In The Education of Cyrus, Xenophon offers a depiction of Cyrus the Great in his perspective; one which portrays Cyrus’ imperial campaign across Asia as a carefully calculated quest to coerce the devotion of others through resembling a likeness to God, whereby he deploys the agents of beneficence and fear, and is ultimately driven by his insatiable ambition for mastery over polis—the body of people. From the very first chapter, Xenophon wastes no time in introducing readers to the novel’s protagonist, Cyrus—or more specifically, the exploits belonging to his legacy (I 1.4). Rather than listing out his conquests to serve as a justification for the greatness of his feats; Xenophon does this to the effect of providing evidence for Cyrus’ ability to accomplish such triumphs. The …show more content…
Cyrus’ function in his army is that of an overseer (V 3.59); and thus separated from the whole, in an almost omnipotent sense. Throughout the novel, divinity is used by many as an agent of fear. Cyrus is warned by Cambyses about the dangers of ambition, and the importance of remaining pious and respectful towards the divine (I 6.44-46); which Cyrus exploits by using piety as a tool in establishing his overall dominance. He understands that “those who fear divinities fear human beings less” (III 3.58); and Cyrus therefore manipulates Hyrcanians into feeling that “they no longer feared either Assyrians or Lydians or their allies, but they were frightened entirely that Cyrus might think it of little moment whether they came or left” (IV 2.14). In the next line, Xenophon renders “it is said a light from heaven became plainly apparent to Cyrus and the army,” and all the men in his troops shuddered “toward the divine” (IV 2.15) to further develop his metaphor of Cyrus’ sanctified rule over
Many great rulers have been tempted by the authority of absolute power. In Antigone, by Sophocles, Creon, the Theban king, will do anything in order to earn this absolute power. Creon’s prideful attitude, disregard of the authority of the gods, and failure to listen cause him to fail as a statesman, demonstrating the nature of kingship in Sophocles’s Antigone.
Prometheus Bound is quite different from other tragedies in that it is peopled entirely by gods. The play focuses on the story of Prometheus, and we have versions of this myth in Hesiod's famous works. There is reason to think that the author of Prometheus Bound was not only acquainted with Hesiod's version but actually drew on Hesiod directly in this play. This essay therefore aims to establish in what ways the author of Prometheus Bound seems to have drawn from Hesiod's version of myth, in what ways he has diverged from it, and what reasons he might have had for making these changes and innovations. This might therefore highlight any particular emphasis or purpose of Prometheus Bound and what its author might have been trying to get across. Though there is not space in this essay to discuss the problems of attributing this play, it must be recognised that this ambiguity of authorship and dating makes it even more difficult than usual to look at views and purposes behind the play.
Throughout Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey, the reader or viewer has the opportunity to see the story’s main protagonist make leadership decisions, and take actions, that range from critical to minor in terms of importance. But the fact is that Odysseus is a leader. And that is the key thing to keep in mind no matter how you experience the poem. Inevitably, when you are talking about leaders, the questions arise: is he or she good or bad? What is the metric and what is your method of evaluation? In this case, we’ll look at Odysseus’ performance through a modern leadership lens, while keeping in mind that Homeric Greek culture might have motivated him to act differently than he would have today.
Xenophon used the third person narrative for introducing his character in the book. He then praises Cyrus, “of all the successors of Cyrus the Elder, no Persian was a more natural ruler and none more deserved to rule”. The Greeks do not desert him after the revelation of his plot against the Persian king because they would likely to get respect from him. Xenophon defines his own position that he came to Asia to become Cyrus’s friend, but not for the money and his own fame. He defends himself for not being ambitious with any military position, “he had come along not as a general, nor as a company commander, nor as a solider”. Throughout the rest of the books, Xenophon has made many remarkable speeches. He encourages the Greeks by regaining their dis...
The prominent theme of Anabasis is about the journey of the Greek mercenaries confronting the “barbarian” world. Xenophon documented the leadership and military tactics among the Greeks mercenaries during their retreat to their homeland. According to Xenophon, leadership was the important element of success and unification in ancient Greek culture. Xenophon admires Cyrus’s bravery and his leadership to the Greek mercenaries, “most of the troops has set sail and undertaken this mercenary service not because they were hard up, but because they had heard of Cyrus’ magnanimity” (Xenophon 144). Not only did Xenophon think Cyrus is a good leader, but also the Greeks. Xenophon defined Cyrus, a great leader, as being respectful, obedient to the elders, skilled at handling horse and proficient in the military skills of archery and javelin, trustworthy and ...
Aeschylus’ Prometheus Bound portrays a greek god detained by a superior for disobedience against the latter’s rule. On the other hand in Euripides’ Hippolytus portrays lust and vengeance of the gods and the extent that they can go to to avenge it.
