Government And Storytelling: A Greek Love Story

Odysseus, being the king of his homeland, possesses remarkable leadership abilities. In Greek system, king is known as βασιλεύς and has the power to lead the people of his country. For instance, Odysseus appears as a leader when he goes alone to free his shipmates from Circe’s palace by keeping the companions in the ship even though Eurylochus warns him that Circe is dangerous and there is no chance for him to return from her. He does not depend on his shipmates to take any decision from which he is an independent man. Thus, Odysseus considers himself a heroic king who takes care of his people and always leads and protects them.

Homer values the characteristic of hospitality because the characters who do not demonstrate this characteristic typically suffer fatal or near-fatal injuries. In the Odyssey, Penelope (Odysseus’ wife) was hosting an event to make one of the suitors (potential marriage partners) her new husband because she had given up hope that Odysseus would not return home. The men who were at her house would just eat and drink, and showed no hospitality (21.70-78). In the Odyssey, Odysseus had attended this event disguised, and became aware of Penelope’s discourteous guests. Odysseus then goes on a “rampage” and slaughters all of the guests except for a few men who Telemachus (Odysseus’ son) swore their loyalty (22.16-529). Additionally, in chapter 21, Antinoös was the first to be killed because of his abrupt and rude manners, and distinctly

The chain of command for the government of Athens was pretty straightforward. At the very top was the strategoi, the military commanders. There were ten of these, one strategos voted for each tribe. They each served for one year, however unlike the other officials, the strategoi could be reelected to their positions an unlimited number of times. “This is based on the wisdom that frequently overhauling military leadership during a war or other national emergency can prove dangerous or even disastrous” (Nardo 46). One prominent example of this was Pericles, who was extremely popular and was reelected over twenty times before his death. The duty of the strategoi was to carry out orders given by the Council and Assembly. They also regularly carried out foreign policy initiatives.

Moreover, the political activities in Greek were recommendable for it treated individuals in a way that they had right to choose their leaders through the introduction of “demokratia” which means rule by people. Therefore, through using of the democratic governance most areas adopted their political culture,

Hospitality goes two ways; Guest have responsibilities just like the host does. The suitors, who are actually unwelcomed, guest takes Odysseus’s wife hospitality for granted as they waste all the goods and try to get at her constantly. Also when Odysseus returns in the disguise of an old man, the suitors treat him with great inhospitality.

Written about two thousand and seven hundred years earlier, the Odyssey is still influencing modern storytelling today. Odysseus, the legendary Greek king of Ithaca and protagonist of Homer's epic poem the Odyssey was recognized as a great hero of his time. He was known for his defining qualities of superior strength and athleticism, sharp intellect, sensual ness, and a thirst for glory. These character traits are still being used to attribute modern day fictional heroes such as Neo, Captain Jack Sparrow, James Bond, and Spiderman. Accordingly, the heroic qualities of Odysseus can be still be seen in today's modern day fictional heroes.

In the Odyssey, Odysseus is quite the legend known to people, whether you are high up in the sky with Zeus, or deep in the ocean with Poseidon, everyone knows Odysseus. In the epic poem, the Odyssey told by the one and only Homer, the brave, the godlike human, Odysseus is finding his way home after the big battle victory against the Trojans. This story is about his travels home and how he got caught up in other business. Let’s just say he stabbed Poseidon’s son, had his crew turned into pigs, faced a six-headed monster and whirlpool, and that is to say the least. He may as well be on America’s most wanted list with all the trouble he was causing. Even though Odysseus is a troublemaker, he has multiple great characteristics of a leader. Odysseus, when it comes to his crew and family, is confident, compassionate, wise, and always knows a way to get out of any problem.

Greece was one of the first people to have recorded the events of their democratic system. Democracy is a Greek word literally meaning the power of the people to rule. Early democracy was established in ancient Athens, a Greek city-state, and was probably the single most powerful and stable democratic government in Greece.

Democracy is defined as the the rule by the people which Athens did not show in their government. The Athenian Democracy was ruled by The Ekklesia, The Boule, and The Dikasteria. The Ekklesia, Boule, and Dikasteria were made of the assemblies, council of 500, and courts, which does not include all the people of Athens. Demokratia exemplifies that all the people have the right to power/rule the government.

After twenty long years away from his family, Odysseus still has motivation to return to Ithaca. Odysseus could have stayed with the princess of the Phaeacians, but instead he wants to go home to his family. Odysseus’ wife, Penelope and their son, Telemachus motivate Odysseus. Alkinoos offers Odysseus his daughter’s hand in marriage: “My daughter should be yours and you my son-in-law, if you remained. A home, lands, riches you should have from me if you could be content here” (Homer 120). Odysseus refuses the king’s offer: “O Father Zeus, let all this be fulfilled as spoken by Alkinoos! Earth of harvests remember him! Return me to my homeland” (120). Odysseus knows that his family has been waiting for him for years. The motivation to see his family and homeland help Odysseus win his battles and continue his journey home.

The Odyssey, written by Homer, is an epic of the great adventures of Odysseus. It tells of the challenging travels form leaving his home to serve in the Trojan War, to his well-deserved return to Ithaca. Odysseus known as “the man of many wiles” endured many challenging tasks as he traveled in search of his once home. Leaving behind his wife Penelope and son Telemachus, he was forced to leave. Around the sixteenth year Odysseus was gone, many believed that their once great leader was left for dead on an unknown country or was never to return to the land of Ithaca once again. Soon the suitors of over a hundred filled the halls of Odysseus’s palace, trying to marry his beautiful wife Penelope. When

Introduction This assignment describes the character of the four ancient governments in order to compare and contrast the five government forms in the Ancient Greek city-states. They are monarchy, aristocracy, tyranny, oligarchy, and democracy.

Upon arriving to Phaeacia, Odysseus is treated like a king. Even though nobody knows who he is, Alcinous still treats him as the guest of honor:

In the fifth-century BC, Athens emerged as one of the most advanced state or polis in all of Greece. This formation of Athenian ‘democracy’ holds the main principle that citizens should enjoy political equality in order to be free to rule and be ruled in turn. The word ‘democracy’ originates from the Greek words demos (meaning people) and kratos (meaning power) therefore demokratia means “the power of the people.” The famous funeral speech of Pericles states that “Our constitution is called democracy because power is in the hands not of a minority but of the whole people.” However, only citizens (free adult men of Athenian descent) could participate in political matters. Women and slaves held no political rights, although they were

Master St James leaned over Gabe as he struggled weakly against the restraints, gently testing them. His hands were secured to the headboard and his knees had been separated by a wide spreader bar, leaving him completely exposed to his master's attentions. He had also been well-lubed by Christian after the other slave had restrained him. The last thing before he'd left the room had been a large red ball gag.