In these centuries, representative government existed mostly as a series of sparse, failed experiments. Surely, the inability or disinterest of many rulers and societies to realize this paramount political invention signals to us the unique creativity and administrative prowess of the Athenians, and its refinement tells us something similar about the Romans.

Europe in the 20th Century was afflicted with many tribulations, foremost among these being the World Wars. With most countries reeling from wartime losses, the global citizenry suffered. In response to this, as is generally the case when faced with such destitute conditions, the population had two basic options: succumb to the privations of their present circumstance, or contend with them using art, philosophy, and community to reckon and survive in spite of them.