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Constantine the Great impacted Greece more than you know

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tomipark

tomipark

Active member
Constantine the Great united the Roman empire and made a huge impact on how Greece and Greek Culture played a role in the "Roman" or "Byzantine" empire. His mother was Greek, from Smyrna which is one of the reasons why so much of his influence was in Greece. Constantinople, now known as Istanbul, was named after him and he also is a saint. Many many people in Greece are now named Konstantinos and Konstantina, after his legacy. It is said the Constantine was a religious pioneer although this has also been contested and many criticize him for being violent.
 
This is fascinating! Do you know what day his name day is? I know a lot of people named after him...
 
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Athens and the creation of democracy

I've been thinking about Athens and how it's the birth of democracy. I wondered if other societies had experimented with the concepts or if Athens was unique? Does anyone know? I know that there's been some evidence that other societies experimented with community leadership, but none had a true democracy like what Athens developed.

It was unique in developing a system where a significant portion of its inhabitants could participate directly in decision-making processes. This early form of democracy was largely initiated under the leadership of Cleisthenes in 508/507 BC. His reforms reorganized the population into ten tribes based on their residence rather than lineage, promoting a broader and more inclusive political engagement.

In this Athenian democracy, citizens had the right to attend the Assembly (Ekklesia), where they could speak and vote on legislation and executive decisions. The Council of Five Hundred (Boule), selected by lot for each of the ten tribes, proposed legislation and handled daily affairs. This lottery system for public office sought to prevent power monopolies and encourage civic participation.

I know that this work truly influenced other democratic governments through the world!

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Greek-flag.jpg

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