As with most of mankinds decsions it's rarely about the people and more about the money. I believe Economics was more a factor for the war then was the simple truth that human beings should not be held in bondage. Most people in the south did not own slaves and many people in th north, though against slavery, did not feel the black man was their equal, regardless of his skill or education. There really was no noble cause for either side.

I think you summed it up pretty well here.

I'll have to think on this one a while more before a more detailed response can be given, but the first thing to pop into my mind is the idea of government by compact.  The idea of drafting a charter/constitution for the common welfare and defense can clearly be traced to the religious and political institutions created by the Pilgrims of Massachusetts Bay Colony and Plimouth Colony.  Religious “platforms” like the Saybrook Platform codified the qualifications for believers in the body of saints. 

The Divine Comedy was a polemic designed to ascribe who the good guys were in this conflict.? Dante was a political figure and alligned with the Guelphs.? He however was in love with Beatrice (married to his close friend and fellow poet Guido Cavalcanti (c. 1255?1300)) who was the daughter of Farinata degli Uberti, who just happened to be the leader of the Ghibellines of Florence.? Dante thought Beatrice could be the guide to the end of the conflict between their two warring parties, and so used her as his muse and guide in The Divine Comedy.

Uh, this is weird.  Phid you started this thread, but my post got placed ahead of yours.  Why for?You must have changed the settings to put the newest post first. Duh....... 🙄

Uh strike that.  I changed my own settings awhile back and forgot.  Duh........ 🙄

Do you think that the Greeks took their religion - what we call "Greek Mythology" today - seriously, or do you think that they considered it to be more of a cute "novelty" or a reality for social cohesion? While someone could easily point to the vast sums spend on temples dedicated to various gods as support for the latter, we see in one of Plato's works (I believe it is in Plato's Phaedo) how easily Socrates dissects the notion of Greek deities. Surely, for a people as civilizationally-advanced as the Greeks, questions about the truth of their religion must have been raised at some points in time. So what do you think?

You raise an excellent point.  There were actually two religions in Ancient Greece.  There was the religion of the people (most associated with the mythology we have come to cherish) and the religion of the philosophers which flirted with our modern notions of monotheism.  The Greeks viewed their religion as a civic institution more than an actual "religion."  The festivals and the great animal sacrifices were held to distribute meat to the people and offer men the chance to network among themselves.  The rites and rituals observed by the ancient Greeks is known today by historians as civic religion.  Ken Dowden's book on the Uses of Greek Religion goes into much detail explaining the nature and structure of the Greek civic religious phenomenon.  You should check it out.