Greek history
True Justice: The Interpretation of Justice in Ancient Greece
Throughout the works of ancient Greece many themes are explored thoroughly and in turn give an overall view of confusion and ever changing beliefs. This idea of continuously changing ideals can be seen firmly rooted within the social and moral function of justice. Justice being the recompense, social balancing act and morality cleansing hunger that consumes everyone throughout the stories of Homer and explored more lightly in Archaic poetry and philosophy. Though the term justice may not be thoroughly explained, it is given in each person’s wants and desires for their outcomes as well as others that they came across. Now, the main question that comes to mind when considering justice in the Greek world is, what did it mean to them and how did it change? Overall there was little to no change to the definition of justice, just the blurring of lines between it and revenge. Revenge seemed to be what the Greek writers considered to be justice, as long as they were even with whoever wronged them, and then they were completely whole. The exploration of revenge clashing with justice can be seen throughout the passages about to be presented. Starting with Homer’s epic, The Iliad, we find Agamemnon fighting with Achilles over their own form of personal justice and gratification when it comes to the spoils of war throughout the entire first book, including, “Rage: Sing, Goddess, Achilles’ rage, black and murderous, that cost the Greeks incalculable pain, pitched countless souls of heroes into Hades’ dark, and left their bodies to rot as feasts for dogs and birds, as Zeus’ will was done.” (Iliad, 1,1-6) This passage is an overview of the entirety of the Iliad and gives brief insight to what transpires over the entire book. Achilles rage is the cause of the majority of the deaths throughout the story, including his best friend, all starting from the blinded line of revenge and justice. Homer seems to
Throughout the works of ancient Greece many themes are explored thoroughly and in turn give an overall view of confusion and ever changing beliefs. This idea of continuously changing ideals can be seen firmly rooted within the social and moral function of justice. Justice being the recompense, social balancing act and morality cleansing hunger that consumes everyone throughout the stories of Homer and explored more lightly in Archaic poetry and philosophy. Though the term justice may not be thoroughly explained, it is given in each person’s wants and desires for their outcomes as well as others that they came across. Now, the main question that comes to mind when considering justice in the Greek world is, what did it mean to them and how did it change? Overall there was little to no change to the definition of justice, just the blurring of lines between it and revenge. Revenge seemed to be what the Greek writers considered to be justice, as long as they were even with whoever wronged them, and then they were completely whole. The exploration of revenge clashing with justice can be seen throughout the passages about to be presented. Starting with Homer’s epic, The Iliad, we find Agamemnon fighting with Achilles over their own form of personal justice and gratification when it comes to the spoils of war throughout the entire first book, including, “Rage: Sing, Goddess, Achilles’ rage, black and murderous, that cost the Greeks incalculable pain, pitched countless souls of heroes into Hades’ dark, and left their bodies to rot as feasts for dogs and birds, as Zeus’ will was done.” (Iliad, 1,1-6) This passage is an overview of the entirety of the Iliad and gives brief insight to what transpires over the entire book. Achilles rage is the cause of the majority of the deaths throughout the story, including his best friend, all starting from the blinded line of revenge and justice. Homer seems to