Bravery, strength, and leadership are just a few of the characteristics possessed by Theseus of Greece and Romulus of Rome. Plutarch, a Greek historian, explains lives each of these men. These men were different from any of the other men during Ancient Greece and Rome; according to Plutarch, they were descendants of the divine, which ultimately destined them for greatness. Throughout their lives, they would achieve power through various events and establish the societies and politics of two the greatest cities in history. The paths that each took and the events that occurred in their lives molded them into the heroes while also contributing to the legacy they would leave behind.
Monarchs ruled Athens, before the life of Theseus. To kept the monarchy in control and continue the current rulers authority, an heir had to be born. Conflict between the current ruler and those who wanted to take over his position was always inevitable. In Plutarch writing, Theseus was born to the king of Athens, Aegeus, and Aethra, the daughter of the wise Pittheus. After Aegeus’ encounter with Aethra, he left shoes and a sword under a rock so that if he did produce an heir he would return to Athens to be at his father’s side. Aegeus knew that if he did produce an heir that he had to keep the child a secret so that his enemies, the fifty sons of Palla, would not kill the child. When Aethra’s son was born her, her father claimed that little Theseus’ father was the god of the sea, Poseidon, hiding the secret of the real father. In addition, it is possible that Poseidon was said to be the boy’s father because this could boost the boy’s reputation as he grew.
While Athens prepared for the encounter of a young man that would change their city, Plutarch exp...
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... not care about Theseus death until at the Battle of Marathon, where men claimed to see Theseus charge the army into victory. With orders from the oracle of Delphi, Theseus’ bones were found in Scyros and brought back to be buried in Athens. Theseus’ bones were buried in an area where his memory as a protector of the weak flourished.
Plutarch paired Theseus and Romulus because they were both men of divine ancestry that showed bravery and did whatever it took for their cities to grow. They both had their flaws, like Romulus ruling as king and killing his brother, while Theseus had trouble with kidnapping women that kept him away from governing Athens properly. From the readings, there are no clear passages of favoritism by Plutarch because no man was really better than the other. They were just men who went from being bastard children to legends in ancient history.
The effects of this go far beyond the imbalance of military power between Athens and her tributaries, however. The Old Oligarch lists four main areas where the existence of the Empire benefits the common people of Athens, thus giving impetus to radicalize democracy and justify the expansion and strengthening of the Empire, and giving is reason to find an ongoing justification for its existence. The first is the building of the disproportionately large Athenian navy. Second is the overall flattening of the Athenian social pyramid, raising the relative status of the lowest classes of society, and exemplified by the way that Athens becomes a magnet for aliens to live and work, and gives unusual freedom and opportunity to slaves. Third is that the allies are compelled to have their court cases tried in Athenian courts, bringing both prestige and financial reward to Athens. Finally, the centralizing effect of these things, and the obvious maritime nature of the Empire, make Athens a trading center, m...
The two Caesars that caught my attention the most were Augustus and Gaius. These two represent a stark contrast between the rulers f Rome. One was a visionary and a leader, the other was an insane megalomaniac. Suetonius did a good job of describing not only the men and their actions, but how these actions affected the Romans and the world. All of the men were important and influential, but Suetonius' description of these two captured my attention.
...of Greece was changed and even debased through these events. While each city certainly had its own sets of conditions and flow of events, we can surely trace the start of such vainglorious butchery directly to the events at Corcyra.
The main themes in this book are war, power, heroism, love, loyalty and growth. We are given further insight into the classical Greek society as Alexas reminisces about his family life, his training as an athlete, the Olympic Games, his homosexual relationship with his mentor Lysis, and his encounters with Socrates the Philosopher. The main characters seem dogged by guilt, loneliness or failure, often the failure to love. The book ends on a triumphant note, with the Athenians defeating the Spartans, and liberating their city from the corrupt politicians.
