If you would have lived in Greece in about 300BC, you could have witnessed The battle of Thermopyle
It could be argued that the "serf" was the "property" of the land during the Middle Ages, since under the feudal system that reigned supreme during this time, serfs (or peasants) had very little rights of their own.
Originally, Athens was ruled only by tyrants. Later, Solon changed autocracy laws: Athens' council would be elected by merit, not birthright. Eventually, Cleisthenes introduced the concept of a council of all the free male citizens: democracy was born!
