Task for Practice seminar №7

 

Ex.1. What does it mean to be a hero after Greeks?

Heracles as a hero

Heracles' name, which seems to mean " the glory of Hera, " appears puzzling. Why should he be named after Hera, when she persecutes him relentlessly? In the Greek Bronze Age, when parts of this myth may have taken form, Heracles was perhaps a common name, like John or Paul, applied to the common folktale hero who suffered greatly, then was saved at the end. His Greek origins remain obscure, and we do not know where his legends first appeared in Greece. The Argive plain, where he served Eurystheus, and Thebes, where he was born and first married, have equally strong claims. His character is complex and hard to summarize. Although often called the archetypal Greek hero, to the Greeks of Homer's day he was already very old-fashioned, evoking the image of a bygone age when violence could solve every problem. The historical period that begins with Homer was a tamer time (although still murderous) in which the stories of Heracles served as examples of the dangers of excess, if often with a humorous twist (as in the story of his having bedded the fifty daughters of Thespius in one night!).

To be a " hero", then, does not mean " heroic" in a modern sense. Heracles does everything too much. He commits terrible crimes, which are followed by humiliating expiation. He violates the most sacred human obligations, killing his wife, children, and his guest-friend Iphitus, after which he must live in degrading bondage first to the cowardly Eurystheus, then to Queen Omphalê in Lydia as her sexual plaything and slave. A passing reference in Homer speaks of the time when Heracles shot Hera in the breast with an arrow! Another passing reference in Homer mentions that he shot Hades " in the Gate, among the dead". Here is the hero's essence: reckless, fearless, sometimes tricky, getting away with things others cannot, attacking the very gods.

Of course other heroes challenge Death, a recurring feature of the hero's career – Odysseus and Aeneas descend to the underworld –but none so often or explicitly as Heracles, and no other is rewarded at the end with immortality, Heracles' reward for completing the Twelve Labors. After death, Heracles married Hê bê, " youth, " on Mount Olympus: He never grew old. In life he journeyed to the underworld and brought back Cerberus. The triple-bodied Geryon lives across water (where death's realm lies) in the far west (where the sun dies daily), and from there Heracles returned. The souls of the dead often are pictured as birds: Heracles slays the death-dealing species that hovers around Lake Stymphalus. Busiris is the Egyptian lord of the dead, but Heracles kills him. The apples from the Hesperides' garden grow on the tree of eternal life; they fall, although temporarily, into Heracles' hands. In one version, his pursuit of the Ceryneian deer also takes him to this garden, for the deer is the magical but dangerous animal that appears in folktales, leading the hunter from the everyday world into a world of mystery or enchantment.

As the best loved of all Greek heroes, Heracles was alexikakos, " the averter of evils, " summoned as a god to turn away disease, human and animal attack, and every kind of harm. A common oath in Greek was " By Heracles! " - just as we might say, " By God! " He was the paradigm of heroic tragic existence, but in many humorous tales, and on the comic stage, his reputation for womanizing and gluttony made him a figure of fun. He embodied the Greeks' naive eagerness to try anything without fear of the result, which too often proved disastrous. He destroyed evil, sinned greatly, loved unwisely, fathered a whole race, and died at a woman's hand, yet received his triumphant reward. Heracles is not a hero who fights other heroes, like the warriors before the walls of Troy and Thebes. He is the tough guy, the strongest man on earth, another folktale type, the animal-slayer who made the world safe by destroying dangerous beasts (A short introduction to classical myth / Barry B. Powell. New Jersy. 2002. P.115-116).

 

Ex.2. Name main civil activities of Romans.

Aristocrats, Nobles, and Political Life in Rome

By law, the Roman aristocracy and senatorial class were not permitted to engage in any business other than farming. Since the majority of these Romans came from wealthy families, such a restriction did not normally cause financial hardship. Those members of the upper class who did not have incomeproducing land and were in need of money, however, had several options. Some pursued the study of law. Although Roman lawyers were not permitted to charge fees for their services in court, they often received generous gifts from their satisfied clients. Some joined the army and amassed huge personal fortunes from the spoils of war. Others served as magistrates in the provinces, where fraud and the dishonest collection of tax money were both commonplace and financially lucrative. Still others illegally engaged in income-earning activities (especially shipping and money lending), using their clients and ex-slaves as agents.

