Hipolis
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| Flag of Hipolis | |
| Motto: Eleutheria i thanatos | |
| No Map Available Yet | |
| Region | The East Pacific |
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| Capital | Taliadoros |
| Official Language(s) | Greek |
| Leader | Chief of State: Queen Hagne; Chief of Government: Chancellor Anna Tavoularis |
| Population | 411,220 |
| Currency | Drachma |
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The Commonwealth of Hipolis is a Confederal Member in the Gulf of Vasconia. Hipolis consists of the Hipolitan Archipelago and its 711 islands and cays.
History
Main article: History of Hipolis
The Hipolitans originated in pre-historic Greece. The first ancestors of Hipolitans were a matriarchal, pre-Myceanaean society. They were the victims of frequent assault by the Mycenaeans but, instead of being displaced, both the men and the women among these ancestors of the Hipolitans took up the art of war, maintaining a precarious existence as warrior outcasts in the wilds of pre-historic Greece. At some point, probably around 1100 BC, the Priestess-Queen of one of these bands, named Haidee in myth, was captured by a Greek king, whom Hipolitan legend names Haemon, who forced her to be his bride. The pre-Hipolitans, angered at this affront, attacked Haemon in an attempt to rescue their queen. The pre-Hipolitans lost the fight and Haidee was slain. However, her followers managed to rescue her infant daughter, Halie. Some historians believe that this incident constituted the historical basis for many of the classical myths about the Amazons.
Fleeing the wrath of Haemon, the band of warriors took to the sea. By fortuitous accident, they managed to find their way from island to island until they were an ocean away in a new land they named Hipolis. They made careful notes of their voyage, in case any of them should ever wish to return to Greece.
Although the new society of Hipolis was generally pleasant for its members, there were a few who yearned to learn more of their ancient Greek home. In 911 BC, some travel to and from Greece began. This traffic was kept largely secret from most of the Greeks, as visiting Hipolitans would pretend to be Greeks from unknown Greek city states. However, some Greeks seeking a refuge from the problems of their society were given directions to the tropical paradise of Hipolis. Because of the primitive state of navigation and shipbuilding, more of these voyages fairled that succeeded. Many had to turn back and many others perished at sea. because of this limited contact, Hipolitans continued to speak a recognizable dialect of Greek, became familiar with classical philosophy and literature, and even adopted Christianity, although their faith has often seemed at odds with much else about their culture.
In 1411, Captain Cristobal Caballero sailed into Saltsidis Harbor and established the first open contact with Hipolis. At that time, Hipolis resumed regular contact with the outside world. For the next few hundreds years, the islands served as a refuge for people fleeing the often harsh governments of the rest of the world. By 1747, the islands had gained a degree of ethnic diversity, largely the descendants of run-away slaves from the Caribbean, Brazil, and North America. However, cultural assimilation was near total.
In 1747, the Hipolitans went to war with a neighboring people, the Bakirdzans. After this war, Hipolis embraced a policy of near total isolationism. Nearly all contact with the outside world was cut-off. This policy was relaxed in 1811 out of a fear that Hipolis would render herself helpless if she refused to partake of the scientific and military developments of that time. However, contact with the rest of the world was still heavily restricted and almost entirely limited to the practical.
It wasn't until 2006 that this policy was changed. In that year, Hipolis entered into rapid negotiations leading to the incorporation of Bakirdzis into the Commonwealth. The nation also made its first overtures of friendship to the international community. Most prominently, Princess Damia, the eldest daughter and heir apparent of Queen Hagne was appointed ambassador to the United Nations during this period.
Geography
Main article: Geography of Hipolis
Hipolis is an archipelago of 711 islands and cays covering 211,570 square miles of the Atlantic Ocean. It has a total land area of 6,115 square miles. The population is concentrated on the three large islands of Thanou, Palamas, and Bakirdzis.
The largest island is Thanou. Bakogianni is the island closest to the North American coast. The most southeastern of the islands is Iakovakis. Bakirdzis is the most recent addition to the Commonwealth and is the only island where the people are substantially different in culture. Other notable islands include Galonopoulas, Samos, and Magos. Taliadoros, the capital and largest city, is located on Thanou.
