compelling is that it was here that true democracy is understood to have originated, and it is to this era that modern political theorists trace the democratic heritage so essential to the Western tradition. In many respects, the continuing pride of Western Civilization is itself a nod to the example of Ancient Greece as it was encapsulated in the Athens of Pericles, and the players during this era are the quintessential forebears for modern political theorists.
Indeed, the very notion that a democratic society may be founded upon, or contingent upon, a slave class is philosophically incongruent. By definition, the existence of slavery must be an anathema to any and all democratic sensibilities. A state "of the people, by the people, and for the people" cannot in any part be comprised of slaves and also be considered democratic. History, of course, has done little to bear out this theoretical truism, as many subsequent prima facie democratic societies have taken no pains to conceal, much less abolish, a dependence upon slave labor.
The Athens of Pericles was no different. It is not prudent to ask whether a true democracy can exist upon a foundation comprised largely of slaves, for clearly the answer to this question will be a resounding "NO". Even in the modern age, the most "democratic" societies can provide little defense against barbs from the proponents of "true" or "pure" democratic practice, as the modern nation-state is simply too large to bear the hallmark of inclusion that democracy demands. To ask whether Periclean democracy was actually democratic given its enormous slave population would therefore be wasteful. The prudent question concerns whether or not democracy in the Periclean sense could have possibly existed without slavery. Given the above, it is not surprising that the answer to this question is likewise a resounding "NO". The reasons for this answer, however, are more manifold and complex.