Name of Faction: Mercantile Confederation of Crete
Name of Capitol: Any city that the council agrees to meet in acts as the capitol. Popular cities are (from west to east) Phaistos, Knossos, Malia, Goumia, and Zakros.
Faction Leader(s): the 90 members of the ruling council. The most prominent ones are King Kikeru of Phaistos, Queen Jadikira of Knossos, Queen Sama of Malia, King Rusa of Goumia, and Queen Tarina of Zakros.
Government Type: thalassocratic libertarian confederation. Crete is divided into 90 city-states. Each major city has an elected king or queen. These rulers meet in a council in an agreed-upon city once a year to make decisions.
Official Language(s): Eteocretan, ancient Greek, and ancient Egyptian
Economic System: capitalist free-market economy.
Official Currency: silver and gold coins showing a bull head on the obverse and a labrys on the reverse.
National Anthem: Crete the Beautiful
National Flag: a silver labrys flanked by bright green snakes all upon a purple background.
Official Religion(s): Cretan Paganism. Women dominate the priesthood. Bulls are sacrificed and sacred dances are held for the goddesses and gods the people wish to worship. Crete is tolerant of other pacifistic religions.
Official Philosophy: Hedonism; maximize pleasure and happiness for the most people
Faction Culture: Concentration of wealth plays a large role in the structure of Cretan society. Wealth is a measure of success. The more successful and helpful a person is in society, the more wealth he/she will acquire. But Cretans are wealthy in general compared to the rest of the world due to a strong economy. Inheritance is usually through matrilineal lines. Dowries are outlawed.
Cretans are very proud of their art and architecture. Their cities are connected with stone-paved roads and the streets are equipped with drainage systems. Water and sewer facilities are available to everyone through a complex plumbing system of clay pipes. Cretan buildings often have flat tiled roofs; plaster, wood, or flagstone floors, and stand two to three stories high. Typically the lower walls are constructed of stone and rubble, and the upper walls of mudbricks. Ceiling timbers hold up the roofs. The walls are usually decorated with beautiful frescos and paintings. Exquisite granite and marble statues are prized possessions.
Men wear loincloths and kilts. Women wear kilts with a bra or a layered flounced skirt with robes that have short sleeves. Clothes are usually made from linen or silk. People are permitted to wear no clothes if they choose.
Cretan society is very friendly and tolerant. Education and educators are highly respected. Gender-roles are not enforced and are almost nonexistent; Cretan names themselves are genderless. One of the most popular Cretan sayings is, “There’s something for everyone!” Individual rights and freedoms are honored and upheld unless they violate another individual’s rights and freedoms.
Faction Military: The Cretan army is nonexistent and the militia sucks. The Cretan Navy is the only branch of the military right now. And it is the most powerful in the world. The galleass is the main warship comprising the fleets. They are equipped with rams, catapults, archer and axmen contingents as well as Greek-fire pumps. The oarsmen and sailors are highly skilled professionals. Tactics generally revolve around pummeling the enemy with missile weapons and then sinking any remaining ships by ramming. Hand to hand combat is to be avoided. All troops are armed with missile weapons such as javelins, bows, sling-stones, and crossbows.
Faction History: The first people arrived on Crete around 5,000 BCE and established fishing and farming communities. A common language and culture arose on the island during the 3000s BCE. The Cretans were already good sailors and shipbuilders and began establishing the first trade lanes in the world. They mastered bronze-making around 2700 BCE and the villages where this took place became centers of commerce and power. These villages became towns, then cities with impressive ports and palaces. These cities came together to form a confederation in 1900 BCE.
The Cretans became very wealthy and advanced compared to other peoples around the Mediterranean due to their extensive trade network and natural resources. This of course brought about jealously, and Crete was attacked by various peoples from the 1400s BCE to the present day. The people of Crete were largely pacifistic and only desired peace and prosperity. Nonetheless the Confederation saw the need to defend itself and invested heavily in a navy.
The Cretan navy became the most feared and powerful fighting force on the sea. It successfully or closely defeated every single attempted invasion of the island by foreign aggressors. Greece, Egypt, Persia, Macedon, Rome, Byzantium, Arabia, and Venice were all beaten off in fantastic naval victories.
Despite these wars, Crete continued to maintain its trade network and keep wealth flowing. They also preserved their culture. This was mainly due to Cretans learning about the outside world and coming to the conclusion that they live in a utopian paradise compared to it. Therefore they changed little in their ways. However, because their society was superior, lots of people began immigrating to Crete to enjoy the good life.
Crete now has an overpopulation problem. This has unfortunately led to radical members of the ruling government pushing for expansionist policies. These are fancy words for war; wars to conquer the barbaric peoples of the outside world and spread superior Cretan culture and civilization to them. And the conquered land of course would be settled and the overpopulation problem resolved.
Faction Color: Imperial Purple (red: 111, green: 0, blue: 221). Purple dye is a symbol of wealth and majesty, the two things the people of Crete love most.
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