Unchanging Power

A look at the ancient Greek kings Achilles and Menelaus compared to the Book of Mormon kings Noah and Mosiah allow for a comparison between what has stayed the same and changed for kings during a 1,500-year gap. In fact, many aspects of being a king have not changed much over the past couple millennia. The lives of these kings highlight that power maintenance and organization has largely stayed the same, meanwhile the perception of what makes a successful king has changed dramatically.

A common trouble of a king is maintaining power. Power is vital for a king because it is a defining aspect of who they are. While there are many ways to approach how to maintain power, repeatedly kings of old would surround themselves with strong allies. Mosiah expounded, “Ye cannot dethrone an iniquitous king save it be through much contention, and the shedding of much blood”. Furthermore, Mosiah explained that a wicked king, “has his friends in iniquity, and he keepeth his guards about him” (Mormon 205). When a king surrounds himself with strong allies, he organizes his power in a way that props up his stance.

 A great example of a king that surrounded himself with allies to maintain power is Noah. He desired to change the laws of his people to his liking. To accomplish this task without causing an uproar, he replaced all of the high priests with people that would obey his will. The ancient Greek kings were no different and surrounded themselves with strong allies to maintain their power. When Helen was stolen from Menelaus, he called upon strong allies like Achilles, Ajax, Diomedes, and Odysseus to start a war against the Trojans.

In contrast, one of the largest differences between the Greek kings and the Book of Mormon kings, is how their society views a successful king. To the Minoans and Myceneans, a good king was an honorable warrior like Achilles and Odysseus. War and bloodshed were a defining characteristic of these societies. A great example of honoring battle strength is when Achilles explains to his comrades his two fates of death he could choose between. He said, “If I stay here and fight, I’ll never return home, but my glory will be undying forever. If I return home to my dear fatherland my glory is lost but my life will be long” (Homer 171). We know that Achilles chose honor because he stayed and fought Hector, thus showing the priority of a king in this society.

Now juxtapose Achilles’ honor to a description of King Mosiah, “Neither had he delighted in the shedding of blood; but he had established peace in the land” (Mormon 207). This society honored avoiding battle greater than winning battles. A wicked king to these people would be a king that delighted in the shedding of blood, like Achilles dragging the body of Hector around the Troy to celebrate his victory.

Furthermore, the differences in honor through battle is likely due to differences in their economy. To the Minoans and Myceneans, a good King would be able to produce riches through the spoils of war to benefit his people, like Odysseus when he brings home treasures from the Phaeacian people. This is the exact opposite to the culture of Mosiah’s people. While explaining the disadvantages of a bad king, Mosiah said, “All his iniquities and abominations, and all the wars, and contentions, and bloodshed, and the stealing, and the plundering” (Mormon, 206). These societies viewed kings differently because there had been a divergence of the role of a king.

In brief, the people in the Book of Mormon wanted a king that could bring peace and uphold law. To the ancient Greeks, they desired kings that were valiant in battle and could lead the people to victory because they relied on the spoils of war to survive.

Another common theme between the ancient Greeks, the people in the Book of Mormon, and even modern time is the desire for a strong leader. Government structures provide us the evidence that societies desire a strong leader, which can be seen in the various forms of governments like the anax, basileus with the boule, judges with a chief judge, or democracy with a president as we see today. Furthermore, Mosiah took notice that the desire came directly from the people. When Mosiah went to prepare the next generation of government, he described the people as being, “desirous to have a king” (Mormon 204). This desire for a strong leader comes from the benefits of having consistent and proper execution of laws.

Another great example is the “The Mitylenian Debate”, which provides a great framework as to why democratic societies still desire a strong leader at its head. In the debate, Cleon describes how the everchanging opinion of society hurts the people more than it benefits it. “The most alarming feature in the case is the constant change of measures with which we appear to be threatened, and our seeming ignorance of the fact that bad laws which are never changed are better for a city than good ones that have no authority” (Finley 280). A strong leader can provide consistency in enforcing the law, which is one of the weaknesses of Athens that Cleon makes strikingly aware in his debate.

Seemingly, the founding fathers of the United States understood the importance of what Cleon was saying when they decided on the role of the president was to “take care that the laws be faithfully executed” (U.S Const. art II, Sec III). The presidential role described here in the U.S. Constitution is evidence that societies see strong leaders as a wise choice for consistency in governance.

In summary, a comparison of kings and governments throughout time demonstrates that much has stayed the same in governing societies. Governments of old and modern share strong leaders, whether it was a king, basileus, chief judge, president, or prime minister. In addition, the heads of governments surround themselves with allies to maintain their power like Agamemnon did with his counsel and Noah did with his priests. The United States is no exemption to this, as we see with the president’s ability to choose his/her own cabinet. However, one aspect of leading that has changed is how society views a good leader. The Homeric kings like Achilles were revered for their power in battle. In more recent times societies tend to favor leaders that do all they can to avoid war and gain peace.

Works Cited

Finley, M. I. The Portable the Greek Historians: The Essence of Herodotus, Thucydides,

Xenophon, Polybius. Penguin Books, 1977.

Homer. Iliad. Hackett Publishing Company, Inc., 1997.

Mormon. The Book of Mormon. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 2015.

U.S. Constitution. Article II, Section III.