Though no woman (who had no
political rights), foreigner or slave could become a
citizen.
The Greeks were a gang of
barbarians in the sense that they allowed slavery, their women were treated as
slaves, and they had no respect for other cultures or people who were not
Greek.
Greek society relied heavily on
slaves to supplement its labour force.
There was in fact no
society’, civilized as we know of.
There were slaves and masters.
And of course foreigners who were barbarians.
The Iranians’ achievement
represented a significant step forwards for civilization. To run such a vast domain, which had
never existed before, they developed new, enlightened techniques for governing
large areas and populations. Before
them the old empires such as the Assyrian's used brute power and terror to control and rule over the masses. Fear had become part of
empire-building. The Iranians alone
broke that rule. A rule that soon
was forgotten in the coming age of Alexander, Roman, Arab and Mongol
empires.
All the countries that came under
the fold of the Iranian empire benefited economically and saw their living
standards improve with peace and security that was guaranteed. And stability that lasted and allowed
for great building works to take place.
Human society had not seen such perfect administration and government
before.
The Iranian empire was the
civilizing force of the old world.
In the immortal words of one of
its greatest kings of Hakamenesh: Dariush the Great who staunchly supported the
rule of law, and not only for the powerful.
So that the stronger does not smite nor
destroy the weak.” The Iranians
were the only country in the known world that aspired and worked for universal
rights of man. And it had been for
this reason that the founder of the Iranian empire, Kourash is rightly
remembered in the book of Jewish
people the Old Testament as the
anointed one’
For the Iranian nation and its
people, this civilising humanitarian attitude had been of no surprise. For it had been more than five thousand
years before the founder of the Great World Empire of the Hakamenesh, that the
Great faith of Zarathustra was preached, and the proclamation of a single God
practiced. The belief system that
guided the Jews and shaped the thinking of all monotheistic belief systems of
the world from Christianity to Islam.
Zarathusthranism was the only
religion of its time to speak of the righteous path, and to speak of the great
struggle between Good And Evil. In
fact after eight thousand four hundred and seventy years, it is the oldest
religion and the only one that has
not changed in its teachings or needed to do, so as it is still relevant for our
age. All other religions of the
world have been lost and forgotten, for the single reason that their bore no
significance for their new age. Of
course this is the test of truth.
The test of true religions of God.
In less than one thousand three
hundred and seventy seven years of the existence of Islam, we see today that it
has no relevance to the age and is incapable of progressing the life of those
who believe in it. To practice the
Koran is suicide, as Afghanistan, Iran and Algeria are testimony to its
destructive force.
The practice of the holy Avesta
on the other hand brings enlightenment and peace to the believer and to fellow
humans.
In the era of the Hakamenesh Empire, as noted
above, we had also had the Greek States (The term is difficult to use in this
period of history (5772 AZ=141 BIE=700 - 6072 AZ=159 IE=400 BC) since Greek” was and had been a term and an
idea for the Athenians. Apart from
the Athenians hardly no other state believed or wanted such a
creation.
And for this reason and many
others the term was nonexistent as the term Europe” was nonexistent in 5772 AZ=141
BIE=700 BC or in 6672 AZ=759 IE=200 AD.
However, I have used the term, in
this essay, for ease of understanding as I feel to go in depth in explaining the
misuse of the term would deter and confuse the reader, and for this reason alone
I have used names and terms that the West is familiar
with.
In their world, slavery was well
developed and practiced and many of its leading intellectuals preached its Great principles’. The so called great thinkers of Greece
have also justified it.
In fact they tell us that from
Homeric times to Alexander, the practice had been common, and had a valuable and
fundamental part in the economics and social life of
Greece.
As a matter of fact, one can
justly describe the Greek city states as slave societies, and with it a society
of inequality, hardships, suffering, injustice, immorality, and
discrimination.
Those who visit Greece of today
and who might admire the classical buildings should know that they have been
built by the suffering of thousands in slave labour and the wealth of other
nations.
The attitudes, views and the
society that existed cannot in anyway be called civilized. Slavery, Prostitution, Homosexuality to
name a few of the vices that existed in Greece were allowed, practiced and
promoted.
On the other hand at the same
period of history we have the Iranian society in which none of the above was
allowed or practiced, and most certainly was not promoted.
The Greeks however do not stand
condemned for their way of life or society. But stand condemned for trying to force
their form of society on other nations (Alexander) and teaching of such evil
thought’s to the Romans, British, French and Americans. Who if it had not been for the Greeks
would probably not have had slavery and would probably not have viewed others
as barbarians’ a term used by
ancient Greeks.
It had been mostly their
justification for slavery, and its use and the need for slavery that shaped the
minds of Western leaders and condemned million’s of Africans, Asians and Native
Americans to a life of no value.
The matter of slavery has in most
cases been overlooked and not mentioned by
Historians’. This is no
surprise since it does not fit into the picture of the Greek Civilisation” which purportedly
was a beacon for humanity.
Aristotle in his Politics’ sees a slave as someone who
belongs to his master completely, as an
animate piece of property’ and can be seen as a tool. One obvious mark of being the property
of another is that one may be bought and sold.
He like all Greeks saw that the
slave and the free were different in that slaves were answerable with their
bodies for their offenses, and were regularly whipped and were tortured
legally.
Slaves have to do everything they
are told, slaves have no birthrights, and do not belong in the society in which
they are enslaved (whether they came to it as captives, bought property, or were
bred there); rather, they remain permanently foreign, outsiders’, having no social
identity.
Slavery is unimaginable and the
state of dishonour, unthinkable.
And it is this that Alexander offered the world and the
Iranians-Brutality and Exploitation.
Those who where enslaved during
adult life often had their previous identity formally removed in the process of
sale: Stripped of clothing, former names, kin, nationality, and even their
personality.
The Greeks had even phrased terms
for slavery such as
Andrapodon’, four-footed
creature’, literally means
man-footed creature’ referring to a human being as an animal or a thing,
to be bought and sold.
Other demeaning terms used
where Oikos’ (household), Oiketes’ (houseboy), Therapon’ (servant), Akolouthos (follower), Soma’ (body), Anthropos (human being), suggesting that
he or she is merely a human being with no further identity.
