Page "Athenian democracy" Paragraph 64

On the other hand the empire was, more or less, defunct in the 4th century BC so it cannot be said that democracy was not viable without it.

Only then in fact was payment for assembly attendance, the central event of democracy ( Similarly for the period before the Persian wars, but for the very early democracy the sources are very meagre and it can be thought of as being in an embryonic state ).