Although some could possibly call Odysseus, the protagonist of Homer’s The Odyssey, a great leader, the fact that he fails to earn his men’s respect, endangers his men’s lives repeatedly and allows them to die due to his own selfishness states otherwise.
The Epic of Gilgamesh, the Iliad, and Oedipus Rex all center on morality in terms of each character’s social behavior from the beginning to the end of the story. Gilgamesh, Achilles, and Oedipus are three central characters that embody strong qualities of strength, however carry different experiences of morality. Furthermore, all three characters hold different moral codes that are dependent on their ability to resolve the unique situations that they are in. Nevertheless, morality has ultimately impacted the character’s perception of their role in society in terms of whether or not their actions benefit someone or something. This paper will be examining the morality of the three main characters as they undergo major character transformations
In order for a tribe to rise up to an empire, like Persia, not only are great leaders essential but loyal followers are also needed provide a stable civilization. Great leadership for Persia started when the Median Empire, under King Astyages, had control over the Persians when Cyrus the Great; an Achaemenid ascended the Persian throne in 559 B.C.E. Cyrus led the Persians in a revolt against the Medes to be overthrown. Neighboring nations approved of the Median state being taken over, but when Persia began to expand, they soon realized that the Persians were a greater enemy. The rise of the Persians was only the beginning of the forceful changes in power in ancient times. Cyrus expanded the Empire to include Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, Iranian plateau, the Middle East, even stretching to the outskirts of the Egyptian Empire. During these imperialistic expansion years, Persia went from a primitive tribe to a society with diverse culture...
...e gods and goddesses who changed his fate (ex. Poseidon, Calypso, Circle). He learned very many valuable lessons over the course of the epic all thanks to these unfortunate events. Telemachus was also affected by the suitors, who were the biggest reason for his change into a man. They were the main conflict in the story for him and they also played a small role in affecting the changes of his father. Without the suitors, abuse of xenia could not have been displayed, Telemachus would not have had much reason to mature and there would not have been as much interest in the book for readers.
At the beginning or the story Telemachus was naive and sheltered from the outside world. From his experiences at Pylos and Sparta a hero was born. Telemachus gained insight on the way a Greek nation should be governed as well as maturing as a person. The morals and values Telemachus gained will make him a better monarch when it is his turn to take the throne.
Despite the fact that Creon from Sophocles and Pentheus from Ovid’s Metamorphoses rule in very different time periods, their tactics of leading their people are very similar. Both characters possess analogous flaws during their reigns that make them ineffective leaders in Thebes. It’s their arrogance, authoritarian nature, and inability to transform in a timely manner that make figures such as Creon and Pentheus have unsuccessful rulings in Thebes. Creon and Pentheus both share a parallel fate due to their choice to not listen to Tiresias the prophet and disrespecting the Gods’ will. Their inability to listen leads to their demise and forces both characters to attempt to transform in order to save their reign from failure. Their ability to show their authorization by making examples of other characters such as Antigone, and Acoetes is the reason why they are disliked among their people. It is remarkable to see both characters have the ability to transform throughout the text, however it is their flaw of not transforming in a timely manner that causes their regime to fail. Their inability to listen to the same prophet Tiresias is what cause both characters to have such an ineffective reign and lead them straight to their demise. Creon and Pentheus’ arrogance, authoritarian nature, and inability to transform in a timely manner are what not only cause
The sacking of the Kikonians reveals that Odysseus is still very much immersed within the mentality of war. Before being introduce...
for it." (P. 710, L. 840) Odysseus was not only a great leader, but also a very
To be a leader, to control and guide people in the right direction is what most of the people are aiming to do in life. Being the main person in the group certainly means that the individual has a lot of power over the public and is able to influence people as he wishes. It might seem that once the person achieves his goal of being above others and starts controlling other people, his duty becomes straightforward and undemanding. However, the role of a leader is very strenuous and challenging. The person who has authority has to balance his personal desires with the needs of people for whom he is in charge. Even though he is enforcing the law does not mean that he can manipulate it as he wants. Moreover the leader should obey the law, which was established by him more than any one else, otherwise people would not consider it as a strict principle. The play "Antigone" which was written by Sophocles and later adopted by Anouilh shows the lives of people who were affected by each other's decisions, behaviors and feelings. I would like to concentrate on the lifestyle and actions of the person who had the most authority in that play, straightforwardly the "king" of the dramatic piece. Those two plays were written at different periods of time and the message which the authors were trying to pass to the readers differs. After reading those two plays I realized that the behavior and the attitude of the king towards the other characters of the story was changed by Anouilh in order to show the true model of a ruler where as Sophocles tried to show him as a cruel, heartless emperor. The personality and the behavior of the king in Sophocles' play is unsentimental and stubborn which shows the king's "appearance" but in ...