The Most Valued Cleverness And Virtuous Without Meaning To Be?

Socrates believes every city and person has virtues within them, and it is the proper balance of the virtues that results in justice. The virtues of a city, Socrates mentions are, wisdom, courage, temperance and justice. He claims justice is the balance of all three virtues with everybody playing their proper role in society. The first virtue he examines is wisdom. Wisdom, Socrates say’s resides in the smallest class, the Rulers, because they posses the knowledge, “…which takes measures, not in behalf of anything in the city, but in behalf of the city as a whole…”(Republic, 428d). The next virtue Socrates examines is, courage which he defines as the knowledge of what to fear. Courage he explains lies with the auxiliaries because they must

“The world is full of wonders, but nothing is more wonderful than man.” This quote shows that the Greeks valued themselves, but also their intellect in which they know that the world about them is great. The Greeks valued beauty, art, intellect, honor, and truth; the list is long. Some of these values are shown through the story of the Odyssey, which tells of the adventures of Odysseus and his family. In order to understand Greek values and how they are portrayed in Greek society, one must examine how some values are portrayed in the Odyssey: hospitality, intellect, and beauty.

The ancient Greeks had a philosophy when it came to behavior and showing high moral standards in their society. Two Greek philosophers known as Plato and Aristotle compiled virtues that were valued in the Greek society. These virtues began with Plato’s original four which included wisdom, courage, moderation, and justice. Later Aristotle would add an additional twelve virtues which two courage and justice were already part of the original four, these were temperance, liberality, magnificence, pride, honor, good temper, friendliness, truthfulness, wit, and friendship. Combined Ancient Greeks had a total of 14 virtues. It is apparent that these virtues were very important to Ancient Greeks since they are seen in the poems and stories told throughout

Virtue is a particular moral excellence, a beneficial quality, or power of a thing, and masculine strength or courage. At the end of the Meno, Socrates states that the hypothesis, "if knowledge is virtue, it can be taught." 1 The

For example, one thing Machiavelli mentions is that it is necessary for a Prince to appear “merciful, faithful, humane, trustworthy, and religious,” to his subjects. However, Machiavelli believes that actually having those qualities is irrelevant, as long as it looks like he is to his people. Socrates would not approve of this sort of deception of the population. When Socrates discusses wisdom and his quest for knowledge, he talks about how when he talked to both the poets and the craftsmen, they thought themselves knowledgeable in many aspects that they were not, which led him to conclude that true wisdom is knowing the limitations of knowledge. This common theme for Socrates, the acknowledgement of one’s shortcomings, is diametrically opposed to Machiavelli’s version of a Prince, who appears virtuous regardless of how accurate that is. Because of this, Socrates would not agree with Machiavelli on what makes a good Prince.

The picture of a virtuous man in Greek society was one that was able to obtain many victories, serve his polis politically, worship the Gods, and run a household. The man all men tried to become is perfect in every way in personal and public life. He was powerful, intelligent, resourceful, cunning, and skillful. This man would take care of his family and make the decisions of the house, serve in the army, serve his polis on juries, and also worship his Gods. It is hard to believe one man would be able to accomplish so much and if he would be able to he would be considered virtuous by his polis and family.

Socrates uses ethos,pathos,and logos by having good humanity,making readers have a feeling about his actions and stating all facts by telling the truth at all times. Ethos is having good humanity. Socrates uses ethos for example (1:3), its states, he makes the worst case look better;and he teaches this sort of stuff to others because He has a lot of credibility and courage to make all thing that are bad look good. So he has a positive mind. Socrates also use ethos (16:162) by stating”I was convicted not by a lack of arguments, but by my lack of ruthlessness and shamelessness and willingness to tell you what you most wanted to hear.

In ancient Greece people admire the traits of epic heroes, these traits are still admired today. Homer created odysseus with the traits of a hero and the traits of a mortal. These traits inspired people to be a leader not a follower. Some of the admired traits that ancient Greeks admire that we still admire today are wisdom, courage, strength, caring of others, and etc.

Socrates believed the possession of virtue was a highly valued characteristic. Although Socrates gives no clear definition of virtue it can be inferred that he is referring to the moral responsibility to do the right thing despite your own personal interest. According to Socrates, an ideal leader should be virtuous in their decisions in order to create a society founded on justice. To Machiavelli it is more important to act like you

What arguments do Socrates and his interlocutors provide in these dialogues and what does their discussion suggest about the way in which virtue is in fact acquired? Socrates initiates the inquiries into this problem in each dialogue the same way, that is, to admit no knowledge of the subject at hand. He further admits that he could not possibly teach virtue without knowing what virtue is, “if I do not know what a thing is, how could I know what to teach?” (ho de me oida ti estin,

Thesis: Thucydides, who defined virtue by dedication to a cause, and Seneca, who defined virtue by a person’s boldness, both had concepts of virtue that differed due to differences in their civilizations’ worldviews. Virtue can be described as purity, strength, honesty, knowledge, or even courage. However, civilizations in the past didn’t necessarily think that virtue included all of those attributes or agreed on the defining concept. A good example of this would be the difference in the definitions between two primary sources: Pericles’ Funeral Oration (retold by Thucydides) and On Tranquility of the Mind. In On Tranquility of Mind by Seneca, who was known for bestowing guidance to the rulers of Rome, the concept of virtue seems to become

While learning about all the Greek myths, it is apparent that cleverness was what the ancient Greeks valued. Hephaestus and Prometheus are great examples of this value because they both showed cleverness and cunning in many ways throughout their myths. Another value that the Greeks showed throughout most of their stories is Confidence. The two gods/goddesses that showed this value were Artemis and Ares on several occasions

Virtue is a key theme in the literature of the Greeks and Romans. Aeneas, an incredibly virtuous man, is still limited by his humanity. Though he is strongly compelled by his sense of duty, his even stronger emotions often distract him. Contrastly, Socrates is portrayed by Plato to be at a level just above human. He is capable of seeing past emotion and impulses of the flesh in a manner few others, if any at all, are able to do. Socrates’ transcendence beyond earthly desires and focus on the betterment of the soul allows him to be the foremost instructor in virtue despite unfavorable circumstances; Aeneas, on the other hand, is a virtuous leader who is hindered by his furor, or uncontrolled emotion, and relies on heavenly guidance to keep him in check.

In the Republic of Plato, the philosopher Socrates lays out his notion of the good, and draws the conclusion that virtue must be attained before one can be good. For Socrates there are two kinds of virtue; collective and individual. Collective virtue is virtue as whole, or the virtues of the city. Individual virtue pertains to the individual himself, and concerns the acts that the individual does, and concerns the individual’s soul. For Socrates, the relationship between individual and collective virtue is that they are the same, as the virtues of the collective parallel those of the Individual. This conclusion can be reached as both the city and the soul deal with the four main virtues of wisdom, courage, moderation, and justice.

“A virtuous person is better than virtue and a vicious person is worse than vice,” Hazrat Ali says. Odysseus, in the Odyssey, is filled with virtuous characteristics. Wisdom, piety, self-control, courage, and justice are the five main virtues. Unlike Odysseus, Achilles, in Troy, is filled with hubris acts. Even though these characters are completely different from each other, they both have an important lesson for the world around them. After reading both the Odyssey and watching Troy, one can sense a strong understanding between the two character’s virtues.