Category Archives: History

Areté

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Aret̩ literal translates to English as virtue or excellence, but to the ancient Greeks it is the concept of being the best at anything. Originally only applied to soldiers and their combat prowess, the concept eventually spread throughout Greek society to apply to anyone who was good at a skillРa potters aret̩ was pottery. However, the term was not just a word the the Greeks, it was the driving force of the culture, and promoted the isolationism and the patriotism of the individual Greek polies. By promoting competition in everything it drove the development of technology, poetry and drama and touched every aspect of Greek life. Interestingly enough it also made the Greeks value cunning because it did not matter how one became the best as long as they were.

Sparta through the eyes of an Athenian.

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Note to Reader:Specifically Xenophon write about the Lacedaemonians who lived in the principle region of Sparta, and credited Lycurgus (their legendary lawgiver) with their achievements. For simplicity, I will be referring to the people and state as Sparta or Spartans, and rather than referencing Lycurgus by name, I will just say the Spartans in general.

Xenophon was an Athenian born around 831 BC and was eventually exiled from Athens because of his support of the Spartans and their way of life. He wrote a rather kind review of the Spartan’s way of life, and contrasted it with life in other Greek polies’. He begins by by saying, It occurred to me…that Sparta, though…thinly populated…was evidently the most powerful and most celebrated city in Greece[.] [I wondered how this could be until] I considered the institutions of the Spartans.” He continues to say that, “by devising a system utterly different from [other city-states the Spartans] made [their] country pre-eminently prosperous.” While Xenophon gives many individual ways that Sparta differs from other Greek poleis, the overreaching theme of these is that Sparta puts far more emphasis on the good of the poleis over the good of the individual, and they do this in all circumstances–not even the king is above the group mentality.

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Thoughts on Saint Augustine’s “City of God”

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The City Of God was written around 420 A.D. in response to the sacking of Rome by the Visigoths in 410 A.D . Many Romans believed that the sacking of Rome occurred because the pagan Roman gods were angry with Romans for abandoning them in favor of Christianity. Saint Augustine combated this by effectively saying that Rome, because it is an earthly city, does not matter; only the city of God matters. According to Saint Augustine the “city of God” is filled with believers while the earthly city is filled with nonbelievers. This division allows Saint Augustine to argue that the church is part of the city of God, but the city of Rome is earthly and thus expendable, and because the city of God (the church) is intangible it is indestructible.

Saint Augustine argues this idea by stating the difference between the two cities is in the goals of its inhabitants.

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Contrasting Early Judaism With Contemporary Mythopoeic Religions.

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The mythopoeic religions of Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Greece all shared similar characteristics: the concept of Cyclical time, an animate universe, and large pantheons of human-like — as in flawed — gods. In contrast, the ancient Israelites believed that time was linear, the universe was inanimate, and that there was one perfect god who was omnipotent, omnipresent and all-seeing. Judaism was revolutionary because it affected all aspects of life including history, food through dietary laws, marital and and societal laws. It also was the first major religion to promote monotheism — or henotheisism depending on how you read it. While anyone can follow the Greek, Egyptian and Mesopotamian religions, Judaism was as much a culture and descent as it was a religion.

Cyclical time is based on the idea that for everything there is a season, and that every outcome happens repeatedly.

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A most interesting character: Charles Martel

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Charles Martel was the Mayor of the Palace in the Frankish kingdoms during the 700\’s. he is best known (militarily) for winning the Battle Of Tours in 732 and halting the Muslim invasions into Europe through Spain and pushing them out of Frankish lands. Through his campaigns he became the de facto king (although the title was reserved for his son) of the Franks.

However, he should be best remembered as the founder of feudalism as a way to support a large horse army. Although the roots of feudalism – heretical training, guilds etc. — reach as far back as the reforms of the Roman Emperor Diocletian, Martel was the first to organize it into the concepts of Kings, Dukes, Barons, Knights, and peasants. In this hierarchical structure each of these classes were lords to those beneath them and owed their loyalty to those above them as a vassal.

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Causes and Effects of the Popularization of Christianity in the Roman Empire.

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The spread of early Christianity in throughout the Roman empire was based on what it wasn’t rather than what it was. At the time Christianity began spreading through the Roman Empire, religion had fractured into the main Roman religion which was comprised of the Parthenon of Roman Gods and mystery cults. The mystery cults were based on myths that focused on the cycle of death and renewal and promised a better afterlife. The major mystery cults were the cult of Isis and Osiris, of Dionysus and Bacchus, Cybill and Adonis, and Demeter and Orpheus. These cults were not exclusionary — you could join them all and still follow the main religion — however each of these cults required sizable offerings from their participants so only the wealthy could afford to join them.

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