𝑷𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝑾𝒂𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒔 𝑺𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒈𝒈𝒍𝒆

Peaceful coexistence is not simply an official policy of the socialist countries but an important principle of the communist movement as a whole. “The Communist parties regard the struggle for peace as their foremost task,” said the 1957 Declaration. Guided by the lofty principles of humanism in the fight for peace the Communists act in full accord with the class interests of the working-class movement. The growing interdependence of the struggle for peace and for the class interests of the working people is an essential feature of the anti-war movement of today. That is why Communists are confident that the lessening of tension and the ending of the cold war help the working class to fight with greater success for both its immediate and long- term aims. Is this confidence well placed? The answer to this question can be found in the results and the nature of the activities of the Communist parties in the capitalist countries to put into effect the ideas and principles of the 1957 Declaration. Representatives of these parties said at the Bucharest meeting that their parties, being the most consistent and resolute organizers of their peoples’ fight for an international understanding, for peaceful coexistence, had improved their contact with the masses, had gained still greater influence and prestige. The same conclusion was confirmed by the decisions taken by the C.C. meetings of many parties held after the Bucharest meeting.

Mythological Olympian Religion

Image gallery image — Mythological Olympian Religion

By the 6th century B.C. more or less similar religious beliefs were held in common in all regions inhabited by the Greeks . These beliefs formed the basis of the Olympian religion , so called after Mount Olympus which was believed to be the home of the Gods , headed by Zeus . The Olympian religion was not connected with any organised religious body , dogma or ritual . The temples of the gods , though of definite significance in the religious lives of the people , did not , how ever , form a single system ; likewise , there was no special strata of religious attendants , no high priests . When necessary , persons chosen by the popular assembly carried out various religious functions . By making the gods human , the Olympian religion was able to penetrate deep into the masses and influence the working people . In time the cult of the Olympian gods became the official religion of the Greek polises , sanctifying the class suppression of the slaves and poor labourers . The masses , dissatisfied with their lack of civil rights , often coun tered the official religion by inaugurating cults of their own patron gods . Such , for instance , was the cult of Dionisius , patron of the tiller , in whose honour feasts and celebrations were held . This religious dissention can be considered the prototype of all later religious heresies .

Ancient Greek Colonisation

Greek colonisation progressed apace with the formation of the polises , stemming from those regions of Greece where the clan aristocracy was in power . By concentrating the land in its own hands and thus dooming the masses of freemen to impoverishment , it forced them to leave the land . They were joined by the poor of the cities and the polises , by craftsmen who had become bankrupt as a result of the grow ing competition of slave labour , by small and middle land owners . Many of the colonists were aristocrats who had emigrated from their polises for political reasons . The merchants were tempted to undertake distant journeys by the lure of great riches to be gained in salt , grain , metals and slaves . In the 8th – 6th centuries B.C. Greek colonies appeared on the Mediterranean Coast of present – day France , Spain and Italy , in the Nile delta , on the Black Sea and Azov Sea coasts . These were independent polises which maintained close cul tural and economic ties with the metropolis . Greek colonisation played a tremendous role both in the history of the Greeks themselves and of the peoples with whom they came into close and prolonged contact .