Politics
Main article: Politics of Hipolis
Queen Hagne is the Chief of State of Hipolis and a constitutional monarch. Hipolis is a parliamentary democracy without organized political parties. The nation has a bicameral parliamentary system with a Popular Assembly and a Senate. Members of the Popular Assembly are elected through a single district, preferential voting system must stand for re-election whenever the Chancellor requests that the Queen dissolve that body, whenever voters in their district pass a recall referendum, or whenever the Popular Assembly has gone six years without a general election. Senators are selected through a variety of means and retain their seats during good behavior. The country is governed by a cabinet headed by a chancellor.
Districts
Main article: Districts of Hipolis
The districts of Hipolis provide a system of local government everywhere in the islands. While many district officials are locally elected, Hipolis is a unitary state with Parliamentary supremacy and national legislation always overrides the any contradictory district charters or ordinances. The current system, dating from 1991, defines 31 districts.
Economy
Main article: Economy of Hipolis
Hipolis has a stable, traditional economy. Tourism accounts for 61% of all official economic activity. However, the bulk of Hipolitan economic activity takes place unrecorded and outside of the market. The great bulk of Hipolitans primarily provide for their needs through fishing, hunting, or farming.
Manufacturing and commercial agriculture combined account for about 11% of Hipolitan economic activity. Economic growth opportunities rely heavily on the Lanerian economy, as the great bulk of tourists visiting Hipolis come from the United States of Laneria.
Demographics
Main article: Demographics of Hipolis
Hipolis does not include race of ethnicity in any official census. However, the most reliable private studies indicate that 72% of Hipolitans are of seemingly unmixed Hellenic stock. 14% are of mixed European ancestry. 11% are of mixed ancestry including substantial non-European ancestry. 3% are of seemingly unmixed Arabic ancestry. Hipolitan Arabs are concentrated overwhelmingly on the island of Bakirdzis and are the only culturally distinct minority group. Ethnicity is normally considered a non-issue in Hipolis.
The official language of Hipolis is Greek. Fluency in Greek is one of the requirements made of any person applying to be naturalized as a Hipolitan citizen, although it is not necessarily required of applicants for permanent resident alien status. English, French, Portuguese, Danish, and Spanish are also relatively common among plurilingual Hipolitans, with fluency in English being required for some jobs in the tourism industry.
Hipolis is a deeply spiritual country with more houses of worship per capita than any other [[nation in Earth C and with 84% percent of the population attending services each week. However, it is not a deeply theological country. The precise differences between different Christian sects and even between different religions are often given a much lower place in Hipolitan religious discourse than a shared sense of the Divine and of morality. This religious climate recently led the Eastern Orthodox Archbishop of Taliadoros and All Hipolis to issue a sharply worded statement reminding the Orthodox faithful to pay heed to the "distinct limits of the ecumenical project."
Christianity is the largest religion in Hipolis. The largest Christian denomination in Hipolis is referred to in English as the Althean Church. The actual translation of the Greek name is "Pentecostal Church" but the alternate name is used in English to avoid confusion with the Protestant Pentecostal movement, with which the Altheans have almost nothing in common. Eastern Orthodoxy is the second largest faith. Protestant and Catholic churces are also common.
Voodoo, Obeah, Santiera, Rastafarianism and similar Afro-Carribean religions are almost unknown in Hipolis. However, Hipolis has produced its own comparable sect in Aegis, combining Christianity with classical Greek religion. While few in number, Aegians receive a great deal of attention from tourists.
Culture
Main article: Culture of Hipolis
Hipolitan culture is rooted in the matriarchal world-view of the Hipolitans most ancient ancestors. However, while this culture fundamentally defines the basic way of seeing the world most Hipolitans share, there are few Hipolitan institutions directly traceable to this ancient origin.
Modern Hipolitan culture is strongly influenced by that of ancient and modern Greece as well as by many of the shared institutions of the modern West.
Climate
The climate of the Bahamas is subtropical to tropical, and is moderated significantly by the waters of the Gulf Stream, particularly in winter. Conversely, this often proves very dangerous in the summer and autumn, when hurricanes pass near or through the islands. In the last ten years, Hipolis has three times been struck by hurricanes, claiming a total of 207 lives.
