A Time for Heroes: How to Be Your Best in the Worst of Times
A Time for Heroes: How to Be Your Best in the Worst of Times
By Diana Tyler, 925 Co-Owner
Who comes to mind when you hear the phrase “Greek warrior”? I’d be willing to bet it’s a mythological demigod, or a larger-than-life hero from your middle school history class. Courageous Achilles or Athena, perhaps. Or noble, ill-fated Hector. Maybe Alexander the Great, or King Leonidas of Sparta.
I’m sure not many would think of Socrates…
Yes, that Socrates. The squat, unattractive, barefooted philosopher with the pot belly and bulging eyes. Suffice it to say, he looked nothing like a god or Homeric hero, but he did have this in common with the illustrious figures of lore: he’d fought in battle, multiple times, in fact.
During the Peloponnesian War, the philosopher bravely saved the life, and armor, of Alcibiades, a young aristocrat and future Athenian general and orator. His active duty continued at the battle of Delium in 424 B.C., which was a defeat for the Athenian army, thanks to an unwelcome surprise by a troop of cavalry. His heroic actions were praised by the general Laches the following winter, and naturally, by Alcibiades. Years later, Socrates fought again, this time at Amphipolis, which was another disaster for the Athenians. As far as we know, that was the last time Socrates saw combat.
“Habit will be your champion. When you train the mind to think one way and one way only, when you refuse to allow it to think in another, that will produce great strength in battle.” – Steven Pressfield, Gates of Fire
After his time as a soldier, and until his execution in 399 B.C., Socrates served Athens not with a hoplite’s spear, but with a searcher’s soul, devoting himself fully to φιλοσοφία, philosophia – love of wisdom. The same fortitude and fearlessness that had been his ally in battle remained with him throughout his life as he questioned Athens’ leading citizens, challenged young people to question the status quo and think for themselves, and refused to retreat from his legal troubles, a choice he compared to a soldier’s resolve never to flee the battlefield.
Remembered as much for his remarkable humility as he was for his wisdom, Socrates has been compared to Christ. Poet Percy Bysshe Shelley referred to Socrates as “the Jesus Christ of Greece.” Indeed, the men’s lives were quite similar, from their humble backgrounds (Socrates was a stonemason’s son, Jesus a carpenter’s), compassion toward, and patience for, their fellow man, to their unpopularity among the political leaders of their day and the executions which resulted from it.
Fortitude.
Fearlessness.
Humility.
These virtues weren’t merely taught by Socrates, but embodied by him. He didn’t just “talk the talk,” as the saying goes, but lived it out, in the way he handled adversity, pursued knowledge, cherished wisdom, responded to his accusers, and in the way he faced death, with integrity, even optimism.[1]
The Greek Stoic philosopher Epictetus said, “Circumstances don’t make the man, they only reveal it to himself.” I think we can all agree that our present circumstances are difficult, to say the least. The whole world has been turned on its head as nations, businesses, families, and individuals grapple with this pandemic…or pandemics, if you, like me, believe that the concomitant pandemic of fear is just as pervasive and harmful as the virus itself. For many of us, we feel more anxious and on edge than ever, wondering if and when normalcy will return.
Now is the time to reflect on the heroes of history, the courageous, persevering, hard-working and humble men and women who not only survived tough times, but thrived in the midst of them. Despite what Marvel movies and Greek myths may tell us, these individuals didn’t necessarily resemble Chris Hemsworth or Gal Gadot, and they certainly didn’t sport crimson capes or Asgardian steel armor. They were ordinary humans who, whether consciously or not, took Socrates’ advice to “be as they [wished] to seem.”
Here are a few more heroes we can look to for inspiration, with links for you to learn more about them:
How do you want to seem during this season? To whom are you looking and listening to help you become and remain that way? Today might be the day to make some adjustments, not just for your own sake, but for the sakes of your loved ones, and those looking to you for wisdom, comfort, courage, and strength.
“Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writings, so that you shall gain easily what others have labored hard for.” - Socrates
[1] As Plato has it, Socrates says, “There is great reason to hope that death is a good.”