Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely

Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely

Ancient Greece is a great example of the positive and negative effects of autocracy. The power structures of ancient Greece provide us with insights as to the why and the what that caused them to act the way they did. However, no matter how good a monarchy may seem, it is extremely difficult to have a righteous leader without divine intervention and assistance. There is simply no monarchical structure that can be built to stand the test of time, and human history proves it. No matter how good our intentions are, “We have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority…they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion.”  (Smith, Joseph. The Doctrine and Covenants. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. 2013.) It is for this reason that men cannot be trusted to rule as individuals and that there needs to be structures in place to ensure that the correct choices are made.

Agamemnon is a good example of how power corrupts an individual. Agamemnon does a lot of selfish things throughout the Iliad. He seeks to sacrifice his own child to please the gods so he can go to war and his obsessive worries about his glory and what people think of him pressure him into doing things that are wrong. “My father sacrificed me to Artemis, for Helen’s sake. At least that’s what he thought.” (Euripides “IPHIGENEIA IN TAURIS.” Poetry in Translation, https://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Greek/IphigeneiaTauris.php.) He acted under impulse and it caused him many problems. Kings in Greek civilization generally made laws, set taxes, acted as judges, oversaw religious ceremonies, lead the army during wars, and decided punishments for people who disobeyed the law. (Types of Government in Ancient Greece. 20 Sept. 2016, www.prospectridgeacademy.org.) Agamemnon needs to ensure he is on good terms with those who are loyal to him and he does not do a good job at that with Achilles. Achilles is a brave warrior and friend to the Greeks. Out of lust and greed, Agamemnon seeks to take Achilles’s war prize, Briseis, because his war prize Chryseis had to be given back. In his own words Achilles laments to his mother, “Agamemnon has taken away my prize and dishonored me.” (Homer. The Essential Homer. Hackett Publishing Company, Inc., 2000.) He had a way of making strong allies become enemies through his bad choices.

In Athens we learn of a different approach to leadership, a more democratic approach. However, the same worldly lusts for glory are seen in leaders that are part of well-structured leadership structures like Pericles and Thucydides. Pericles made many immoral choices that were generally accepted at the time, like pandering with Aspasia. But as time passed, politics just continued to go down a slippery slope. The Oxford Reference had this to say about Pericles and the politics during this time:

Pericles outlined the ideals of a democratic society and how such a society stands apart from other political ideas. His greatness as statesman and orator stands in sharp contrast with the pandering of the politicians who succeeded him. (Gagarin, Michael. Oxford Reference. Oxford University Press, 2010.)

Pericles had his faults as a leader. However, democracy tends to be more successful in bringing out the best in many leaders. When democracy is in play, the people are able to elect their own leader and they can chose what type of leader they would like to represent them.

Mankind does not handle leadership well, despite having good intentions for it, and that is why we learn about the risks of kings and rulers of men in Mosiah chapter 29 in The Book of Mormon: “For behold, how much iniquity doth one wicked king cause to be committed, yea, and what great destruction.” (Smith, Joseph. The Book of Mormon. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. 2013.) Wicked kings are simply not fit to rule and, sadly, this is the case more often than not. The only way this would be possible, according to Mosiah, would be through governing according to the principles of righteousness:

Therefore, if it were possible that you could have just men to be your kings, who would establish the laws of God, and judge this people according to His commandments, yea, if ye could have men for your kings who would do even as my father Benjamin did for this people – I say unto you, if this could always be the case then it would be expedient that ye should always have kings to rule over you. (Smith, Joseph. The Book of Mormon. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. 2013.)

The only way for a civilization to survive under a king or democracy is to systematize the use of righteous, governing principles to select those who will lead and then to hold them accountable through lesser leaders, or “judges,” as they did in Mosiah’s time. Without a strong level of regulation, mankind is not able to handle power well and Satan uses it as a tool to impose his will upon the people.  We have an innate desire to have leaders because we need good examples to look to and we want to believe that the choices made by those leaders that will affect all of us will be made in wisdom and order. We need the guidance that comes through those who have life experience that can benefit us greatly. Absolute power can lead to making choices that are often contrary to everything that a king or democrat stands for, we see that in Agamemnon especially. A general theme through our reading has been how anger causes people to lose sight of what really matters and to focus on themselves, seeking glory over trust and looking for personal gain over benefiting others. This trap is by design and can easily be overlooked and ignored if the political systems are not in place to remind us and regulate the leadership chosen.                           

Works Cited

•       Euripides “IPHIGENEIA IN TAURIS.” Poetry in Translation, https://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Greek/IphigeneiaTauris.php.
•          Gagarin, Michael. Oxford Reference. Oxford University Press, 2010.
•          Homer. The Essential Homer. Hackett Publishing Company, Inc., 2000.
•          Smith, Joseph. The Book of Mormon. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. 2013.
•          Types of Government in Ancient Greece. 20 Sept. 2016,www.prospectridgeacademy.org.
•          Smith, Joseph. The Doctrine and Covenants. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. 2013.d