1. What values were most important to early Greeks and why were they considered important?
One of the most important early Greek values is “virtue”. This concept from Homer’s time forward refers to the idea of being the absolute best you can be and reaching your on personal potential. A virtuous person would be strong, smart, brave and use all these skills together to be able to do their best. This was important to the early Greeks because it meant that their world was centered on human achievement and in a place of hardship and challenges, men and women could be measured by how they were able to personally face their own problems. Virtue was also a measure of person loyalty and trustworthiness.
In additional to mental values, Greeks placed a lot of important in physical strength. Men were judged by their personal strength and it determined their place in the Greek world. Greeks enjoyed games and competitions.
Finally, early Greeks highly valued the value of “hospitality”. The way you could treat your guests, determined your class in society. Zeus, who was the god of travelers and guest, would look at you favorably if you were able to treat your guest right. The way the Greeks defined hospitality, it meant giving food, shelter and listening with respect to any guest before asking their name, place and how they arrived.
Early Greek values are actually the foundation for modern society. They have influenced everything including language, politics, education, philosophy, science and the arts.
One example of early Greek values is in medicine. Hippocrates is known as the father of medicine and is recognized for founding the Hippocratic approach to medicine. The Hippocratic oath is still taken by doctors today and is a code of conduct to be used by all health-care people which assumes the respect for all human life and reminds that that doctors are responsible for another human light and should take the duty very seriously.
No comments:
Post a Comment