Themistocles had an insight into the world that was hard to duplicate. He managed to precisely the right thing at precisely the right time, and by doing this, he assured the security of Greece. His cunning and charisma were
... myths are told and some of the history behind the city of Athens, it is certainly clear that there is more going on with why people told the myth of Theseus than just to convey historical information. Myths are entertaining to listen to, and an effective means to disseminate information. The information within them, however, may not be strictly true but the ideas conveyed are. For Theseus, setting him up as a national hero gave later politicians a means to smooth over some tricky political moves that may have upset the general populace and also a means to unite them into a central identity. For this reason, one of the main reasons the myth was told was for propagandist reasons, and not historical. Whether or not there was a disagreement between the Athenians and Cretans is a moot point; the important thing here is who the Athenians were, or who they aspired to be.
His character traits are listed in three main accounts by authors A.J. Koutsoukis, Erik Hildinger, who are both current impartial historical non-fiction writers and, Plutarch. Plutarch was a Greek historian, biographer and essayist, who is most famous for his work Parallel Lives, where he focuses on all of the contributing rulers of the Roman Republic. Plutarch is very even handed and focuses on the influence of character and moral lessons that can be learned from these emperors, good or bad.
Functions, Occasions, and the Individual: Sappho and Archilochus In his introduction to Greek Lyric Poetry, scholar M.L. West explains, “all [lyric poetry] is the poetry of the present, the poetry in which people express their feelings and ideas about all their current concerns…it is all social poetry” (p. viii). It is this sentiment that lies at the core of this analysis of the Greek lyricists Sappho and Archilochus. The functions and occasions of their poetry represents the social constructs for which their poetic thought was introduced to the ancient world. Yet, equally important to the poetic work they created in, is the individual experience they put forth in their work.
During the birth of early Greece each city-state had a distinctive style a rather religious, social, and political viewpoint. Homer is considered the earliest example of a writer, whether or not he composed the Iliad and the Odyssey, as a whole remains a question to many scholars. Honor and glory remained as the most prevalent ideas during the time period. It was a moment in history in which honor defined a man and glory allowed for success. A glorious man was one like “Hector” heir to throne of the city of Troy. He was a man that fought his opponent with every inch of strength and willingness to protect his city. Hector is a true hero, and when he dies fighting for his city against the mighty Achilles; he sets the standards of what defines a hero.
The wise and strong Pākaʻa and the cunning and brave Odysseus. Both alleged heroes are seen to have moments where they are idolized as role-models. But their true motives are shrouded behind their cloud of actions. Heroes and villains alike share a few qualities, but take a look at the core and you see that true natures of both differ dramatically.
and went on many great ventures such as the Quest for the Golden Fleece. Theseus
Rome has experienced both its good and bad leaders throughout its stint as a monarchy. Cincinnatus and Superbus both emerged as standout examples for both ends of the spectrum. Their actions and decisions exemplified what it takes to be either a good or bad ruler. Their legacies and remembrance have survived the ages for a reason. Both rulers committed acts that affected Rome greatly whether it was in a positive or negative way. Cincinnatus cared for Rome and his actions showed that through his valiance and loyalty. Superbus will forever be deemed as a bad leader because of his greed and disregard for the Roman law. Rome experimented with people and experienced the best and worst of times, icons emerged.
...e Aeneas and Caesar to become great heroes among men. Both show piety and one is also driven by the gods, but after centuries no one has forgotten them. One of them because his ending created the foundation for an empire that would reign for a millennium. The other because of his clever tactics and devotion to protect his men and city. War has torn the world apart through the millenniums passing their times, but no one has come to the magnitude of positive renown like Aeneas and Caesar.
Every hero in Greek mythology produces some type of lesson for all of us to take heed to. each hero fell in and out of favor with the gods and was forced to do unthinkable tasks. But, without these heros, Greek mythology would not be what it is today. The heros of their time are what made the history of the Greeks come together. As shown by Hercules, Perseus, and Theseus a great deal of courage was required of them along with sacrifices. Their stories are what make Greek mythology one of the most interesting topics out there.
The Greeks had lots of heroes, who were like role models for their children. Hercules was the strongest man ever, and destroyed many monsters with his strength. Perseus had killed a monster called the Medusa. If someone looked at it, they would immediately turn to stone. Oddysseus beat the Trojans in the Trojan war, and on his way home, with his cunning, tricked, and killed many monsters.