A Tad Bit ‘Bout Life

In the broad spectrum of history, Greece has been but a speck, but a prominent and colourful speck at that. Greece has been, alongside Rome, the basis on which the modern West is founded upon. Its philosophy and the legacy imparted by its rulers, as well as their ideals of honour have carried through the ages. From the days of Homer to those of Aristotle, there always was a distinct militaristic touch to the requirements of an honourable leader, as well as an emphasis on education. Yet radical changes altered the face of honour and leadership over the ages, notably, the transformation of self-centered glory-seeking to an altruistic placing of state before self.

Several aspects have remained throughout the Greek Dark Ages to the rebirth of Greece in the Classical Period, most important among them, the importance of military aspects in both leadership and honor. In around 1000 B.C., Homer formed his Iliad, which can be used in this case to illustrate the form of honour and leadership at the time. One of the most important characters in the Iliad, Hector, Prince of Troy, has a dramatic conversation with his wife on fighting Achilles. Both knew the inevitable result, leaving a rather depressing picture to Hector and his family. In this conversation, Hector decides that he must fight, if only to keep his name, and to avoid the shame on his family that his resulting cowardice would bring. From this excerpt, it can be inferred that, in the days of Homer, honour was closely related to personal glory, and leadership was intertwined with honour. A millennium later, in approximately 100 A.D., Plutarch reported on Spartan education in ancient times in his The Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans, in which an overpowering stench of militarism can be detected. Bravery is rewarded, obedience and discipline lauded, for after all, a good leader must first be a good follower. Even in the days of Pericles, the renowned Athenian democrat, there was subtle hint of militarism as a way of attaining honour and leadership. This is evident in Thucydides’ The First Athenian Citizen (a book entirely about Pericles), where he writes that “The reason for Pericles’ superior leadership was that he, by virtue of high rank, integrity, and incorruptibility … controlled the masses…and was not led by them, but, rather, led them.” Rank is a basic principle of militarism, and therefore, that solitary word says it all. This document, clearly praising Pericles, and not including much, or any criticism, for that matter, means that, through his military exploits and rank as well as other factors, of course, he is the model of honour and leadership. These three examples, encompassing Homer, Plutarch, and Thucydides, clearly demonstrate how militarism has been a way of obtaining, or expressing honour and leadership. Of course, the military was not the only vehicle to social preeminence and power, which leads us to education and its continuity throughout Grecian times.

Education, though varied in form, has continued to be a way to gaining, or demonstrating honour and leadership. An unknown Athenian, living in around 500-400 B.C., writes that “my father was anxious to see me develop into a good man…and as a means to this end he compelled me to memorize all of Homer.” This excerpt, apart from explicitly showing that education provides a means to achieve honour and leadership, shows that education in those dark days was not limited to arms and steel. A few years earlier, though still in the same time frame (circa 500-600 B.C.), Plutarch, as mentioned in the last paragraph, reported on the Spartan military training in his The Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans. This is an education, though different to the modern perception of such. Some hundred years later, 360 B.C., in the days of Plato, education takes a rather different form, but still retains the basic elements of an education, which is, after all, the imparting and acquiring of knowledge through teaching and learning. According to Plato’s The Republic, wisdom is something acquired and laboriously earned. Even in 310 B.C., in the days of Aristotle, education, and a keen mind, are things that make great leaders greater and more honourable. On the other hand, Grecian culture has changed radically from Ancient to Classical times.

Leaders in ancient Greece were essentially despots, but this changed greatly in the transition to the Classical period, as democracy worked to separate military and civic realms. Homer, as quoted before, proves to be an important source in this section, too. Hector, prince of Troy, did not go out to fight because of his people, but because he wanted to avoid being branded a coward. This shows a rather self-centered form of a leader. This changes, though, with the introduction of democracy. Pericles, in a eulogy to a dead man in 400 B.C., later written down and passed through the generations as Funeral Oration, praises the system which allows even a commoner to become a leader (as long as that person wasn’t a slave or a female). He talks of the utter justice that this system allows. Throughout his eulogy, he makes it clear that honour comes through equality, interest in state affairs, and public responsibility. The military, as a vehicle to honour and leadership, had declined in effect, while, on the contrary, education’s prominence grew.

Education has changed significantly in its role of bringing its student higher in the ranks or status, and earning them the honor that was so prized at the time. In what is known as the “Dark Ages” of Greece, Spartan boys who aspired to be soldiers drilled, exercised, obeyed, and demonstrated courage. They did this to become leaders. As mentioned before, boot camp is education, as they learn to fight. We know all of this from Plutarch, who informed us of this via his The Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans, written in about 100 A.D. Later on, the unknown Athenian mentioned before tells us of his father’s wish to have his son grow in prominence, and therefore memorize Homer. Approximately 200 years after the Athenian did his bit, Plato, in the midst of Classical Greece, and in his The Republic, urges kings to become philosophers, or that philosophers should become kings, so that all strife should end. Philosophy, is, after all, the seeking of wisdom, and with sufficient wisdom, which comes through mental exercise and thought (education), a leader can reign successfully and honourably. Another example, which emanates from Plato’s student Aristotle, informs us that “the activity of the mind is not only the highest…but also the most continuous: we are able to study continuously more easily than to perform any kind of action.” Here, study is mentioned, which is clearly synonymous with education. Unlike the other examples of education, however, this excerpt stresses that the mind (and therefore the developed mind) is of the highest degree. What this shows is a change from almost entirely war-orientated education, to intellectual and highly brain-directed education. In the process of this transition, though, it passes through simple memorizing (the unknown Athenian and Homer) and less intellectual forms of education, until mind-orientated education reaches its peak at the time of Aristotle.

Not minding the type of education, or the actual intensity of military involvement, education and the military there has always been a factor of both as a means of becoming a leader, or obtaining honour throughout Ancient and Classical Grecian politics and society.