To live with shame or die in honor. Herodotus proposes this ultimatum through the stories of Gyges and Adrastus. We live under the ideal of integrity, but what keeps a man in the bound of ethics? To some, it's the promise of a heavenly afterlife, to others it’s a fear of breaking societal norms. The conundrum presents itself in everyday modern life. A soldier can flee under fire, but what keeps him there, what keeps his boots dug in the ground while bullets fly past him? The soldier risks his life because dignity plays a critical component to a good life. Herodotus exposes such thinking through two characters in book 1 of his histories, Gyges and Adrastus. Gyges is an ordinary servant, whose sworn loyalty to his King, however he is troubled
A twenty-first century reading of the Iliad and the Odyssey will highlight a seeming lack of justice: hundreds of men die because of an adulteress, the most honorable characters are killed, the cowards survive, and everyone eventually goes to hell. Due to the difference in the time period, culture, prominent religions and values, the modern idea of justice is much different than that of Greece around 750 B.C. The idea of justice in Virgil’s the Aeneid is easier for us to recognize. As in our own culture, “justice” in the epic is based on a system of punishment for wrongs and rewards for honorable acts. Time and time again, Virgil provides his readers with examples of justice in the lives of his characters. Interestingly, the meaning of justice in the Aeneid transforms when applied to Fate and the actions of the gods. Unlike our modern (American) idea of blind, immutable Justice, the meanings and effects of justice shift, depending on whether its subject is mortal or immortal.
Of all the heroic traits such as honor and glory, given to the reader through Homer’s epic poems loyalty seems to be the strongest, as with Patroclus in the Iliad, so it is with Penelope, Telemachus, and Eumaeus in the Odyssey. Through the use of these characters loyalty is demonstrated to Odysseus, the hero if the poem. Their undying loyalty and devotion to the warring hero gives perfect examples of how humans should act to those they claim to be faithful too.
Throughout Greek history and mythology, the greatest heroes have been driven by the desire to gain heroic glory. For them, kleos served as a fundamental indicator of their personal value. A warrior’s worth was defined by how they were viewed and discussed by their peers. Personal glory was more important than life itself. Warriors would rather die young with renown than live a long life of little consequence. However, once they reached the underworld, many found their struggle for kleos by way of personal gain never earned them what they desired. True glory goes beyond an individual’s accomplishments and lives on after their death through their posterity as demonstrated by Agamemnon and Achilles who, upon being visited by Odysseus in the underworld, inquire after the
The World of Homer is home to many ideals and values, primely, the idea of the Hero and what makes one a Hero. A Hero of Homeric society places personal honor above all else, including one’s home, kin, and life itself. The Hero’s reputation meant everything, and if he was insulted or had his honor called into question, he would defend it to his death. Moreover, The Hero amassed glory though the most honorable act of Homer’s World, which was battle. Engaging in combat and putting one’s life on the line was not only considered a duty, but was the only possible way to bring about such great glory and fame that one could achieve a form of immortality. Additionally, The Homeric Hero’s honor code held the notion of respect and justice very high,
The true essence of human nature is seen during times of great hardships as can be seen comparing Pericles' Funeral Oration and the plague in Thucydides', The History of the Peloponnesian War. Thucydides accounts for many different aspects of justice, power, and human nature through his text. The order, the style of his writing, choice of words, and relations of what he believes actually happened, allows the reader to make different inferences about the message he's trying to convey. The juxtaposition of the two stories portrays many different characteristics to investigate and analyze.
Relationship between Greeks and Gods in Hippolytus The play Hippolytus by the Greek playwright Euripides is one which explores classical Greek religion. Throughout the play, the influence of the gods on the actions of the characters is evident, especially when Aphrodite affects the actions of Phaedra. Also central to the plot is the god-god interactions between Artemis and Aphrodite.
In Histories, Herodotus’ uses a variety of themes to narrate historical events and a common theme revolves around hubris. Extremely common amongst Greek literature and Greek mythology, hubris appears to be the infamous human trait. Greek mythology sees hubris as a great atrocity and results in an unrelenting punishment. The idea of hubris is that an individual with an authoritative position, a strong or influential leader, becomes extremely proud of his exceptional qualities and forms a delusion of his position to be on par with even the Gods. This blinds the hubristic individual into believing he can defy the Gods and elude ones inevitable fate. Herodotus’ Histories is no exception to containing individuals that display hubristic qualities similar to many other significant historical entities. In Histories, the theme of hubris assists the reader in making a connection between the excerpts from the end of book 1 (1-204-206) to other books and excerpts in Herodotus’ Histories.
