In the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Israel, and the Greeks, there were communities run by the form of government, monarchy, or kingship. However kingship is different than monarchy as Merriam Webster defines kingship as “the position, office, or dignity of a king”. Monarchy is the family that rules, kingship also happens to be based of monarchy. There are good qualities of a king, and bad qualities; the bad qualities seem to form a pattern that prove flaws in kingship, however… In the play Greek play Antigone written by Sophocles in 441 B.C.E., Creon, the king of Thebes exhibits examples of defects in kingship. Creon: Must I give orders then by their permission? Creon: Am I to rule for them, not myself? Haemon: That is not government,
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(Antigone)
When Creon says this he is stating that he makes all of the decisions and thoughts of his people are irrelevant because he is the king. His son Haemon catches his plan and calls him out for becoming a tyrant. Creon can also bee seen as giving a plus to kingship. It could be taken, as because he is the master of the city he knows best. However that can also be interpreted as he is the lord and no one else matters. Tyranny can be a vital flaw in kingship, as kings have so much power that it becomes too much and kings make poor decisions based on them selves. The instruction of the King Amenemhet to his son Sesostris contains flaws about kingship and how it makes everyone power hungry. First this document is written by Sesostris as if his dead father wrote it to him. Also he wrote it just so he could have it in formal writing that he is the new Egyptian Pharaoh. However the advice that Amenemhet gives to Sesostris is negative, not for citizens under kingship, but for the king himself. “[…] he who ate my food raised opposition, he whom I gave my trust used it to plot.”(Amenemhet). This advice can be taken as if you trust anyone if you are king, you will be betrayed in quest for power. This flaw caused the death of Amenemhet and is a flaw in kingship, because without trust decisions cannot be made because the king will not trust his …show more content…
In 1 Samuel 8 people asked him for a king for his sons had a flaw that is also a flaw in kingship, “They took bribes and prevented justice.” (Samuel). This shows that power in any government can corrupt it. Even though the judge system isn’t kingship, it still shows flaw in every government. After Samuels’s people asked for a king he goes to god and asks for a king, in which god tells Samuel “[…] they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.”(Samuel) Another flaw in kingship is that people have the idea that human kingship can violate divine kingship. This fact angers god and brings him to saying that he is the king and he shouldn’t appoint anyone to do his deeds. However the people refused to listen and they said good qualities of a king and how it is better than divine kingship. “No! but we will have a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may govern us and go out before us and fight our battles.” (Samuel) These qualities are of a physical king that believes in his nation and will sacrifice himself for it. This is one of the ideal kings and something that divine kingship just can’t
(Antigone)
When Creon says this he is stating that he makes all of the decisions and thoughts of his people are irrelevant because he is the king. His son Haemon catches his plan and calls him out for becoming a tyrant. Creon can also bee seen as giving a plus to kingship. It could be taken, as because he is the master of the city he knows best. However that can also be interpreted as he is the lord and no one else matters. Tyranny can be a vital flaw in kingship, as kings have so much power that it becomes too much and kings make poor decisions based on them selves. The instruction of the King Amenemhet to his son Sesostris contains flaws about kingship and how it makes everyone power hungry. First this document is written by Sesostris as if his dead father wrote it to him. Also he wrote it just so he could have it in formal writing that he is the new Egyptian Pharaoh. However the advice that Amenemhet gives to Sesostris is negative, not for citizens under kingship, but for the king himself. “[…] he who ate my food raised opposition, he whom I gave my trust used it to plot.”(Amenemhet). This advice can be taken as if you trust anyone if you are king, you will be betrayed in quest for power. This flaw caused the death of Amenemhet and is a flaw in kingship, because without trust decisions cannot be made because the king will not trust his …show more content…
In 1 Samuel 8 people asked him for a king for his sons had a flaw that is also a flaw in kingship, “They took bribes and prevented justice.” (Samuel). This shows that power in any government can corrupt it. Even though the judge system isn’t kingship, it still shows flaw in every government. After Samuels’s people asked for a king he goes to god and asks for a king, in which god tells Samuel “[…] they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.”(Samuel) Another flaw in kingship is that people have the idea that human kingship can violate divine kingship. This fact angers god and brings him to saying that he is the king and he shouldn’t appoint anyone to do his deeds. However the people refused to listen and they said good qualities of a king and how it is better than divine kingship. “No! but we will have a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may govern us and go out before us and fight our battles.” (Samuel) These qualities are of a physical king that believes in his nation and will sacrifice himself for it. This is one of the ideal kings and something that divine kingship just can’t