... say that truth yields virtue. In a discussion with Hippias, Socrates was discussing virtue as Homer viewed it. The brave warrior, Achilles, would seem to possess virtue by his skills in war and heroic deeds. When compared to the sly Odysseus, Achilles seemed the only choice. Socrates asked questions about Hippias's knowledge of liars, and derived that the cunningness displayed by Odysseus was ... done so with trickery. This was a sure sign that he was the most acquainted with truths. Socrates said, "He who knows best the truth is more able to tell falsehood." Achilles should have used h...

• Word Count: 8371
• Approx Pages: 33
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... was only to be expected that their revenges, when they felt themselves unjustly treated, would be huge and deadly. The epic poems [i.e., Homer's Iliad and Odyssey] do not really question Achilles' right to bring destruction on the Greek army to avenge Agamemnon's insults, nor Odysseus' slaughter of the entire younger generation of the Ithacan aristocracy. Sophocles' Ajax sees nothing wrong in ... his attempt to kill the commanders of the army for denying him the armor of Achilles; his shame springs simply from his failure to achieve his bloody objection. But Medea is a woman, a wife and...

• Word Count: 1681
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

... living with the shame of going against his beliefs. This feeling about living without shame is also found in Socrates statenment that compares himself to the life of Achilles. Of course the situation that Achilles was in was somewhat different to Socrates situation but it was brought up in his argument to show how he feels about shame. Socrates had a self-proclaimed ... ...

• Word Count: 2519
• Approx Pages: 10
• Grade Level: High School