Monarchy In The Iliad

The bad version of a benevolent monarch was a malevolent monarch, which was the worst form of government. A malevolent monarch was one who pursued his own wishes and kept the citizens under tight control. This is closely aligned with a modern day dictatorship, where the people are suppressed and are forced to work in ways that will benefit the ruler’s wishes. The second best form of government, Aristotle described as an aristocracy, made up of good people. Aristocracies had the well being of its citizens in mind but due to having many opinions, was less efficient than a monarchy. The bad form of an aristocracy was an oligarchy where there were a few judges who governed for their own well being. An aristocracy was able to easily turn to an oligarchy due to the shared power that each member had and the corruption that easily followed. The worst of the best forms of …show more content…
In the Iliad, guilt and shame humanized the characters and made the story more relatable. Because Agamemnon did not feel either one, many readers disliked him. Guilt and shame are brought about from culture, morals and the idea of something being good or bad. In order to be a good person, one must generate their own shame and dislike it enough to avoid actions that bring it about. People who are bad do not generate these feelings but rather have to have them placed on themselves by society when they are caught. One exception to a good person having guilt but not shame is when an action is done out of necessity. Thus a poor person can steal a loaf of bread and be guilty but feel no shame, because the food is necessary to feed themselves and their families. Exceptions such as this must follow the definition of necessity as: that which is necessary is that without which one can not be. Without a basis of what is necessary, one can claim anything as a necessity in order to try and avoid feeling