Out of the confrontation with Cephalus, Polemarchus, and Thrasymachus, Socrates emerges as a reflective individual searching for the rational foundation of morality and human excellence. The views presented by the three men are invalid and limited as they present a biased understanding of justice and require a re-examination of the terminology. The nature in which the faulty arguments are presented, leave the reader longing to search for the rational foundations of morality and human virtue.
In one of the greatest plays in history Sophocles creates a setting that causes his audience to really think about the society they live in. For the most part Sophocles allows the members of the audience to decide who is right or wrong; hero or villain. He does give one stern reminder to his fellow Greeks. Which is to honor and obey the Gods.
Imagine the time just after the death of Socrates. The people of Athens were filled with questions about the final judgment of this well-known, long-time citizen of Athens. Socrates was accused at the end of his life of impiety and corruption of youth. Rumors, prejudices, and questions flew about the town. Plato experienced this situation when Socrates, his teacher and friend, accepted the ruling of death from an Athenian court. In The Last Days of Socrates, Plato uses Socrates’ own voice to explain the reasons that Socrates, though innocent in Plato’s view, was convicted and why Socrates did not escape his punishment as offered by the court. The writings, “Euthyphro,” “The Apology,” “Crito,” and “Pheado” not only helped the general population of Athens and the friends and followers of Socrates understand his death, but also showed Socrates in the best possible light. They are connected by their common theme of a memoriam to Socrates and the discussion of virtues. By studying these texts, researchers can see into the culture of Athens, but most important are the discussions about relationships in the book. The relationships between the religion and state and individual and society have impacted the past and are still concerns that are with us today.
Greek Mythology ingeniously enforces many important life lessons in its stories. For example, a great moral is presented in the story of Baucis and Philemon: “Good people… ask whatever you want and you shall have your wish” (Hamilton 153). At that point in the story, Jupiter is rewarding Baucis and Philemon for being excellent hosts and punishing all the other single-minded citizens in the country. This story portrays two distinguished morals: love lasts forever and karma. People might not believe in karma, or even in love, but believing in karma leads people to assist others more than causing inconvenience, which is beneficial to the society. In a more informal method, myths present stories “about relationships… [And] especially stories that explore and evaluate the behavior of their principal characters” (Kromholz and McCarter 4). Not only does Greek Mythology present magnificent ideals, but also exploits the true nature of humans. From these kinds of stories, people will become aware of malicious behavior in humans and advise caution toward that behavior. Directly or indirectl...
However, this exploration from two perspectives violates the term ethical as it should be “a universal system of moral principles and values “ applicable through actions perpetrated by humans. However, absolute standards are unobtainable and conditional upon the society and time in which they are conceived. Another definition suggests that to be ethical is “to conform to accepted standards consistent with the agreed principles of correct moral conduct”. Conversely, until Aristotle, there were no “agreed principles for moral conduct” thus the term ethical cannot be used within the context of Homers society. We can, however examine the role the gods have to play in the Iliad and examine the relationship between the immortal and mortal to ascertain an “ethical” framework of the poem.
The story that is found in Plato’s dialogue Euthyphro proposes a dilemma that has since been a very controversial subject. When Socrates encounters Euthyphyo, he is on his way to trail to face charges against his own father. His father had been accused o...
Whether Socrates is portrayed correctly or not, he certainly was a great man. His contribution to western thought cannot be denied. For even if his teachings were different from what they are known to be at present, his influence on Plato is immense. And so, it is no small matter to describe the tragic passing of such a man as Socrates was and remains for philosophy today. Yet in all the indignation which is expected to arise at the death of Socrates, the panache with which he departs is captured excellently in Plato's “Apology.” Specifically, at the end of the "Apology," Socrates makes a very important statement that has had great impact on philosophy ever since its original proclamation. The Stoics in particular have taken this to be the cornerstone of their ideology. The statement made is that "you must regard one thing at least as certain—that no harm can come to a good man either in his life or after his death,” (Plato 100). The following examination focuses therefore on a brief explanation of the circumstances which lead to this statement being made by Socrates, as well as a closer look at why he thinks this to be the case. It is assumed that this statement is true, and validation for that assumption is to be sought as well.
Thucydides’ written history of the Mytilenian Debate and the Melian Dialogue reflects the reality of a period where morality is dependent on the exercise of power and those who possess it. The main theme running through the course of these two debates is that those with the power to act as they wish inherently have the power to dictate morality. The arguments that decide the fate of the Mytilene are made not strictly on the basis of morality but on how their power allows them to exercise the moral course they choose. The Melian dialogue reveals how those in power can dictate morality in terms of self-interest. Both cases also demonstrate how morality is also a function of self-interest. The question of the relationship between power and morality also hinges on the definition of these two vague terms.