{"id":10295,"date":"2024-02-08T15:08:25","date_gmt":"2024-02-08T21:08:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lawcomic.net\/guide\/?p=10295"},"modified":"2025-06-03T08:50:35","modified_gmt":"2025-06-03T13:50:35","slug":"135-social-order","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lawcomic.net\/guide\/?p=10295","title":{"rendered":"135. Social Order"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Mycenaean<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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<\/p>\n

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Constitutional Law<\/p>\n

Part 2: \u201cWhat Were They Thinking?\u201d<\/p>\n

Digression: \u201cA History of Government in 6 Revolutions: From the Paleolithic to Philadelphia\u201d<\/p>\n

Pg 135: \u201cSocial Order\u201d<\/p>\n

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PANEL 1<\/p>\n

An aerial view of the Mycenaean palace buildings atop the Acropolis at Athens.<\/p>\n

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NARRATION:<\/p>\n

Mycenaean civilization enjoyed remarkable stability<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

For hundreds of years, Athens\u2019 world seemed to have found its perfect balance<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Most Mycenaean towns, Athens included, didn\u2019t even bother to erect defensive walls!<\/p>\n

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PALACE VOICE 1:<\/p>\n

Barricade<\/strong> ourselves?<\/p>\n

Against our neighbors?<\/strong> Absurd.<\/p>\n

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PANEL 2<\/p>\n

A modern-looking conference room. Seated around the table are some ruling-class elites. An old man with a cane is entering the room. An elite man is giving a presentation with graphs and a pie chart. The woman key bearer has turned to address the reader.<\/p>\n

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NARRATION:<\/p>\n

What Athens did not<\/strong> have was democracy.<\/strong><\/p>\n

As usual, kinship-based households and tribes<\/strong> managed most day-to-day societal needs, while an elite class<\/strong> directed the affairs of state.<\/p>\n

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KEY BEARER:<\/p>\n

Who else<\/strong> has the wherewithal to get it all done?<\/p>\n

The prestige?<\/p>\n

The time?<\/p>\n

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NARRATIVE:<\/p>\n

(Pointing to the old man) The Basileus<\/strong> was the official who coordinated all the tribal chiefs.<\/p>\n

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BASILEUS:<\/p>\n

Sorry I\u2019m late. My other meeting ran long.<\/p>\n

\u2026As usual.<\/p>\n

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The lower right corner of the panel appears to have some minor smoke damage.<\/p>\n

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PANEL 3<\/p>\n

A futuristic landscape like a cross between an org chart and a computer chip, in neon pink against a deep purple background.<\/p>\n

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NARRATION:<\/p>\n

These elites ran command economies<\/strong> at home\u2014dictating how their people\u2019s crops, resources, and surpluses were to be collected, stored, and re-distributed.<\/p>\n

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ORG CHART VOICE 1:<\/p>\n

Not that we grow much here in Athens.<\/p>\n

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ORG CHART VOICE 2:<\/p>\n

Worst soil in Attica\u2026<\/p>\n

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ORG CHART VOICE 3:<\/p>\n

Stick to the plan<\/strong>, folks.<\/p>\n

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PANEL 4<\/p>\n

Much of this panel is obscured by flames and smoke damage.<\/p>\n

It depicts a Bronze-Age merchant vessel pulling up to a dock. A large amount of timber is stacked up at the dock. The ship is overflowing with honey. People on the dock and on the boat are speaking to each other.<\/p>\n

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NARRATION:<\/p>\n

And it was those same elites who conducted all the international trade<\/strong> (literally trade\u2014money hadn\u2019t been invented yet). Greek cities exchanged local wines and timber for grain from Ukraine\u2026 tin from Afghanistan\u2026 linen and jewelry from Egypt\u2026 glass from Mesopotamia\u2026<\/p>\n

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MAN ON PIER:<\/p>\n

How much lumber does Pharaoh want<\/strong> for that boatload of honey?<\/p>\n

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MAN ON BOAT:<\/p>\n

How much have you got?<\/strong><\/p>\n

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PANEL 5<\/p>\n

Much of the panel has entirely burned away, and flames and smoke hide most of the right-hand half of the panel. It appears that the bottom right of the entire page is burning up.<\/p>\n

An elite man stands in front of a chart that resembles an old food pyramid. He\u2019s steepled his fingers and is explaining something to the reader.<\/p>\n

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NARRATIVE:<\/p>\n

Peace and prosperity depended on a rigid, inflexible social hierarchy.<\/p>\n

The top caste of aristocratic elites ruled,<\/strong> with a sacred duty to provide, to protect, and to keep the gods happy.<\/p>\n

Then came the bulk of society: the free<\/strong> households of farmers, herders, fishermen, mariners, artisans\u2026<\/p>\n

At the bottom, slaves<\/strong> worked the fields, rowed the galleys, provided services, and generally did much of the labor<\/strong> that a thriving civilization requires.<\/p>\n

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ELITE MAN:<\/p>\n

[Most of his words are concealed by flame. Here\u2019s what is legible.]<\/p>\n

Our society has structu<\/strong><\/p>\n

(Like our clothin<\/p>\n

that lazy loose drap<\/p>\n

If you ask me, struct<\/p>\n

makes civi\u00a0 tion\u00a0 oss<\/p>\n

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[The rest of the page has been completely consumed by fire. All that can be seen behind the page is blackness.]<\/p>\n

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<\/div><\/div>View Transcript<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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