Democracy before democracy?

Was democracy invented by the Greeks to replace the anarchy and imperial ru le characteristic of earlier Near Eastern societies? Although what was expl icitly borrowed from antiquity by modern political thinkers looks Athenian, there was democracy before the polis. Egyptian and Mesopotamian politics r elied on public debate and detailed voting procedures; countless assemblies convened at the thresholds of public buildings or city gates; disputed tri als were submitted to superior courts; countervailing powers reminded leade rs that justice was their responsibility. This was not full democracy, but the Greek version was not perfect either. In this article, "archeopolitics" is used to contrast this efficient form of pluralistic regime ("hypodemocr acy") with truly egalitarian ones ("hyperdemocracies") and group interests' polyarchies.