The Depiction of a Good Life
hat is considered a good life? Herodotus and Epicurus presents readers there depiction of a good life in their works, Persian Wars and “Letter to a Friend,” respectively. The ideas of a good life presented by Herodotus in Persian Wars and by Epicurus in “Letter to a Friend” both share identical aspects of a good life, but at the same time both works are distinct from one another.
One similarity between the two writers’ idea of a good life is that one must have respect for the divine whether it be a single god or many gods. In Persian Wars, Solon, an Athenian, tells Croesus of Sardis the story of brothers Cleobis and Bito. According to the story, there was “a great festival in honor of the goddess Hera at Argos” in which the brothers, along with their mother, had to travel a good distance by chariot. When the oxen have yet came in from the fields, the brothers decided to pull the chariot themselves in fear of being late to the festival. By doing this act, the brothers showed utmost respect to Hera which shows that to live a good life you must respect the divine no matter the circumstances (1627). In Epicurus’ “Letter to a Friend,” to tell readers that in order to live a good life, the author states that one should “. . . offer. . . hope of placating the gods by worship” (1635). Worshipping the gods shows that the worshipper is respecting the gods in order to live a good life because the gods can determine their fate.
To have enough material possessions to feel comfortable is another similarity Herodotus and Epicurus share about how to live a good life. According to Herodotus, those with many riches are not living a better life than those who just have enough wealth to meet the requirements to provide for the needs of everyday life. Also it is stated that one who is living the good life while having many riches just so happens “that luck attend upon him, and so he continue in
One similarity between the two writers’ idea of a good life is that one must have respect for the divine whether it be a single god or many gods. In Persian Wars, Solon, an Athenian, tells Croesus of Sardis the story of brothers Cleobis and Bito. According to the story, there was “a great festival in honor of the goddess Hera at Argos” in which the brothers, along with their mother, had to travel a good distance by chariot. When the oxen have yet came in from the fields, the brothers decided to pull the chariot themselves in fear of being late to the festival. By doing this act, the brothers showed utmost respect to Hera which shows that to live a good life you must respect the divine no matter the circumstances (1627). In Epicurus’ “Letter to a Friend,” to tell readers that in order to live a good life, the author states that one should “. . . offer. . . hope of placating the gods by worship” (1635). Worshipping the gods shows that the worshipper is respecting the gods in order to live a good life because the gods can determine their fate.
To have enough material possessions to feel comfortable is another similarity Herodotus and Epicurus share about how to live a good life. According to Herodotus, those with many riches are not living a better life than those who just have enough wealth to meet the requirements to provide for the needs of everyday life. Also it is stated that one who is living the good life while having many riches just so happens “that luck attend upon him, and so he continue in