Greek History

 

There is a place, born in myth, that history has led into the world of men: the hot gates. Because? Because from here began the study of ancient history, from what Herodotus and Thucydides, two of the greatest historians of ancient times, transcribed the stories of these places and actions of these people with the purpose of telling us posterity the origins of our history. Before telling the hot gates, you have to take a step back, at 490 b.c.. When the Greeks, gathered together, they succeeded in blocking the first Persian advanced: According to legend, Pheidippides would run from Marathon to Athens to announce the victory and options would die for the effort. Ten years after, in 480 BC, the Persian king Xerxes attempted a second invasion of Greece, at the head of a huge army: 70.000 According to historians, 300.000 According to the Greeks, more than a million according to the gods. While Xerxes was heading south, an army of Greeks composed all the city-state turned to the North: the army led by Spartan King Leonidas consisted of 7.000 men, of which 300 Spartans, then the Thebans, The phocians, Locrians and Athenian Hoplites. The battleground was the hot gates, a narrow passage to the North of Attica, which turned out to be strategic to prevent the advance of the Persians. The tale of the battle between the greatest army in the world, the Persian one, and the small Greek forces is a mix of history and legend: in the end of the battle the 300 the Spartans led by Leonidas managed to block the advance of Xerxes at the cost of their lives. The Persians, given the impossibility of entering by land, they decided to circumvent the Attica to attack by sea. On their way, in the Bay of Salamis, a few steps from Athens, they found waiting for the Athenian general Themistocles the Athenian fleet of Triremes. Themistocles maneuvering Gulf Strait took advantage of the speed of small Greek Triremes being able to destroy larger ships shutters. In Xerxes was left with no choice but to retire. The exploits of Leonidas and his Spartans, Themistocles and his fleet entered the history, keeping the promise made by Themistocles to his soldiers before the battle against Xerxes: "resist and you will enter into history, you're in myth because you Greeks ".

Roberto

 

In the 6th century b.c.. Cleisthenes led democracy in Athens, Solon talking improved laws, Pericles the exalted. The resident population in Athens was divided into classes of Census and from that Division are they citizens. The Athenian citizen was participating actively in the political life of the city, exercising a form of direct democracy. Head of democracy there was a leader, a first citizen, as he always Pericles. Citizens, convened periodically in the Assembly, decided by a show of hands on any matter relating to the city: politics, taxes and duties, religious festivals. In extraordinary meetings, Instead, We were discussing in relation to the war in case the enemy moving against the city, or in the event that you were to declare war on another city or people. Ostracism was one of the most important instruments of direct democracy in Athens: kept in the hands of citizens allowed to drive out from the city to the people who, aspiring to dictatorship, was threatening to democracy. The procedure required that all 6.000 citizens to meet at a certain place, as the "ceramic" in Athens, and that had an impact over a crock (Ostraka) the name of the citizen to ostracize. The final count provided the person who had obtained the largest number of shards: This was cleared by the city on the same day, conducted in a designated location (often were the Aegean Islands) in which he would assume his penalty for a period of five years. This democratic form recognized a great prestige to the one who was ostracized, because it was considered very important person, influential and powerful. Looking at the pieces found throughout Athens one remains marvelled by the names of those who were ostracised, among all Pericles and Themistocles. Heroes of the time which made great Athens, in a certain moment in history, they were considered by the people too dangerous for their own democratic order. For the Greek democracy was the institution that before anything else and more than any other person had to be protected.

In the picture you can see a real ostraka, found in the Agora of Athens, bearing the name of possible ostracized: Pericles.

Roberto

The Athenians had a very clear concept of democracy: participation of all citizens in the Government of Polis, that is, the city-state of Athens. Gathered in the Assembly ruled that laws were being proposed, debated and finally vote for simple show of hands. If the results of the vote wasn't clear, a second ballot was required. The method adopted by them was simple, direct, transparent. Not that you do not incur costs to keep the public office or public debt did not exist, simply had found an inexpensive way to express themselves and to govern themselves,. Their democracy was perfect, especially in the time of Pericles. The Athenian strategos, that it featured as the leader or rather the first citizen, He managed to secure in Athens years of splendour and domain: work on the Acropolis, remarkable still today, and the vast Empire is a tangible example. His secret? Curb the instincts of the people, aim for harmony among all citizens, make laws simple and easy to implement, be transparent with all citizens and take the same attitude from them, do not enlarge the Empire declaring war if not sure victory, finding the perfect balance between internal governance and control of the Empire. Here is his epitaph. After the death of Pericles in 429 BC, democracy in Athens fell twice, in 411 b.c.. and in 404 BC, because politicians were not as savvy generation Periclean age posts, forward-looking, cautious and honest intellectually than their predecessor: they sought the support of the people and to get it turned to demagoguery, they created inner circles of power, decided laws that favored their private interests and addressed appointments to public office to persons of their trust. The main difference between Pericles and his successors was the first looked at always the interests of polis bringing prosperity to the town, While the latter looked after their own private interests causing the ruin of Athens and transforming direct democracy in an indirect democracy, much more like a Government of the few, an oligarchy. The legacy that Pericles delivered to citizens allowed them, both in 411 b.c.. that in 404 BC, to rebel against these dishonest politicians and recover, After a few months, democracy and the City Government. They treasure the experiences and lessons of previous years and knew how to govern in peace and prosperity until the arrival of the Romans. Today, in our country we often witness to demagogic attempts by improvised politicians to seek the favor of the people to gain power, ERGO personal benefits; This is taken for granted and that is repeated in the history of democratic Nations. However, should be intelligence of citizens who understand, actually, grant the ability to govern, without giving credit to anyone proposes political bragging capacity that does not own or fake public interests. The collective interest of citizenship for "public affairs" should always be strong updated daily, by requiring those who was assigned the task of governing to give an account of their work, as happens in every workplace. This does not mean that citizens Athenians of the time were more cunning and capable than us today, simply, were more interested in their public interests, savvy and held firmly in the power that democracy granted them. I wonder if we will sooner or later, We too, to give shape to a modern democracy, enough to be remembered in the next duemilaquattrocentoquarantaquattro years, as the Greeks lived to the age of Pericles. Often instead of all UFO research solution unlikely and to improve our democracy, It would also read the epitaph of Pericles:

Freely we live in community relations, and in all regards suspect arises from mutual relations in daily habits, no get angry when we with your neighbor if he does something according to his pleasure and without inflict on each other harassment that, Yes, are not harmful, but our eyes are unpleasant. Without hurt us private and public life reports each other we reverence above all keeps us from violating the laws, in obedience to those who are in positions of command, and institutions, in particular those who suffer injustice or protection of that, Although not written, they bring to those who breach a disgrace by all recognized.

Roberto Rossetti