Athens: Birth of Democracy | Full Documentary | NOVA | PBS

Archaeologists in Athens reconstruct how the first direct democracy actually worked, from the stone lottery slabs that picked citizens for office to the mass graves left by the tyranny it replaced. The hour is as clear about who was shut out, the enslaved and the women and the foreigners, as about what was invented.

Why it's free: Free on NOVA's own channel; GBH produced it for PBS and holds the copyright.