Ancient Greece: A Morality of Power

In ancient Greece, as demonstrated by Homer’s The Odyssey, morality took a different meaning then it does in today’s society. In Greek times, who was ‘right’ was determined by who was the most powerful, whereas today, it is often the most compassionate one who is considered moral. A societal by-product of this power-driven way of life was the need for everyone else to know that a particular warrior was the most powerful. This leads to an unfortunate amount of hubris and bragging by many of the better warriors, and to this Odysseus is no exception. However, during the span of The Odyssey, morality begins to shift from strength to compassion and wisdom as shown by Athena and Telemachus.
From the outset of the book, it is clear that mainly power is respected in this world. Yet cleverness is also respected, usually by those with the lesser strength. Odysseus is an example of possessing great intellect, but being forced to rely on violence in most situations. Odysseusâ€...