Ancient Egypt & the Greeks

A History of Mankind (77)

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Greeks, as a whole, understood that law was the basis for a well-functioning polis, what set it apart from a rabble of foreigners ruled by a warlord who might, or might not, listen to the opinion of prominent free citizens. From this, the concept of tyrant emerged: first meaning the ruler of a state or polis, and later taking on – mostly due to the efforts of democrats – the negative connotation of a ruler who wouldn’t follow law and precedent.

It’s from law – as well as specific local conditions on the ground – that Greek philosophy first emerged, as a study of theories of knowledge, ethics, politics and human organization, and it emerged in a spirit of competition, for all Greek poleis aspired to be better than their neighbors, in every meaningful sense. This intense competition did much to fuel advances in every field, while older, larger and more populated states just across the sea stagnated.

Greeks were extremely proud of their attachment to knowledge, and to popularizing that knowledge as much as possible.