The Glue of Democracy: Economics, Warfare and Values in Classical Greece

In the present essay we analyse the links between the emergence of new arms and forms of war-emergence, the phalanx and its hoplites, and the trieres at sea, its economic base, and the emergence of democracy in classical Greece. We propose that the unique till then in the world phalanx formation, led to the development of particular values and ethics, which again were the necessary conditions for the emergence of democracy, then again, a unique phenomenon. We then turn to seapower, which according to our analysis was a sufficient condition for the establishment and endurance of democracy, because seapower led to a community of economic interests, on which direct democracies like Ancient Athens, were based.