Essay on The Importance of Moderation in Greek Philosophy

Aristotle, the ancient Greek philosopher, once said that all men possess by nature a craving for knowledge. This idea has been explored for thousands of years within various cultures throughout the world. Within Aristotles own culture, many greek myths were developed that pondered the idea of the constant search for knowledge. One of the most famous perhaps is the myth of Daedalus and Icarus. This myth tells the classic story of a man, Daedalus, who wishes to escape the island of Crete with his son Icarus. He creates wings for both himself and Icarus but warns his son that he should not attempt to fly too low near the water or too high near the sun for fear of death. Icarus does not heade his warning and flies high near the sun. The†¦show more content†¦The main form of government that developed throughout the Greek empire was the direct democracy. However, this system sprang up toward the latter end of the empire. The myth of Daedalus and Icarus was written during the Mino an period, which lasted from 2600-1200 BCE. The Minoans enforced a Beareaucratic Monarchy which was the most prevalent form of government at the time (Dickinson 46). According to Oliver Dickinson, a Bearucratic Monarchy consists of a government that includes a king [monarch] but also employs various other offices to collect taxes, keep order, and enforce laws (47). It appears that the Greeks took active steps to limit the authority of the King, so that he would not have too much power. The government also played an active role in Greek trading. The Greeks predominately traded with Egypt, Italy and other Mediteranean cultures. The government set up trading committees that enforced strict taxes to regulate trade (Dickinson 234). Again there is a certain amount of control and restriction that the Greeks enforced. The strong government employed by the Greeks shows that as modern as their society was, they definitly believed in regulation. The Daedalus and Icarus myth reflects the idea t hat chaos ensues if there is no restriction. Perhaps the best example of limitations on power and knowledge comes from Greek philosophy. The Greeks developed the philosophy of Epistomology, which is the study of knowledge. Within epistomology, there are twoShow MoreRelatedReligion and the Development of the Western World1065 Words   |  5 Pagesthe ruler. The rise of the Greeks was a revolutionary step away from this system. Although Greek society was also greatly influenced by their polytheistic religion, they took an intellectual approach to the study of the man-nature relationship. Instead of accepting or inventing mystical explanations for the world around them they applied their development of science to philosophy seeking out empirical answers to the questions of the universe. 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