Ancient Greeks Were People Too!

I am reading Plutarch’s Lives right now as a sort of research for a writing project I want to start (some day). Oddly I’m enjoying it more now than I did when I studied it during my Classics Minor way back in university.

When I think of the Ancient Greeks I imagine great works of architecture, like the Parthenon. I think of historic works of literature, like The Iliad or Lysistrata. I also think of some of the greatest philosophers known to us, such as Plato or Aristotle. What I do not think of is Coalemus – or "The Booby."

In his section on Cimon, a political figure and military general (the two were often the same way back then in ye olde merry Greece), Plutarch is describing his behaviour as a young man. Apparently Cimon was not a studious youth of great intellectual prowess, nor was he a devoted and sedate teen. He was Coalemus – he was The Booby. He grew up to be one of the greatest generals Athens ever had, but he started out as the Booby.

Some of us modern folk tend to look back at the past and think: those were the days. Look at all the great things they did back then: they built big things, wrote big books, thought big thoughts; look at us today, what do we do?

Well, we build big things. That’s for sure. There’s some pretty big books on the shelves at Chapters (or Barnes & Noble for you American folk); and there’s some pretty heady stuff happening out there in the intellectual world. And many of our teenagers might properly be called "Booby" too.

Seems we’re not so different than those Ancient Greeks after all.

On the one hand, that’s almost depressing. You’d think after almost 2500 years mankind would have at least moved beyond the fighting that ripped through ancient Greece – but we’re still fighting, just on a bigger level. But on the other hand, for those of you and/or us, who idolize the past – the present is pretty similar (just bigger).

So if there’s one lesson you want to take from this: the Booby you see today might just be the great leader of tomorrow. Hmmm, or you can take from this: don’t live in the past when the present is built on it… bah whatever. The true reason for this post is I just liked writing booby a lot.

Booby… teehee.