During the Bronze Age, the Greeks first emerged as Hellenes with a variety of cultures and languages ​​among them. Compared to the Greeks of Athens, the early Greeks found themselves dominated by wealthy classes who prohibited “…the poor from participating…” and “…limiting democracy to adult male citizens who held defined wealth…” (Pavlac 62). This dominance soon allowed wealthy people and well-connected families to maintain power. In contrast to the reality of equal political power that had been implemented in Athens, aristocrats in the Bronze Age were “warriors personified of privilege, who believed that their rule was granted by God” (Pavlac, 61). Although these Greek characteristics remained prevalent throughout much of Greece's Archaic Age, transformation would soon emerge as the polis of Athens became one of the most powerful cities of the classical era.