Democratos

Democratos was a Oreian philosopher, politician, and orator who is considered the father of democracy. A mildly talented theurgus who rose to prominence as a philosopher, he entered into politics in 790 BC and accumulated considerable influence with his renowned oration and pre-existing popularity. In 774 BC he instituted the first known democratic system of government in Orei, and this system spread rapidly to most of the Icarian region before 550 BC.

Early Life
Democratos was born in 820 BC, the son of a prominent land-owner and member of the ruling elite of Orei, which was at the time administered by an autocratic monarchy and monarchy-appointed council. He was interested in philosophy from a young age, and was capable of utilizing basic Aeromantia (Air Magic) from a young age, although he never developed much skill in that art. He was involved in Oreian society from a young age at the urging of his father, and was even then known for his eloquence. From 800 BC to 795 he traveled the Dodecaederides and the Phlegethon, where it is said that he developed many of his philosophical ideals from observing the people of the many islands and river cities. He then studied under Faxagar in Herakleia for 2 years, before returning to Orei in 793 BC, where he fully began his philosophical career.

Career Up To 776 BC
When Democratos returned to Orei, he began to Orate near daily in front of the Egeion, and quickly developed a following. He wrote numerous texts during this time which firmly established his philosophy, which was based upon the importance of the will of the people and the difference between self-reliance and "elpekos" which represents when self-reliance becomes harmful to both the individual and the people around that individual. He also took on many students during this time period, and taught many who would go on to become influential in their own right, including the philosopher Esumen and his disciple Polycrates. His unique philosophy is often called Elpeken Philosophy in reference to elpekos.

In 780 BC he published the most influential text of his philosophic period, the Dominus ex Natio, which was the beginning of the formulation of his democratic beliefs, which were a natural extension of his philosophy. It is the origin of this famous passage:"And so we return to that ever present question: Who knows what is best for the people? A monarch, who is kept away from the people by the constructs of palaces and jewels, or the people themselves, who live their own simple lives, wondering why the monarch cannot understand their plight? It is clear that even if the people are the subtle and unknowing puppeteers of their own fate and their own rulers, it would simply be best for that conclusion to be what is shown to the world. The people are the rulers of the nation."He also performed orations of sections of the text, which attracted much debate among the populace of Orei, and were regarded as a threat by the monarchy and elite at the time, with at least one failed attempt made to assassinate Democratos; the attempt was made public and led to great outrage and effectively stopped much overt violence against Democratus from the monarchy for fear of mass retaliation.

By 778 BC there were increasing calls for him to set up a new system of government, and so he announced his intent to take his elderly father's place on the autocratic council in two years time. Some members of the council attempted to remove his father from the council in that time, so as to prevent Democratos from joining, but their efforts failed, and some were forced to resign. In 777 BC Democratos published the last text of his philosophical period, a collection of poems and musings, of which no complete poem remains today.

Political Career From 776 BC
In 776 BC Democratos took his father's place on the autocratic council, and proceeded to begin a transition to democracy, using his considerable skills of persuasion to make the council agreeable to his demands. He regularly held sessions in the forum where he would hold discussions about the proposed new democracy, and became quite popular during this time.

In 774 BC the council made a motion to remove the monarch, and the monarch was forced to resign in the face of almost no support from the public. Democratus proceeded to reorganize the system of government into a system with the Citizen's Assembly, the Boule, and then the Tribunal. He appointed himself to the Epistate, the leader of the Bouletai, which granted him executive superiority (although he could still be removed by a super-majority vote in the Assembly). He spent the next four years re-organizing the government to operate under a democratic structure. It should be noted that at the time the system was not called democracy, but rather an Ordinatarchy, and usage of the term Democracy did not gain prominence until after the death of Democratos.

In 770 BC the first elections were held for the Boule, and Democratos retained control of the Epistate, which he would continue to control until his retirement in 745 BC. He began to create a basic welfare system, building off of his philosophical beliefs, and began to initiate more formal relations with other city states, fostering trade and inter-communication. In 761 BC Democratos established a military and trade alliance with Herakliea. Although this would later help increase Herakliean power, at the time of its creation and throughout the rein of Democratos the alliance helped to establish the dominance of the democratic model and prevented any attack on the dominance of Orei, which has remained in the region to this day.

With the establishment of the alliance, Democratos published a collection of lessons drawing from the experiences of his career in 753 BC, which some have described as the first popular autobiography. He also took on the creation of a census, which was one of the first comprehensive censuses, and is often used as reference material for that time period. The census took up much of his time, and so he removed some of the power from the office of the Epistate (in around 750 BC), which helped ease some pressure on him to retire, as he had been in the office for 24 years. The removal of that executive power is oft-cited as one of the reasons why Orei did not succumb to political turbulence occasionally like some of the other city states with more power in the executive office.

In 745 BC Democratos resigned after 29 years in the office of epistate, and endorsed the next epistate, Polycrates.

Resignation till Death
Democratos returned to philosophy after his resignation, and would occasionally give speeches in the amphitheater, which were very popular. He diversified his philosophy during this time, instead of his focus on politics from before his time as epistate. It is believed that he published around two writings a year for five years, but only six remain:


 * De Monarchia Mortem (Analyses the effects of destroying the monarchy)
 * Ceutus Agremanchus (A satirical text about a rich man who is turned into a poor farmer)
 * Tritonia Phobos (Ponders the connection between fear and the elements, in particular the ocean, and is one of the shortest writings)
 * Regia Ordinatarchia (About how to prevent a democratic government becoming authoritarian)
 * Pacem Aeternal (About death, written while he was in the grip of an illness that nearly killed him)
 * Adoratio et Cupido (The difference between healthy love and unhealthy love)

During the last four years of his life Democratos retired to a small olive farm on the outskirts of Orei and took up stone-carving, which he described as "difficult in my old age, but satisfying to my soul", as described by Polycrates, who frequently visited him for advice. The only known work of carved stone by Democratos is housed in the art museum of Orei, and is generally regarded as fairly good piece of work. It's a slab of carved stone around 2x2 meters in size, carved with scenes from daily life and mythology, as well as detailed trees and flowers. Recent investigation in 2020 discovered hidden numerals on the underside of some of the leaves that are believed to be a code, but as of yet it hasn't been broken.

In 736 BC Democratos died in his sleep, and was, by his request, cremated. Polycrates, his disciple, began to refer to Ordinatarchy as Democracy in his honor, and that name quickly became popular.