Identity Themes In Ancient Greece
Identity Themes in Ancient Greece Honor and Culture are two of the most prominent Identity themes in ancient Greek literature. Honor seems to be a slightly more important theme, although Honor and culture are intertwined in many ways. The Greeks are dominant because of these two strong aspects of their society. Greeks, especially the Athenians, believe that their culture is much better and more advanced than any other at the time. This gave the Greeks a sense of pride, or honor in their society. This goes both ways because Greek culture is characterized by Honor, and Greek honor is directly influenced by their culture. Honor is a very prevalent theme in the Greek documents that we have covered in class. One of the documents that highlights the theme of honor the most is the “Funeral Oration of Pericles Book II”. Thucydides speaks of how great the Athenian culture is and
…show more content…
and how honorably the dead men had fought in battle.
This document also displays how honorable it is to die defending Athens. This is shown when Thucydides says “Such is Athens for which these men, in the assertion of their resolve not to lose her, nobly fought and died; and well may every one of their survivors be ready to suffer in her cause”(Funeral Oration of Pericles Book II, pg. 3). This quote shows how willingly Greek men are to die to protect their city and gain honor. This identity of Greek honor can be perceived as arrogance in many situations as well. The Greek have so much honor and pride in their culture that every other society is inferior to them. This is displayed in “The Melian Conference” document that we read for class. This is shown when the Athenians say the following to the
melians:
“For ourselves, we shall not trouble you with specious pretences - either of how we have a right to our empire because we overthrew the Mede, or are now attacking you because of wrong that you have done to us”(Melian Conference, pg. 1).
This excerpt from the “Melian Conference” shows how Athenian pride can turn into arrogance in many cases. The Greeks believe that they have the right to conquer all the surrounding lands and create an empire. They think that it is an insult to them if a small nation like melos does not cooperate with this plan. Athenian honor and pride is instrumental in creating an empire, but their arrogance eventually catches up to them in the end. Culture is a very important theme in Greek culture that is the basis of their society. The Greeks, especially the Athenians, were a very educated and cultured society. The Greeks were very into their literature, architecture, and art. This was even evident in early greek cultures such as the Minoans. The Minoans had a very early form of a language, great art, and beautiful architecture. These aspects of Minoan culture are displayed in our first source of “Minoan and Mycenean Images”. These images depict a huge palace that the Minoans had built in an amazing feat of architecture. The palace walls are lined with beautiful paintings that show how cultured the Minoans were. This was carried on throughout Greek culture until the collapse of the Greek culture. These aspects of culture were most evident in the city of Athens. Athens was full of beautiful architecture as well as some of the greatest thinkers of the time. Athenians put a great emphasis on education and culture. They took a great pride in these ideas, and it is one of the main reasons that Greeks viewed themselves as better than everyone else. Although honor and culture are both integral themes in ancient Greek culture, it is clear that honor is more important. The vast culture of the Greeks is fueled by their honor and pride in Greece itself. Without honor, The Empire of Ancient Greece would have never became what it was. Although this honor may have became arrogance in certain situations, it still allowed Greece to conquer and hold their vast empire. It gave the entire area a sense of unity which was very important in maintaining the empire. This sense of unity and purpose allowed the impressive Greek culture to blossom and become what we learn about today. Culture and Honor go hand in hand as the two most important aspects of Ancient Greek society.
and how honorably the dead men had fought in battle.
This document also displays how honorable it is to die defending Athens. This is shown when Thucydides says “Such is Athens for which these men, in the assertion of their resolve not to lose her, nobly fought and died; and well may every one of their survivors be ready to suffer in her cause”(Funeral Oration of Pericles Book II, pg. 3). This quote shows how willingly Greek men are to die to protect their city and gain honor. This identity of Greek honor can be perceived as arrogance in many situations as well. The Greek have so much honor and pride in their culture that every other society is inferior to them. This is displayed in “The Melian Conference” document that we read for class. This is shown when the Athenians say the following to the
melians:
“For ourselves, we shall not trouble you with specious pretences - either of how we have a right to our empire because we overthrew the Mede, or are now attacking you because of wrong that you have done to us”(Melian Conference, pg. 1).
This excerpt from the “Melian Conference” shows how Athenian pride can turn into arrogance in many cases. The Greeks believe that they have the right to conquer all the surrounding lands and create an empire. They think that it is an insult to them if a small nation like melos does not cooperate with this plan. Athenian honor and pride is instrumental in creating an empire, but their arrogance eventually catches up to them in the end. Culture is a very important theme in Greek culture that is the basis of their society. The Greeks, especially the Athenians, were a very educated and cultured society. The Greeks were very into their literature, architecture, and art. This was even evident in early greek cultures such as the Minoans. The Minoans had a very early form of a language, great art, and beautiful architecture. These aspects of Minoan culture are displayed in our first source of “Minoan and Mycenean Images”. These images depict a huge palace that the Minoans had built in an amazing feat of architecture. The palace walls are lined with beautiful paintings that show how cultured the Minoans were. This was carried on throughout Greek culture until the collapse of the Greek culture. These aspects of culture were most evident in the city of Athens. Athens was full of beautiful architecture as well as some of the greatest thinkers of the time. Athenians put a great emphasis on education and culture. They took a great pride in these ideas, and it is one of the main reasons that Greeks viewed themselves as better than everyone else. Although honor and culture are both integral themes in ancient Greek culture, it is clear that honor is more important. The vast culture of the Greeks is fueled by their honor and pride in Greece itself. Without honor, The Empire of Ancient Greece would have never became what it was. Although this honor may have became arrogance in certain situations, it still allowed Greece to conquer and hold their vast empire. It gave the entire area a sense of unity which was very important in maintaining the empire. This sense of unity and purpose allowed the impressive Greek culture to blossom and become what we learn about today. Culture and Honor go hand in hand as the two most important aspects of Ancient Greek society.