Honest and financially secure nobles and aristocrats were seldom idle. They spent most of their time and energy serving the interests of the state as politicians, army officers, and religious magistrates. Although no salary was attached to these high positions and holding them often involved considerable personal expense, nevertheless they were eagerly sought.

During the Republic, when power was in the hands of elected officials, the political arena was marked by fierce competition. The quest of all serious politicians was to be elected to the highest position, that of consul. Family connections were an important asset for success. In the last century of the Republic, for example, half the number of consuls came from only ten families. Two consuls were elected each year and they shared their power. Consuls convened the Senate, which served as an advisory body. They led legions into battle during times of war, and they established policy during peacetime. But comparatively few politicians achieved their goal of becoming a consul.

Although the preliminary steps to becoming a consul were never strictly formalized by law, Romans were expected to pursue a political stepladder or career path of preliminary offices known as the cursus honorum, or “course of honors.” This series of offices usually included the positions of quaestor, aedile, and praetor, but it was certainly politically advantageous for an aspiring consul, depending on his class, also to have served as military tribune or plebeian tribune. Each office trained the politician for a different aspect of effective urban or military administration. A politician could perform the duties of each preliminary office in the city of Rome itself, in the towns and municipalities of Italy, or in the outlying provinces. Every candidate for public office was expected to finance his own campaign.

Once elected, a quaestor was primarily a minister of finance who was responsible for collecting taxes, both in the form of money and, in some cases, grain and for depositing the resources he collected in the treasury and storage houses of Rome. Although the office of aedile was not officially a step in the cursus honorum, most consuls held this office. An aedile took care of the city. He made sure that public works, such as roads, bridges, and aqueducts were properly maintained. He supervised the distribution of the daily allotment of grain to the poor. He also managed the celebration of religious rites and provided, at his own expense, public entertainment in the form of banquets, games, and spectacles. The office of aedile offered a would-be consul ample opportunity to win the favor of the masses by providing them with lavish forms of amusement. A praetor was second in command to the consuls and, as such, performed almost all the duties of consuls in their absence. Special urban praetors were placed in charge of legal matters and, as judges, they heard and passed judgment on legal cases brought before them. And so, having held the offices of quaestor, aedile, and praetor, an ambitious politician could present himself as a candidate for the consulship with demonstrated expertise in financial matters, the maintenance of public works, the planning of public events, and in administering the law.

Prior to these major offices, candidates for the consulship often served as military tribune or plebeian tribune. After five years of military service, a soldier could be elected or appointed military tribune within his legion. He was responsible for the behavior and welfare of his fellow soldiers and he was generally in charge of the day-to-day aspects of camp life. The plebeian tribune, on the other hand, was an urban political officer elected by an assembly of plebeians. Their major responsibility was to safeguard the rights of the plebeian class. They held the power of veto and could use it to block any action proposed by a magistrate.

After a Roman held the office of praetor or consul, he became eligible to serve as propraetor or proconsul of a province. In this capacity he assumed the governorship of a province assigned to him by the Senate. He could also serve as censor within the city. The most important responsibilities of a censor were to keep the census rolls up to date and to enforce the laws and standards of proper behavior.

Priests in ancient Rome, except for the priestesses of the goddess Vesta, were often, but not exclusively, men from the upper class. They were members of religious colleges or brotherhoods. Serving as a priest was a civic as well as a religious responsibility. Priests organized and performed the numerous religious rites and festivals that filled the ancient Roman calendar, although the funding for these events came from the state. The Senate often consulted the most important religious colleges when making decisions that affected religious matters. The highest religious office was that of Pontifex Maximus, or Chief Priest (To Be a Roman. Topics in Roman Culture / by Margaret A. Brucia and Gregory N. Daugherty. NY. 2007. P.79-81)