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By Root 1662 0

. . most of the time . . . err . . . maybe every now and then . . . with carefully chosen words. The west eventually adopted this viewpoint, separating church and state. The kings of the Orient disagreed then, and modern despots disagree now. Hitler, Stalin, Mao, fascism, and communism all agree governments are not ordained by god (in fact, they think there is no god); and they agree the individual is nothing, as only the state gives an individual meaning. Thus, the government becomes god, as Hobbes opined in The Leviathan, published in AD 1651. When the government is separate from god but does recognize god’s existence, its actions can be limited by god’s pronouncements (sometimes called natural law); however, if the government does not believe in or acknowledge god, then there are no limits, moral or otherwise, on government action. Such governments are the most dangerous of all.[25] Greek city-states were having problems with governance, until an outside force came to oppress them.

The Persians Invade Greece

From at least 750 BC to about 490 BC, Greece was a disunited land, as the city-states spent a bunch of time warring with one another. In fact, Greece enjoyed diversity through three separate peoples: the Mycenaeans (also called Arcadians), Ionians, and Dorians. (And you thought diversity was a good thing.)The Dorians, arriving last, about 800 BC, threw the Greek peninsula into turmoil, on top of creating a hundred year dark age;. It seems the only uniting elements were a common language and culture. The Greeks habitually divided the world into two parts, those who spoke Greek and the barbarians who did not. The Greeks also established colonies—many colonies, all around the Aegean Sea. Later they expanded to the Black Sea, Italy, Sicily, and Lebanon and beyond. Still, Greece was an area of small kingdoms and internecine warfare, where unity was unattainable (so much for the benefits of “diversity”).

Figure 8 Battle of Marathon

Persia’s expansion took them to Anatolia in Western Turkey, and contact with Ionian Greek colonies. These Greeks were a tough bunch to govern, and a revolt against Persia was soon underway (the Ionian Revolt—there’s a creative name). The Ionian Greeks requested help, and Athens sent aid to their fellow Greeks. Persia crushed the revolt, but mighty King Darius, ruler of Persia, fumed about diminutive Athens giving aid to the uprising. Darius decided on a strong raid to teach Athens a lesson. The result: a most important battle, and the start of many unanticipated events.

The great battle took place at Marathon on the eastern shores of Greece in 490 BC. The Persians chose the place of battle, but they chose poorly. Sailing from Persia, the army headed west and decided to land at a beach near the town of Marathon, which was a relatively confined area; soon, an Athenian hoplite army opposed them. The Persians were accustomed to battling their foes on the open plains of the Middle East where swiftly moving cavalry could decide battles; but now, in this confined battlefield, cavalry maneuver was not possible. In addition, a Greek force of heavily armored men faced them with huge sturdy shields arranged like a wall in front of them, and this formation could repel Persian arrows that were a significant part of Persian tactics. The type of battle that developed was one in which the strengths of the Persians (maneuver and speed) were of little use. Instead, the strengths of the Greeks, the use of heavy infantry in defense and attack, were favored. The Greeks funneled the Persian attack into a narrow field and then quickly closed in on their flanks. After the Persians broke, the Greeks pursued the fleeing men, slaughtering many before they could regain their ships. It was a considerable victory by a very small force over a much larger one. After the victory, a runner named Pheidippides (these Greek names are tough!) ran from Marathon to Athens and declared, as he dropped dead from exhaustion, “Athens is victorious.” We still celebrate this run today in the Marathon—only the runners do not drop dead