"In modern democracy, who you are, and who your parents are, matters a lot in whether you are de facto eligible to hold office." The same as in Athens. Sure, y

"In modern democracy, who you are, and who your parents are, matters a lot in whether you are de facto eligible to hold office." The same as in Athens. Sure, you could throw your lot in, but... did you have the means to run for the office? Did you have supporters that "discouraged" other candidates from running? The Athenians in office I can currently recall all came from rich or influential families. (I may well be wrong - my recall is certainly extremely spotty. I'd love pointers if anybody knows of an analysis on Athenian officials & their backgrounds)