There is a period whose effects are found in many issues today and whose effects are still lived up to the present.
This period, lived between 800 BCE and 200 BCE, is a turning point that deeply affected ancient Greek history and, beginning from that day, the outlook of societies throughout the world. This period is generally called the “Axial Age” and was first put forward by Karl Jaspers. According to Jaspers, this age is a period in which systems of thought and ethical values were reshaped in similar ways across different geographies. In other words, it is a systematic process of transformation. Because of where the Axial Age was lived, it is essential to examine in depth its effects in ancient Greece and to address the world system in general. Without understanding this period, the effort to understand the dominant thought of that period and the changes in worldview will remain incomplete.
Jaspers defines the Axial Age as a period in which humanity began to question its own existence, moved away from mythological narratives, and turned toward rational thought. In this period, similar moral and metaphysical searches emerged in different geographies, China, India, Israel, and Greece. Among the common points are individual responsibility, universal ethical principles, facing the fear of death, and pursuing ultimate reality.
Leader Apo states in the Manifesto for Peace and Democratic Society that this period has five branches of emergence, and says the following: “In this age five great communal ideologies emerge. Zoroastrianism constitutes the central position. Following it come Lao Tse in China, Buddha in India, Jewish ideology, and the philosophy of Socrates. These five emergences are also commune-based emergences. They are even forty times more communistic than Marx's communism.”
These tremendous five branches in the Axial Age are communal and communistic emergences. Lao Tse represents communality; Confucius turns it into the state. There is a history of the commune there, communality. Lao Tse develops the true communality of the oppressed. Confucius aristocratizes it and turns it into state ideology. Among the Greek Hellenes, the true communalist is Socrates. Plato presents what he took from Socrates to the aristocracy with his work “The State”. The work The State is state ideology. Confucius is a great state revisionist. Present-day China plays Confucianism. Confucius enables the transition from caste to state, just as Plato did. In fact, they live in the same age. In Judaism too, Solomon and David are statist from beginning to end, but Samuel is a tremendous communalist. This first division begins in the palaces.”
When we consider it on this basis, it will be understood that this period, in many fields from science to art and from literature to philosophy, is, as Leader Apo states, the basis of historical communist emergences and divisions.
If we continue the topic, we stated that the Axial Age was essentially lived in Ancient Greece. In Greece, the Axial Age begins in the period after the epics of Homer. In this period, while mythological narratives gradually lose their importance, philosophy and rational thought begin to come to the fore. We can state these changes as follows:
Change in music and poetry: Homer's epic poems were replaced by new types of music that expressed lyricism and personal feelings. This change points to the growing importance of individual experience.
Transformation in political structure: In place of kingdoms, city-states, that is, poleis, were established. This led to an increase in political participation and to a change in the individual's role in social life. This change was not limited only to this and can be considered the foundation of the political system that has continued to the present.
The birth of philosophy: The most important feature of the Axial Age is the birth of philosophy, which handles humanity's fundamental questions as a branch of knowledge. Philosophers beginning with the School of Miletus, Thales, Anaximander, and Anaximenes, tried to explain the basic substance and formation of the universe through reason. Socrates carried philosophy into the streets and encouraged people to reach correct knowledge. With the principle “know yourself”, he emphasized the importance of moral values. Plato defended that ideas also exist alongside the sensory world. This theory put forward the idea that reality may have a dimension different from what we perceive. Aristotle developed the science of logic and systematized processes of reasoning. He tried to understand nature through methods of scientific observation and classification.
The effect of the Axial Age on ancient Greece led to important changes in worldview. Thus, a transition from mythology to rationality was achieved. The gods and mythological stories, which had been the most basic form of narrative until that period, began to be replaced by rational explanations and corresponding examinations. The role of the individual in social life increased, and individual thought and freedom came to the fore. Moral values such as truth, justice, and virtue were reevaluated and placed on rational foundations. With the development of a common culture and understanding of thought among different city-states, a universal form of thought emerged.