What do you know?

In the pre-Greek written languages of the Semitic middle east all languages had a word meaning "to know."  In ancient Hebrew it was Yad, which encompassed all meanings of to know: "understand, be familiar with, recognize, acknowledge, comprehend, had relations with, noticed, taught, etc etc etc.

As in all language "context" provides the key to knowing.

The Greek written language for the first time provided dozens of separate words to describe "knowing."  Epistomai was to understand.  Aisphanomai was to perceive.  Oido was to "to know." Oimai is think.  Nomizo was to consider.  Etc etc.

Within the word was a clue as to how this process of knowing was carried out.  For example Nomizo is "consider" and Nomos is "law, custom, or coin".  The things that bind humans in society are those things that we must consider.  Ais- phan -omai (our word aesthetic) to perceive, contains "phan" which means to seem or appear.  Thinking about that which seems or appears gives rise to the idea of perception.

So, what's my point here?

My point is that simply to be able to speak and be understood, the average Greek had to attain a level of education that was extraordinarily high.  Sentences had no word order.  Hundreds of endings indicating usage had to be memorized simply to locate the subject and various objects, verbs, and clauses.

Today, we can only imagine (another type of thinking) the powerful acuity of thought that must have been present at the time when Democracy was conceived (another type of thought.)   It was the very exercise of thought through language that gave power to the individual people (the Demos) that they could self-govern.  And, in their wisdom they perceived that only through gold and silver coinage could financial power accrue to the same individual people.  And away from the centralized Tyrant/State.

It is, at present, very in vogue to decry the loss of personal freedom to the power of the state.

Unfortunately you have to wonder if the individual people (the Demos) know enough to reclaim power.