[German version]

(οἰκουμένη/oikoumén ē, Lat. oecumene) is a participle originally referring to gê (γῆ, 'earth') and designating 'the inhabited part of the earth' in contrast to the uninhabited portion. The oldest preserved evidence (Xenophan. fr. 41 DK) already links the word to the collective subject 'we' (sc. human beings) and thus relates oikoumene to a 'humankind' that is not further specified. Accordingly, the oikoumene is not only a geographic entity, but first of all a social realm established by its inhabitants' ability, at least in principle, to fo…