Focus on Greek investment immigration and the Greek lifestyle. Follow the footsteps of the wise and experience the charm of other countries. Freedom, as a value, a political system, a way of life, and the spirit of a nation, first appeared in ancient Greece. The Greeks had a strong self-awareness as free individuals, regarding freedom as their spiritual pursuit. When they rose up to overthrow tyrannical rule, it was to gain freedom; when they opposed the oligarchic rule of the aristocrats, their aim was to expand freedom; when they resisted foreign oppression and invasion, they realized they were fighting to defend freedom. The Athenians responded to the Persian envoy urging surrender: "Because we desire freedom, we will do everything in our power to defend ourselves." They regarded freedom as the primary value, believing that "only with freedom can there be happiness." The ideal of freedom most vividly embodies the political values of citizenship.
The most fundamental distinction in Greek society is between free individuals and slaves, with the freedom of free individuals being highlighted in comparison to the enslaved status of slaves. G. F. Farah stated: The Greeks "understood their freedom in comparison to the state of slavery; political freedom means—psychologically and factually—liberating oneself from the status of a slave." Slaves are subordinate to their masters, lacking independent personality, subject to the arbitrary control of their masters, and "cannot live according to their own will." The term "free man" in Greek originally referred to an adult male. Upon reaching adulthood, a man is liberated from his father's authority, possesses an independent personality, begins to live according to his own will, enjoys certain rights, and assumes corresponding obligations. This is his freedom. Although free individuals must also obey, they only obey the law and do not submit to any specific individual. As Pericles pointed out: "In public affairs, we obey the law." A Spartan, introducing his compatriots to the Persian king, said: "Although they are free, they are not free in everything. They are governed by the law, and they fear the law more than your subjects fear you... Whatever the law commands them to do, they do." The law has no personality, no emotions, is impartial and just, and its authority is universally recognized and voluntarily accepted by everyone. Under the rule of law, all are equal and retain their dignity. People realize their freedom through obedience to the law. The law originates from ancient, respected customs, which are the norms formed in people's communal life and endowed with sacred significance. In an era of developed political democracy, the law is the code of conduct established by citizens for themselves, so obeying the law is equivalent to obeying oneself. Conversely, submitting to the arbitrary will of any individual is to be enslaved. The master of a slave is a specific person who issues commands arbitrarily based on his own will and caprice, exercising dominion, while free individuals are equal to other free individuals; they have no masters and only obey public authority and the law.
This is the freedom of the general free man in Greece. Undoubtedly, it is merely a privilege of a minority and is predicated on the sacrifice of the freedom of the majority. Even among free individuals, freedom is stratified. Those who enjoy freedom most fully among free individuals are full citizens. In addition to enjoying the freedoms of general free individuals, they also possess full economic and civil rights: the right to own land, full property rights, and rights related to marriage, litigation, religious activities, etc. Particularly, they uniquely enjoy political freedom, which includes the right to participate in citizen assemblies, jury courts, and hold public office in the city-state. This is the core content of citizen freedom.
The political freedom exclusively enjoyed by citizens refers to autonomy and self-governance in the realm of public or political life, and its meaning is closer to what modern people refer to as democratic rights. In the Greek view, the city-state is a "community of citizens," a "society of equals." Every citizen is regarded as an independent and autonomous person, both rationally and morally mature, capable of enjoying citizen rights and assuming corresponding obligations, not only in private matters but also in public affairs. This is a fundamental principle underlying the democratic system of the city-state. The political community composed of these independent and autonomous citizens does not require a paternal authority to supervise and guide them, treating them as spiritually immature children, nor can it tolerate a high-handed, arbitrary ruler who disposes of their lives and property at will, interfering in their actions. They only obey public authority, not private authority. Public authority is held by the citizens themselves, who meet regularly to discuss and decide all major matters. Everyone obeys the collective decision. Officials responsible for daily affairs are elected by the citizens and are supervised by them; officials execute the will of the law and cannot exercise arbitrary rule according to their own will, nor can they enjoy privileges that supersede those of the citizens. Aristotle repeatedly emphasized that the authority of a city-state politician is different from that of a parent, master, or king; "the people governed by the politician are free individuals," and the authority they wield is "the authority entrusted by equals among free individuals."
Under the democratic system, citizen autonomy even developed into a system of "rotation in office," where every citizen has an equal opportunity to take turns holding public office through methods such as drawing lots or rotating at set intervals. Aristotle summarized that one of the key principles of freedom in a democratic system is that in political life, "everyone takes turns being the ruler and the ruled." The reason for this practice, he explained, is that according to the free purpose of the democratic system, no one should be subject to the rule of another, but such freedom cannot be realized in practice, hence the system of rotation in ruling and being ruled emerged. Pericles also praised Athenian democracy by saying: "Our political life is free and open," and "We Athenians decide our policies ourselves."
In the eyes of Greek citizens, they determine their fate through collective citizen decisions, and obeying the collective of citizens is equivalent to obeying themselves. This is the essence of citizen freedom. When they resisted the military threats of the Persian Empire and other city-states, what they sought to defend was this freedom. Because freedom can only be enjoyed within one's own city-state. When the city-state is conquered, citizens lose their autonomy. When they overthrew tyrannical rule, their aim was to restore freedom. Under tyrannical rule, citizens were deprived of political participation rights, focusing solely on private matters, while public affairs, which are relevant to everyone's fate, were monopolized by the tyrant. When internal factional struggles occurred, the focus of the conflict was whether to limit or expand freedom. Under the aristocratic (or oligarchic) system, the majority of commoners were deprived of political rights, which means they were deprived of freedom. The value of freedom was most fervently embraced under the democratic system. Greek thinkers believed that freedom is the spiritual characteristic of the democratic system. Under the aristocratic (or oligarchic) system, wealth, lineage, talent, virtue, and other factors were given special value, thereby depriving commoners of political rights. The democratic system, however, prioritizes freedom, allowing every individual with a free status to enjoy equal political rights and opportunities for political participation. This sense of equality and participation constitutes the elements of citizen freedom consciousness.
Greek citizenship exists as a privilege. It is predicated on the exclusion of others and even the enslavement of others. The concept of citizenship emphasizes equality among citizens and participation in public affairs on one hand, while acknowledging discrimination and oppression against non-citizens on the other. The two are completely intertwined. This is the main difference between it and modern concepts of citizenship. However, its understanding of the relationship between citizens and the citizen community, namely the city-state (nation), the relationship between citizens and public authority, and the views on relationships among citizens, ultimately constitute the embryonic form of modern concepts of citizenship.