The Importance Of Honor In Greek Society

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When a civilization is emerging in the way which it emerges helps to establish its values. Greek Society emerged in two different ways, through Athenian and Spartan mentalities. Through many wars and differing enemies, Athenian culture became more prevalent. However, each brought forth important ideals that defined Greek Society. They are the reason that when reflecting upon Greece we conjure images of philosophers or strong willed warriors. Greek society through individual action and institution truly valued duty to the community, innovation, and honor.
Beginning with duty to the community, this is something that is clearly evident within their society. From a broad perspective, this is an idea that lays the foundation for how they built …show more content…

While a lot of the analysis in the aforementioned paragraphs is Athenian based, the honor that is bestowed upon warriors is best seen through the Spartan society. Spartan’s were heavily military based and used all efforts to create warriors that would serve the polis. Absolutely everything in their society was based off this idea. Women were appreciated because they bore the sons that would become warriors, and sons were sent off at seven to begin their warrior training. Men who carried out their duty well were rewarded within the society and held an elevated status. Spartan’s held that ideal that to,“know that it is good for the city-state and the whole people when a man takes his place in the front row of warriors and stands his ground without flinching.” The wanted to create the strongest warrior possible and the only way to incentivize that was through honor. Honor was made an attainable goal for these warriors and something that they had been conditioned to want to strive for. Greek people also honored the gods though as their first and foremost responsibility. They needed to do right by these deities in order to be successful in their lives. Actions such as questioning their existence, or belief were looked down upon and in some cases even punished. The idea of honor was reinforced throughout their policies, lawmaking abilities and how they treated one another. Consequently, this would eventually lead to competing tensions between Athens and Sparta resulting the Peloponnesian War. However, honor is intrinsic to both of their ideals and integral to the values the Greek society

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