Question

government in athens
from the retirement of the persians in 479 bce until the outbreak of the peloponnesian war in 431 bce (athens vs. sparta), athens displayed a phenomenal vitality. this, in fact, was the athenian golden age, without parallel in the history of man.
the major strength and inspiration for this development was athens’ democratic form of government, the first true democracy in history. in the most precise and literal sense of the word, the athenians governed themselves....
the athenian assembly was open to all free male citizens of adult age, regardless of income or class. it met 40 times a year, usually at a place called the pnyx, a natural amphitheater on one of the hills west of the acropolis. in theory, any member of the assembly could speak about anything, providing he could command an audience. but for practical reasons, there was also an official agenda. this was prepared by a council composed of 500 men, 50 from each of the ten attic tribes. they were chosen by lot from a list of volunteers, all of them citizens over the age of 30.... council members were always paid for their services and served for a year. after an interval they might serve a second year, but they could never serve for more than two.
within the council was a smaller, inner council of 50 men, called the prytany, which met every day and in effect administered the government. the composition of the prytany changed 10 times a year, and its chairmanship, the chief executive position of athens, changed every day. in theory no one remained in power long enough to entrench himself. but in reality this opportunity was open to one class of men: the 10 generals of the armed forces who were elected directly from the assembly and served for a year’s term. a general could be elected any number of times. inevitably the generals played a large and sometimes continuing role in nonmilitary affairs.

Explanation:

The text is about the government of Athens, specifically its democratic structure, the Assembly, the Council, and the roles of various officials. This falls under the subfield of History (within Social Science) as it deals with the historical political system of Athens.

Answer:

History (Social Science)