Government and Power in The Book of Mormon and Ancient Greece

Steve Stenquist

Professor Insalaco

CL CV 201

18 February, 2020

Monarchy in the Book of Mormon and Ancient Greece

Long ago, in the ancient Americas, King Mosiah warned his people of the dangers of a monarchy. He warned that kings can often be selfish and cruel, and can lead their citizens to commit acts of sin and violence. He emphasized the importance of a government controlled by the voice of the people and the law. The ancient Greeks also saw their society torn apart by wars and hardships caused by monarchical government. On countless occasions they were involved in war and violence and eventually tried to move towards a more democratic system. Despite the downfalls of a monarchy discussed in both the ancient Americas and ancient Greece, people throughout history have often been drawn to strong leaders and have repeatedly trusted them more than democracy. As shown in the Book of Mormon and in ancient Greece, a monarchical government with a prideful king will often lead to war and sin and, despite these problems, is often favored by the people.

            One of the first points that Mosiah makes about a society with a monarchical power structure is that the prideful kings will lead their people to conflict. Mosiah’s shows this concern by proclaiming, “And now if there should be another (king) appointed in his stead, behold I fear there would rise contentions among you” (Mosiah 29:7, parenthesis added), and also when he makes the point that to take up the kingdom again, his son would have to “turn again to his pride” (Mosiah 29: 9). This same principle of pride leading to conflict affected Greek power structures. The ancient Greeks had a tradition of following a basileus, or strong leader who acted as a king (Oxford Classical Dictionary). Because the basileus was entrusted to lead the people and was given a high degree of honor, he could often inspire jealousy and conflict amongst his people. One example of jealous behavior towards the basileus in The Iliad occurs when Achilles becomes angry with Agamemnon requiring Achilles to give him his wife, Briseis. Briseis was Achilles’ war prize and was thus a symbol of honor for both Achilles and Agamemnon. Agamemnon had his own wife from the war but was forced to give her up and, as Basileus, could not be seen without the honor of wartime spoils. He thus takes Achilles’ wife casuing a feud between the two of them and leading to Achilles’ defection (Homer, 8). Much like Mosiah suggests, the pride caused by Agamemnon’s title led to jealousy and conflict in the Greek army.

            Mosiah worries that a kings will become tyrannical and impose their will upon the people much like King Noah did to the Nephites

Apart from conflict, a strong king can also lead his people into sin and shame. Mosiah suggests that “if it were possible that you could have just men to be your kings…… then it would be expedient that ye should always have kings to rule over you” (Mosiah 29:13) but also warns his people to consider “how much iniquity doth one wicked king cause to be committed, yea, and what great destruction!” (Mosiah 29: 17). The Greeks would have done well to heed Mosiah’s warning. In Greek culture, because the king had so much power, he could lead his people to be prosperous and successful or could lead them to wickedness and strife. No example of this is clearer than that of Oedipus. Oedipus was a brilliant king whose clever leadership led his people to great wealth before his terrible mistakes led to great shame and sin. Oedipus was doomed to the fate of killing his father and marrying his mother and was too prideful to heed the warnings of wise seers who advised him to change his ways. This pride led to the shame of all of his family and left his daughters without hope of marriage (Sophocles 63). Because so many cities had put so much trust in a flawed leader like Oedipus, (Sophocles 58) they were disappointed and ashamed because of his wicked actions. Just as Mosiah warned, an evil king who is given all the power over his city, led to both great good and great evil in Greek society.

          Oedipus caused great evil to come upon both himself and his family because of the great power with which he was entrusted

  Despite the drawbacks to having powerful kings, people are often drawn towards these leaders. Before listening to his words, Mosiah’s people desired a king (Mosiah 29: 2) and so too did the Greeks. In fact, even after turning to democracy, the Greeks would often favor tyrants who came and took over with their military might (Morgan xxiv). The reason that many people favor a single strong leader over forms of checked power is that they feel that the strong leader can more easily do what is best for the city’s interests without obstacles. The debate in Thucydides’ History illustrates this point perfectly. In this debate, the Athenians were deciding what they should do with the citizens of Mitylene, a city that had just rebelled again their rule. While arguing that the Mitylenians should be punished severely, Creon, a supporter of strong leaders, laments “I have often before now been convinced that a democracy is incapable of empire”(Thucydides 281). Many people who, like Cleon, favor more decisive action, see the decentralized power structure of a democracy as harmful to an empire’s interests. Thus many are drawn to strong leaders because they can make quick, harsh decisions to further the empire’s power.

        

Creon was one example of a person who felt that democracy did not encourage a successful empire.

    Another reason that people are often drawn to strong leaders is that these powerful people will often treat those that support them very well. In the Greek age of tyrants, the tyrant who had just taken over a city would often throw a large party for all the citizens and would give them special favors to ensure their support (The Oxford Classical Dictionary). Democratic systems usually disapprove of favors that give a leader power which causes citizens to miss out on the possible advantages of having a tyrant. Mosiah warned against such corrupt ways of gaining support by telling his people that the government should rule by the law rather than by special favors (Mosiah 29:25). A government that is bound to the law will be less corrupt and more likely to choose what they see as right rather than what simply gains them more support. By governing based on the law many of the conflicts and problems present in a tyrannical system can also be mitigated. These advantages however, often fail to convince the people that they should turn down the immediate benefits given to them by the tyrants they more frequently support.

           

King Mosiah taught that a society should be governed by laws not the whims of a king.

The Book of Mormon and Ancient Greece both present stories of monarchical power structures that led to ruin. In both societies, war, sin, shame, and destruction followed powerful rulers who did wrong with their power as the people chose time and time again to forego the benefits of a less autocratic system. Greek power structures led to many of the problems that Mosiah foresaw and yet, they were often unable to shake off the yoke of tyrannical leaders for any significant amount of time. This inability to leave the rule of these strong leaders was often caused by their own unwillingness to change and desires for a strong leader rather than the singular strength of any one “Basileus”. Ancient Greek power structures thus serve alongside Mosiah’s warnings as cautionary tales of the problems inherent in monarchical power structures.

Works Cited

Murray, Oswyn. "kingship." Oxford Classical Dictionary.  March 07, 2016. Oxford University Press. Date of access 15 Feb. 2020, https://oxfordre.com/classics/view /10.1093/acrefore /9780199381135.001.0001/acrefore-9780199381135-e-3529

McGlew, James F. Tyranny and Political Culture in Ancient Greece. Cornell University Press, 1996.

Thucydides. The Portable Greek Historians. Edited by M.I Finley, Penguin Books, 1977, Strand, London.

Sophocles. Oedpipus Rex. Edited by Paul Moliken, Prestwick House, 2005, Clayton, Delaware. 

Homer. The Essential Homer, Selections from the Iliad and the Odyssey. Edited by Stanley Lombardo, Hackett Publishing Company, 2000, Indianapolis, Indiana.