Greco-Roman Liberty

 

Despite what is almost universally believed – including by practically all Objectivists and libertarians – the classical Greeks and Romans loved political freedom and individual liberty. You can see some of this in the confidence, dynamism, and individuality of their statuary. And you can hear it in their frequent contemptuous references to “Oriental despotism”.

And the Greeks and Romans largely understood what the concepts of political freedom and individual liberty meant. They mostly lived under these social ideals and were proud to do so. The classical Greeks and Romans virtually never stopped comparing their civilized, advanced, and free societies with those of the savage, backward, tyrannical Persians, Germans, Illyrians, Etruscans, and other barbarians all around them.

Why did the philosophy- and science-inventing Greeks ferociously resist the overwhelmingly powerful Persians of the early 5^th century B.C.? The poet Simonides (556-468 B.C.) says: “ We fought to crown Greece with freedom.”

The historian Thucydides (460-400 B.C.) once acknowledged “the secret of happiness to be freedom and the secret of freedom to be a brave heart”. So the Greeks courageously resisted tyranny on numerous occasions. The playwright Aeschylus (525-456 B.C.) contrasted “the freeman” with “him enslaved by another’s might”.

One immensely important aspect of political freedom is equal justice for all. And as the great Athenian leader Pericles (495-429 B.C.) noted: "When it is a question of settling private disputes, everyone is equal before the law."

The philosopher Aristotle (284-322 B.C.) generally praised liberty, but then mocked those who argued “because men are equally free [politically], they claim to be absolutely equal [socially]”. Aristotle approvingly stated: “The basis of a democratic state is liberty.” And it should be remembered that the Greeks essentially invented democracy.

The Romans built upon what they learned from the libertarian Greeks and gained a sophisticated understanding of constitutions, rule of law, justice, and certainly political freedom. The historian Sallust (86-34 B.C) noted the irony that often “in the highest [political] position, there is the least freedom of action.” The philosopher Epictetus (55-135 B.C.) added: “Only the educated are [truly] free.”

The poet and intellectual Horace (65-8 B.C.) praised Roman “painters and poets” for their freedom of “bold invention”. He explained: “We claim the liberty for ourselves and in turn we give it to others.” The historian Tacitus (56-120 A.D.) once happily noted: “It is the rare fortune of these days that one may think what one likes and say what one thinks.”

But did the classical Greeks and Romans really understand the relatively difficult concept of freedom of speech? Well, the philosopher Socrates (469-399 B.C.) evidently spent a half-century openly questioning, criticizing, and mocking virtually every powerful person and idea in Athens (frequently during wartime).

The Greeks debated extensively the merits of oligarchy, monarchy, and democracy, while often practicing their marvelous political invention of democracy. But they didn’t praise it uncritically because as the philosopher Plato (428-348 B.C.) observed, often: “Democracy passes into despotism.” Plato condemned even successful dictators by noting: “When the tyrant has disposed of foreign enemies by conquest or treaty, and there is nothing to fear from them, then he is always stirring up some war or other in order that the people may [continue to] require a [dictatorial] leader.”

Regarding political freedom and individual liberty, Aeschylus observed quite early in Greek history that: “Death is better, a milder fate than tyranny.”