In Classical Athens the title of 'citizen' was the exclusive privilege of a limited number of free adult males. The Periclean law of 451 B.C. stipulates the requirement for citizenship: Athenian descent both on the father's and the mother's side (ex amphoin aston). This law has been interpreted by some scholars as a restriction on the numbers of the people acquiring the privileges of citizenship. Other scholars have seen it as a protective measure for the democratic system itself: an unchecked increase in citizen numbers would put the state at risk, since direct participation by all citizens is a principle of democracy.

Every Athenian citizen was registered on the deme roll of his father's deme, after it had been properly established that his mother was also of Athenian descent. (This latter fact was ascertained by checking the citizen status of the mother's father, since the mother herself, as a woman, had no civic rights). Thus registration on the deme roll was essential for certification as an Athenian citizen. But because the distinction between townsman and citizen was not a simple matter at Athens, the phratriai (brotherhoods) continued to play an important part in deciding who was (or was not) a legitimate citizen. Under special circumstances the Athenians were prepared to grant citizenship even to non-Athenians. For instance, during the critical phase of the Peloponnesian War, citizenship was granted to the men of Plataea, the aim being to put muscle into an existing alliance. And after the sea-battle of Arginousai, Athenian citizenship was granted to the men of Samos, and to a number of slaves in return for fighting alongside Athens.

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