"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise therof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceabley to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances" - US Constitution, Amendment I, 1791
For full transcripts see:
Constitution: http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution.html
Bill of Rights: http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/bill_of_rights.html
The First Amendment expresses what many Americans consider to be the foremost rights of citizenship. Much like we still debate about what the scope of these freedoms should encompass, the ancients were often inconsistent or unsure of what speech or actions should be protected. However, the perspective of the ancient Athenians was based on a vastly different political and social structure.
The first chapter of "Free Speech and Democracy in Ancient Athens" (Saxonhouse, 2006) addresses these differences, pointing out that the American concept of free speech is built around the idea of a citizenry whose rights need to be protected from infringment by the government. The Athenian system however, with government positions being chosen by lot, meant that the citizens WERE the government and so they were more concerned with protecting free speech to ensure equality among citizens. These ideas are expressed by Saxonhouse as follows:
"The Athenians certainly understood and feared tyranny....but they, as citizens ruling over themselves, were not the tyrants they feared. The separation of the people and its government, so much a part of our language today....has no place in the political culture of the ancient Athenians"
"The modern individual possesses freedom of speech so that the government as his or her agent acts in the interest of the governed, so that those in authority do not misuse their power......The Athenian freedom of speech is the affirmation of the equality of participation and self-rule."
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