The political system of ancient Athens differs from the political system of the US today in that Ancient Athens had a direct democracy, while the United States has a representative democracy. In a direct democracy every citizen votes on every decision that is made, while in a representative democracy every citizen votes to elect public officers, that will represent them in making decisions on how to run the country.
During the Golden Age of Athens a tribute was a tax paid to the empire. The word continued to be used, for instance in Latin America most people needed to pay a tribute to the Spanish crown.
