The Leader of the Greek Soldiers - Essay Example

College: This was an era where the leader of the Greek soldiers, Agamemnon dictated the mainland and his island, Crete took hold of the political and military eminence of being master in the eastern Mediterranean. The Homeric age is also referred to as Late Minoan or Mycenaean, the culture, values and traditions are those characterized in Homeric Poems such as the Odyssey. These era traverses between the 1200- 1600 Mycenaean age. Legend has it that in this era the Oedipus tragedy emerged and stories illustrated in Aeschylus Oresteia were played out. This was also the fateful time of the renown Trojan War happened which left the Greeks and natives alike bereaved and mourning for their beloved and brave men who perished as heroes in their fight in the incardinate battle fields. The Dorian invasion which happened around 1100 BC is reliable for the fall of the Homeric Age; it was the irrefutable demise of the Minoan civilization. The economic and political structures of the Homeric Greeks were less advanced than in the former recognized Classical era of ancient Greece. The Homeric Greeks did not refer themselves as Greeks. This group distinctly denominates the Argives, the Achaeans and the Danaans people. These people were solely connected to each other by the city states relationships which shared the same language with the varying dialects. The Homeric Greeks were a tribal society governed by a presiding class known as basileis whose duties contained those of a king, general and a judge coupled with other religious responsibilities. The noblemen or rather the Aristoi assisted the king in his calculations and planning and comprised an advisory council / boule. There was an assembly which comprised the agora and a speaking forum comprising the Laos. This society entailed women participating actively in sports such as athletics. They had a level of freedom and enjoyed prestige. The society was however dominantly patriarchal in which a common ancestry and a common king was acknowledged. Slavery existed but in any case the slaves were in small numbers with the majority of the slaves being women held captive. Hard work was performed by the nobles themselves and the men they hired and a portion was left to the slaves. Women were also trained at their homes in gymnastics on how to bear healthy children. Women at home learned important household skills like spinning, sewing, weaving and cooking among other jobs. They were taught basic facts on mythology and religion and infrequently they were taught to handle music instruments. Girls were married in their teens often by a man in his 30’s. Before she would have been in her father’s control, after marriage control shifted to her husband. Women in the Greek society were not equals with the men but they did have an educational role. The family structure was patriarchal as well. Glass ceiling phenomenon was dominant in these society with women not being allowed to take on leading roles. Young boys from the age of seven stayed in barracks where they were trained for military action. They were put in groups and the discipline serviced was severe. When they mature to the age of 20 they were placed in the military troops ready for war. At the age of 30 they became citizens and remarried. The older men served as the trainers for the younger generation. They were engaged in various activities such as fighting which was done as a sport. They did hunting and also were involved in agriculture where they did, grazing and basic skills of agriculture. Husbandry was poorly developed due to the limited land available. Sheeps and goats was the dominant type of livestock. Timber in these lands was heavily exploited for various purposes; for domestic uses and to construct triremes. The Greeks kept bees to produce honey which became the only source of sugar to these society.in these times most lands was governed by aristocracy The Homeric Greeks were very hospitable and they practiced friendship with enthusiasm and much enjoyment. The aoidos such as Demodocus or the Phemius in the Odyssey were present in court functions to sing his epic chant. One of the most vial contributions to the western culture by the Homeric Greeks was arête in other words perfection. They believed even horses possessed arete but ordinary people did not have arete. Arête then went to be the “quintessence of early aristocratic learning.” Thereafter arête became the principal concept in Greek education and culture and has persisted in being a dominant educational epitome since then .everyone was ranked in a position that was compatible to his ability and as a result arête became a model of self-realization and self-fulfillment in human excellence standings. War provided a platform for exhibiting arête and glory. This depicts the understanding as to why many Greeks battled in troy an example being Achilles. The Homeric hero was to possess aidos which is a sense of duty in his personal conduct. In essence arête symbolizes physical and intellectual excellence; the unveiling of a man’s real potential. The most famous war was the war between these Greeks and Trojan’s. This happened after the Greeks besieged troy for ten years after the death of so many they came up with a strategy. They hoodwinked the Trojans with a wooden horse as a “gift”. When the Trojans carried it to their city they opened the gates only to just allow the Greek army to attack the city from within. Many men lost their lives and the women and children were kept captive as slaves The Homeric Greeks worshipped various gods. They worshipped Zeus who is the god of love. They believed he is said to have liked love and not war and while he was often distracted with making live the lesser gods created war. In this vein one of these lesser gods is the problematic goddess of love known as Aphrodite who creates an affair between an aristocrat of Troy known as Paris and a Greek known as Helen. In this period many poems that are still recognized to date were written. Many of these poems and stories just described wars and battles of brave men and they are an important part in the Greek culture. One of these poems is the Odyssey and the Iliad. Nothing then was greater than war. There was the god Apollo the son of Zeus who once punished the Greeks with a plague due to a mistake made by Agamemnon, he spurned Apollo’s priest. That was the way with these gods, conflicts emerging between gods. They appeased their gods with sacrifices, tradition that was depicted as purification. Other religious rituals comprised of cremation which made it possible for a warriors remains to be taken back to his homeland in the case of death in a battle. Recreation and entertainment in the Homeric Greeks included chariot racing, boxing, wrestling, foot racing and even javelin throwing. There was a deficiency of a formal economic or governmental structure for these Greeks and as a result transaction depended on ingenious system of reciprocity which entailed mutual exchanges between two or more people. This could be preferred to as barter trade where goods were exchanged for different goods. There was the system of differed reciprocity where one could give provisions to another not expecting anything back at the moment until a future date where he may be in need of something. This era was the commencement of values and ideals that are still being practiced today and its history remains in the Greek’s memoirs. Work cited. Velasquez, Manuel & Rosenberg, Jerry. “The homer’s Greece.” Cambridge. University of Cambridge Press. 2008. Print Read More