There and Back Again - A Greek Heroes Tale

If it takes you ten years to cross the Aegean and Ionian Seas to get home, it's time to apologise to the god you annoyed or hire a new navigator. Odysseus among his many adventures, killed the son of Poseidon the Cyclops Polyphemus resulting in his decade of travels, before returning to his island Ithica, re-taking his throne and in true Greek style killing his rivals.

"We are Achaeans on our way back from Troy - driven astray by contrary winds across a vast expanse of sea"

Homer The Odyssey Book 9

The tales of the Odyssey are famous. Who hasn't heard at least of the aforementioned adventure in the cave of Polphemus, the blinding of the Cyclops and the daring escape by hiding among the sheep? However, the idea of a hero leaving his city to fight and win glory before returning home in triumph is a common one. Tthe myths of Theseus and Jason for example, allude to the under lying political structure of the Greek Polis.

A Simple Map of Odysseus Possible Voyage

The word Polis can be applied to a few different situations, from the actual citizens of a city, the literal physical stones of the city, or to mean the state itself. The most famous Poleis of Ancient Greece are Sparta and Athens, two cities with very differing ideologies, often displayed as the war between totalitarian military might in the form of Sparta and Democratic power in the body of Athens.

"Tyranny is monarchy ruling in the interest of the monarch, oligarchy government in the interest of the rich, democracy government in the interest of the poor"

Aristotle Politics Book 3 1279b

Cup Showing the Adventures of Theseus from the British Museum

People in ancient Greece were identified by their Polis. To be a citizen of the Athenian democratic polis was a mark of distinction, the right to vote on your cities future. In the Spartan polis, you were raised from a young age to love your city. If you were male you were a soldier and the city fed you, clothed you and gave you shelter.

This is a romantic view of two ancient polis. In Athens if you were anything other than an adult male than things were probably very much the same for you regardless of who was making the decisions. Equally however you dress up the political structure of Sparta as a military ideal of ancient warriors, they were only able to achieve it thanks to the thousands of helots (slaves) from the surrounding polis of Messenia which they subjugated.

Love of your polis was ingrained and it shows up in the myths of the Greeks in a subtle way, heroes leave their cities, go out on their adventure and return to their polis the hero. Two myths give a good example of this, the tales of Theseus and Jason.

The legend of Theseus is well known. After the death of his son in Athens, King Minos of Crete demanded that fourteen Athenian children be sent to Crete to feed to his Minotaur, the terrifying monster who was,

"A mingled form and hybrid birth of monstrous shape,

Two different natures, man and bull, were joined in him"

Quoting Euripides - Plutarch Life of Theseus Chapter 15

Being a hero, Theseus volunteered and went to Crete, entered the great labyrinth and killed the Minotaur with the aid of Minos' daughter Ariadne, who had fallen in love with the hero. Triumphant Theseus sets sail for home ready for adulation.

The Hero Persues in the Sky

Equally Jason (and his famous Argonauts) set sail on a quest to win the Golden Fleece from Colchis to reclaim his crown, which was stolen from him by his uncle. Never expected to return, Jason and his Argonauts engaged in numerous adventures with many heroes of ancient Greek myth. Jason returned home to prove his heroic worth and reclaim his throne.

Both these stories end in hubristic tragedy as all good Greek myths do. However the underlying theme of them is the same as many other Greek myths. The hero leaves their polis, quests and returns to triumphant acclaim. Theseus, Jason, Perseus, Heracles and our poor lost Odysseus as he wonders the Mediterranean trying to get home, all help illustrate the view of the citizens of the polis.

You can imagine the stories of Theseus being told in Athens to show how once the hero of their city outwitted and beat another city. The myths of Ancient Greece as well as being told in books, movies or written across the night sky in our constellations, tell us a great deal about how the people of the ancient polies of Greece saw themselves, they were the citizens of their city. Being a part of your polis, fighting for it, winning glory and prestige in the name of your poleis was the most important thing they could do. They were the polis.


Thanks for Reading
James