Classical Athens and Rome sustained two of the longest-lived democracies in history. By their reckoning, each lasted at least 500 years. Yet each also ended, and the stories of their endings has much to say to another age when democratic institutions, and democratic cultures, feel imperiled. This session will describe the circumstances that led to the ends of democracy in Athens and Rome. Particular attention will be given to the role of legislatures and law, which they imagined as a bulwark of democratic rule but which appear also to have been instrumental in its failure. See more details on Humanitiesday website.