<P> Aristotle, according to J.G.A. Pocock, suggested that ancient Greeks thought that being a citizen was a natural state . It was an elitist notion, according to Peter Riesenberg, in which small scale communities had generally similar ideas of how people should behave in society and what constituted appropriate conduct . Geoffrey Hosking described a possible Athenian logic leading to participatory democracy: </P> <P> If you've got a lot of soldiers of rather modest means, and you want them to enthusiastically participate in war, then you've got to have a political and economic system which doesn't allow too many of them to fall into debt, because debt ultimately means slavery, and slaves cannot fight in the army . And it needs a political system which gives them a say on matters that concern their lives . </P> <P> As a consequence, the original Athenian aristocratic constitution gradually became more inappropriate, and gave way to a more inclusive arrangement . In the early 6th century BCE, the reformer Solon canceled all existing land debts, and enabled free Athenian males to participate in the assembly or ecclesia . In addition, he encouraged foreign craftsmen, particularly skilled in pottery, to move to Athens and offered citizenship by naturalization as an incentive . </P> <P> Solon expected that aristocratic Athenians would continue running affairs but nevertheless citizens had a "political voice in the Assembly ." </P>

Who were initially given the rights of citizenship