We Are All Greeks

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We Are All Greeks “We are all Greeks, our laws, our literature, our religion, our arts have their roots in Greece.” Said Percy Bysshe Shelley, a Romantic English Poet. He was not wrong. Greece specifically the Hellenic Greece was the birthplace of what that the modern world is today. Among many of the Greek heritage in the modern Western world is democracy, the Olympics, architecture and entertainment. Our form of government is democracy; which comes from the Greek word demokratia (dem-oh-KRAY-te-uh), which means “the rule of the people”. Solon abolished the “Draconian Law”, cancelled all debt, freed landholder and merchants (who had to become slaves under the Draconian law so they could not pay their debt) and established a new code of law. Solon also formed the “Council of Four Hundred” who had to be elected by the citizens (only men were considered citizens). The Council could propose the laws but the citizens had to vote on them. The American Government has many resemblances; specially Congress. To be part of Congress (Senate and House of Representatives), much like the Greeks, the candidates have to be elected by the people to represent them. Another similarity is that laws are not passed by a single person but rather voted on; in Greece by the citizens and in the US by the members of Congress. The Olympics is one of the most distinguished sporting competitions where the world comes together to enjoy and celebrate sports. The Olympics’ birthplace was Olympia, hence the name. In 776 BCE the first contest took place, it was the 200-yard race called the stadion (where the word stadium comes from). Over time more games were added including the pentathlon (means “five contest”), which consisted of discus, javelin, long jump, sprinting and wrestling. These games were held every four years and only men were allowed to participate. The games were held for many

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