When reading the Odyssey, I can’t help but wonder how insecure the ancient Greeks felt. It seems that the characters are not defined as “good” or “bad” based on todays societies definition of those terms, but are based on the loyalty of the character in question. Take Odysseus, he murders, plots, lies, steals, and yet is seen as good because he is loyal to his ideals. Whenever anyone speaks well of Penelope, they speak of her loyalty and constancy. Orestes is valued because of his loyalty towards his Father. Even the gods value staying true to one another, or staying true enemies of another.
Often times we seem to value things more when we find them lacking in our lives, so after noticing the strain put on loyalty in the Odyssey, I wonder if that was a value lacking in their society. Almost as if they write what they wish they had into their own history. It reminds me of how we as a society crave love so much, and write our perceptions of true love into music, books, and other forms of media.
But, like the ancient Greeks, our societies' perception of true loyalty, love, and goodness is often flawed. It’s not until we focus on the perfect example of goodness that we can actually make these pure values an integral part of society.
P.S. I commented on Brydon Fox's post :)
I like how you analyzed that but I have a question. Instead of society writing about what they want, what if society is writing about the secrets they keep? Throughout history people have always written about what they have secretly done. What if back then people kept true to their loyalties behind closed doors, just like how people hide their love from the public's view today.
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