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During his teens, Alexander was tutored by the great Aristotle at his estate in Stagira. It was from Aristotle that the future Hegèmon learned of Democracy, that fine Athenian ideal of equal government. Before this time, Alexander knew only of the monarchist and meritocratic forms of government.

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The great polymath and philosopher smoothed the rough "barbarian" edges of the young prince's character and also opened his mind. Alexander's policies during the Persian campaign are proof of how deeply he valued Aristotle's wisdom for he never forced his rule on conquered lands as such. He simply had those in charge swear loyalty to him instead of the emperor he had defeated. He left the people, their culture, and their gods alone. 

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He was implementing a new form of democracy in a land that had never heard of it before.

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Once the Empyraeum was founded, his first step was to call for candidates for what he called the People's Assembly or Senate. He called forth three candidates from every state, country, nation, or otherwise that had joined the Empyraeum and interviewed each and every one of them personally. We are talking about 3,645 individuals that the Hegèmon spent easily an hour with at a time! Once this was done, he deliberated and narrowed the choice down to two from each member state. 

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Alexander then brought about the single most deadly plague of heart attacks upon the administrative class of the Empyraeum that had ever existed (except for his disappearance centuries later). He had them comb the census and send a vote to every single adult over the age of majority from Eire to Manchuria and everywhere in between. He instituted a day of holiday when each and every citizen of age would attend the main temple of their town or city and choose between the two candidates vying to represent them. 

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Of course, the candidates campaigned, gave speeches, and made grand promises as was natural but the choice was ultimately up to the anonymous decision of the citizen. The organisation required was staggering but the ultimate result was the election of just over 1000 Senators to represent the will of the peoples of the Empyraeum. 

 

Ultimately, Alexander had the Hegèmon's final veto and was commander of the military but the Senate decided the laws that shaped the new land. They debated on disputes and formalised the new Empyraen Standard Greek language. The Senators helped gain funds to rebuild or improve their towns and cities, troops to repel invading armies, and negotiation on taxation among many other items too numerous to give name to. 

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It became the model for both national government among the Empyraeum's neighbours and local legislature. Soon, every polis large enough to have a temple had their own Koncilia and Congress to bring local issues to the attention of their very busy Senators. Amazingly, the unmitigated political chaos that ensued actually worked and the people were happy. 

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No foreigner was lording it over them from thousands of stadia away; some jumped up king who was unlikely to even find their town on a map deciding laws and settling dispute. No, Luka from Calistos fought for their interests with the help of Melisto from down the road. The very road that he'd helped to repair and clear of bandits! The big New Road meant they could get their harvest and goods to market twice as fast and many times more safely, they could even take it to another town where the prices were better!

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The Senate remained working and doing so well right up to the day that Apatèon bombarded Alexandria from orbit and left nothing but fused glass of the greatest democratic institution and experiment ever to exist.

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