Essay What Does Violence Mean to the Greek - 1142 Words

Violence was the basis of polis culture and it helped unify Hellas. In every aspect of the polis some sort of violence is involved, whether it is athletic or intellectual, violence exists everywhere. According to Homer, violence means courage, strength, power, the might of domination, the taking of human life and psychological violence. Hesiod, on the other hand, defines two different types of violence: one which is hateful and is shown in war and the other which is peaceful which is expressed in society. For the Greeks, violence was a positive thing, it was an intrinsic part of their society. In this essay, I define violence as a way to express oneself in an aggressive manner while causing misfortune to an individual. I will discuss the†¦show more content†¦The importance of the lack of rules in the fighting arena tell us a great deal about the Ancient Greeks. For the month in which the Olympic Games were held, poleis observed a scared truce banning warfare and channeled their rivalries instead into athletic contests. This unified the Greeks under religious, economic and cultural terms. According to philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, athletics never really cultured violence and most of the competitors were not violent either. It is man who uses sport as an expression of violence. In Nietzsche’s view, the Ancient Greek obsession with agon (contest) led inexorably to cultural pre-eminence. He believed that the Greeks learned to â€Å"spiritualize† their passions, enmity in particular. This aggressive but rule-bound ethos became the competitive force in Greek culture. Greek culture can be seen more visually in the form of art, which emerged around 550BCE. The Athenians created a new style of pottery called ‘red-figure’ pottery which allowed the artist to create more subtle and detailed drawings on the pottery. The most popular drawings on the pottery were that of mythological characters in battle; details of characters holding spears and swords. This acted as propaganda to the Greek world. The Greeks were constantly envisioning battle scenes of their idols and naturally wanted to follow in their footsteps. Due to the immense number of wars that took take place in Greece, the hoplite phalanx always required more men. WarsShow MoreRelatedViolence, Power, and Goals in the Hebrew Bible and The Iliad Essay1355 Words   |  6 PagesViolence is a means to an end. Violence is not something most humans resort to for enjoyment. Violence is, however, the right thing to be done in certain situations. With violence, comes great power. Power and violence walk together, hand in hand. When violence is exhibited, the power of the individual is shown to those around him. In both the Hebrew Bible and The Iliad, violence is depicted as a mode to reach goals. 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