Antecedent: The Classical Greek Proxenos
In Classical Greece, some of the functions of the modern Consul were fulfilled by a Proxenos. Unlike the modern position, this was a citizen of the host polity (in Greece, a city state). The Proxenos was usually a rich merchant who had socio-economic ties with another city and who helped its citizens when they were in trouble in his own city. The position of Proxenos was often hereditary in a particular family. Modern Honorary Consuls fulfil a function that is to a degree similar to that of the Ancient Greek institution.
Read more about this topic: Consul (representative)
Famous quotes containing the words classical and/or greek:
“Classical art, in a word, stands for form; romantic art for content. The romantic artist expects people to ask, What has he got to say? The classical artist expects them to ask, How does he say it?”
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—Empedocles 484–424 B.C., Greek philosopher. The Presocratics, p. 142, ed. Philip Wheelwright, The Bobbs-Merrill Co., Inc. (1960)