I have read somewhere that the qualifications to be admitted to the Senate were extremely rigorous and required complete dedication and willingness to sacrifice personal objectives. My impression was that they had to serve lengthy apprenticeships, giving up personal wealth and many personal pleasures. Can anyone illuminate this for me? With the explanation that I wasn't positive about it, I mentioned this to a knowledgeable Muslim friend and he questioned it. What he did find was that the Senators came from wealth & privilege, thus contradicting the idea that democracy is a god-ordained institution (which I didn't really know it claimed to be). Any illumination about this (especially with documentation) will be greatly appreciated.

Maybe this text on the Athenian democracy will help. You can also find a lot of immediate and valid information on your theme at Plato's Politeia.