Category Archives: Homeschooling

Ethics and Imagery in Biblical Literature

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Depiction of King Solomon.

In the Bible, there are several focuses. However, they all ultimately fall under the umbrella of ethics. Time and time again, the book of Proverbs states that ethics is not only the answer to the issues of life, but also that an ethical person will acquire wisdom. 

The words of God are pure and never unethical. All power of earthly rulers is given to them from God. “By me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth.” A king should avoid liquor or drinking and only marry a virtuous woman. She is a treasure, for she never stops serving others. 

Obviously, wisdom is vital throughout the Bible, partly because wisdom and ethics are intertwined. Those who hate wisdom love death. Wisdom speaks plainly, is the source of all wealth, foundation of civil rulership, and was the basis of creation. Solomon suggests constantly throughout Proverbs that wisdom is necessary beyond any earthly thing or pleasure. Drawing connections between wisdom and ethics is simple: a wise person will always choose the ethical choice and vice versa. Other themes in Proverbs include the self-destructive nature of adultery and fornication, and how the Lord ought to be feared. 

Proverbs contains heaps of powerful imagery. Many are metaphors for wisdom, which is described as “marrow to one’s bones,” “more precious than rubies,” and “the tree of life.” In contrast when describing those who hate wisdom, it says that they will be “swallowed by the graves,” “destruction will come upon them like a whirlwind,” “their ways are the ways of darkness,” “wisdom cries in the streets for them because they have become the bread of wickedness and the wine of violence.”

Proverbs, and the Bible in general, overwhelmingly deals with matters of ethics. Solomon continuously states that those who follow God’s laws and are ethical will be saved, but evil is suicidal to those who hate wisdom and goodness. 

The Government, Laws, and Culture of Ancient Athens

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Draco of Athens.

In ancient Greece, Athens was the leading city-state. Although Sparta’s military was arguably the strongest, Athens had been developing all aspects of civilization. Athens had a unique government, laws, and entertainment. However, the people of Athens would soon be tested when the great Persian Empire attempted to invade the Greek mainland. 

In 621 BC, a man named Draco established a new justice system for the city of Athens. Before Draco, the families of murder victims or other violent crimes took it upon themselves to punish the perpetrator. Draco understood that families would still want to enact vengeance upon the person who harmed their loved one, but wished to create an unified justice and trial system. To attempt to satisfy the families, particularly harsh and heinous punishments were implemented. Later in 594 BC, Solon reformed Draco’s laws and lessened the severity of punishments. He also canceled all public or private debts, freed debt slaves in Athens, and changed the criteria for political participation from ancestry to wealth. Before Solon, only individuals born into certain families had a say in the government, but it was changed so the rich or property owners also had representation. 

The government of Athens consisted of the Assembly, the Council of Five Hundred, the courts, and the magistrates. All male citizens were members of the Assembly. However the Council of Five Hundred and the courts were made up of random men chosen from the citizen body. The magistrates were the highest authority in Athens and were either elected or chosen officials. A common punishment issued by the Athenian people was ostracism. This was the practice of exiling a citizen for 10 years if 6,000 or more citizens wrote his name on a pottery shard. There did not have to be concrete evidence that this person committed any sort of crime, but if 6,000 Athenians wanted him gone, he would be banished.

Athens, like many others of its day, was a slave society. The enslaved were former POWs, criminals, victims of slave raids, or debt slaves, before Solon’s reforms. Because slaves usually did all the manual labor, labor of any sort was looked down upon in society. To labor with one’s hands was to degrade oneself to the level of a slave. Therefore, it was not acceptable for a citizen to labor. Similarly, trade and commerce were also held in contempt. Merchants were seen as untrustworthy liars and were generally scolded by the populus. 

A career in the military was praised and encouraged in Athens, though not forced like in Sparta. Athens’ military might was especially impressive in regards to their navy. During the Persian Wars, the Athenian navy bested the Persian navy on numerous occasions, establishing themselves as the preeminent naval power of their time. 

Athens was an influential civilization in many ways. From becoming the first democracy to expanding navy warfare, it’s hard to deny the city’s historical reputation. Although at one point being the leading Greek city-state, long wars with Persia and Sparta would soon weaken Athens, ending their golden age.

Julius Caesar: Toward the Empire

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The Death of Julius Caesar - altARP
Assassination of Julius Caesar.

By 70 BC, Rome was gravitating toward an Empire instead of a Republic like how they had been traditionally for hundreds of years. Many influential Romans still wanted to preserve the Republic, including Sulla who implemented various reforms around 50-60 BC. After Sulla’s death, three prominent Roman men gained immense power. They were Crassus, Pompey, and Julius Caesar and are known as the First Triumvirate.

Both Crassus and Popmpey became consuls, at that time one of the highest positions in Rome. The First Triumvirate started to get rid of Sulla’s laws and tried to undermine the power of the Senate and consolidate power in favor of an imperial system. Eventually, Caesar also took the office of consul, but more importantly he got large military commands. Crassus died in 53 BC, now leaving only Pompey and Julius Caesar in a power struggle for the most influential man in all of Rome. While Pompey was back home in Rome, Caesar continued to win countless military victories in Gaul and northern Europe, but key senators decided to support Pompey over Caesar, believing Caesar to be power hungry. 

The Senate boldly commanded that Julius Caesar disarm his army. Obviously, he refused as he had control of the most numerous soldiers. Caesar led his legions of men in a march on Rome. After a brief civil war between Caesar and Pompey and his supporters, Julius Caesar was victorious. Throughout a three-to-four-year period, he consolidated power, becoming dictator in 48 BC and dictator for life in 44 BC. In fear, the Senate honored Caesar and was promptly filled completely with his supporters. Not a brutal dictator, Julius Caesar was fair, had mercy on his enemies, and was generally beloved by the people. Some of his accomplishments include: creating a new calendar, granting citizenship to many people, and establishing colonies for veterans. 

There were some former Senators that resented Julius Caesar and even some of his associates and supporters that thought he had gained too much power. So in 44 BC, they assassinated Caesar who was  stabbed and was famously killed by his close friend Brutus. After Caesar’s death, the biggest question in Rome was the problem of the power gap that was left open. Two men would emerge into yet another power struggle: Marc Antony, a close associate of Julius Caesar and who was furious at the men responsible for killing him, and Octavian, a young ambitious man who was named heir to the throne by the Senate.