Cleisthenes<span> (b. late 570s BCE) was an Athenian statesman who famously reformed the political structure and processes of </span>Athens<span> at the end of the 6th century BCE and, thereby, greatly increased the influence of ordinary citizens on everyday politics. Accordingly, he is credited with creating a celebrated system of democracy, which, over the following decades, would become ever more direct so that all citizens could actively and directly participate in government.</span>