up power more than they feared amateurs. Not everyone was convinced: Socrates doubted that randomly chosen people had enough expertise. The idea lives on in today's juries and in citizens' assemblies chosen by lottery.