Ancient History, Part IIIa: Ancient Greece

Introduction

Ancient Greece is widely considered to be the first of the democratic societies. While not democratic in the way we consider it today, it is still a great influence on our lives in the modern day.

Western Civilization Checklist: Writing.
The Ancient Greeks' had an alphabet that is still in use today. The word 'alphabet' itself, for example, comes from the first two Greek letters: Alpha (our 'A') and Beta (our 'B'). Their alphabet contained 24 letters. Also, our maths and sciences are filled with Greek- Delta, the Greek 'D', for example, also meaning 'change', is used both in algebra and in chemistry. Addressing their language, the Greek language influences us as well. ('Alphabet' being an example still.)
Because their language and alphabet influences us so, I will mention some of their more familiar letters. You may recognize: Alpha (A), Beta (B), Gamma (G), Delta (D), Omega (O), Pi (P) and Theta (Th).

Western Civilization Checklist: Government.
Ancient Greece has been famous as the country and culture which founded democracy. Unfortunately, for democracy as we think of it in the modern world, that reputation is unfounded.
Greece was divided into a series of city-states (like Mesopotamia), each one called a polis. Each was ruled in their own way. There were: monarchies (ruled by a king), dictatorships (ruled by a tyrant), aristocracies (ruled by nobles), oligarchies (ruled by a rich and powerful few), and democracy (in which a majority of the voting powers ruled).
Athens was the only democracy we know of. Even Athens was a rule by only the voting majority. Only adult, native-born men could vote; there was no naturalization process. Women (who held very little rights at all), slaves (yes, slavery was also in most Greek states, including Athens and slaves had even less rights than women)), foreigners, and convicts could not vote. Only about 1/4- 1/2 of the population in Athens at any given time could actually participate in a process that was considered to encompass an entire situation. In fact, even in Athens, most decisions were made by committees and not the voting majority.
Laws were written in stone in both Greek and Latin and displayed on common surfaces. It was believed that only commonly seen laws would be obeyed.
Another popularly known example of government in Ancient Greece is Sparta. Sparta and Athens were to Ancient Greece what Sumer/Babylonia and Assyria were to Ancient Mesopotamia: rivals. The two usually-most-powerful city-states seemed to be eternal rivals, always trying to one-up one another, possibly because their societal-allowed lifestyles were so different. Sparta trained all boys, under brutal conditions, for the military from birth until- most commonly- death. It was most of their life. Women held an unusual-for-the-time freedom (being societal allowed an interest athleticism, household fiscal policy, and politics, all openly). At one point, Sparta conquered Athens, but that particular situation didn't last long.

Connection to Language
From Sparta's plainness of life and harshness of society, we get the adjective 'spartan' today, meaning "plain, simple, frugal, self-disciplined": "the spartan style of the room"; "the spartan athlete".

L.P.