The ancient Greeks went through many forms of leadership and eventually created the first system of democracy. Yet before achieving a society ruled by the voice of the people, they like others before and many after them were ruled by kings. Much like the change from a king in ancient Greece, the Nephites also made a switch to a system of judges after the sermon delivered by King Mosiah in chapter 29 of his book in The Book of Mormon. Although they moved away from a king both societies recognized that a strong leader was a powerful tool. Here the focus is on how each society viewed the role of a king and the structure of his power.
In the writings they left behind the Greeks made distinctions in how they viewed different kings and what they had to do to maintain power. They used the word basileus for a ruler that was the rightful heir by birth. The basileus was seen as the natural rightful ruler of the land. The rightful transfer of the kingdom was from father to son, and the rulers were seen as close to the gods, perhaps even part God themselves. Like in the Iliad, Achilles was the son of a mortal father but an immortal sea goddess Thetis. They ruled absolutely and had the right to rule the people because they were perceived as ruling by divine right. When an outsider of the royal family took control of the kingdom he was seen as a tyrant. The word may seem harsh in our modern language but then it merely meant he had seized control for himself, even though he could be a benevolent ruler. The Oxford Classical Dictionary gives insight that a tyrant maintains power because they, “ruled in a period of growing confidence and prosperity: by encouraging national cults, by sponsoring public works, and by acting as patrons to writers and artists, they glorified both their cities and themselves”. These kings also had control of the people but knew that because they were not seen as the proper leader, they had to please the people or cause enough fear not to be challenged.
Oedipus was loved as a great king but he, being a Tyrant was a slave to the desires of the people. In the opening scene of Oedipus Rex, we see that the people have come to ask him to solve the mystery of death and destruction of the city. If he refused, he would have been opening himself to being challenged for the right to rule. He even suspects this when the soothsayer prophesies that he, Oedipus, was the murderer that he is supposed to find and exact vengeance for the city. Fearing for his throne he assumes that his brother in law, Creon, has payed for a false prophesy to dethrone him and assume control of the city. In response Creon defends himself and defines Oedipus as a tyrant in line 538, “I have learned that the tyrant Oedipus has spoken terrible words against me, so I am here, unable to bear it”. Creon also knew that it was hard being a tyrant and, in his defense, spoke that, “how then could tyranny be sweeter to me than trouble-free rule and sovereignty” because he shared in the riches of Oedipus’ rule without having to make the hard decisions as the ruler already.
This difficulty to rule when the people do not recognize you as a true ruler was understood by the Nephites just as it was among those of ancient Greece. A king among the Nephites was originally chosen by the voice of the people but then the power was conferred from father to son with the voice of the people being taken into consideration, during times of righteousness, much like a boule Mosiah during his rule sought the voice of the people with his decision as to which son should be chosen as king. In Mosiah chapter 29 Mosiah speaks of the contention of the people that could be caused if they are divided when a ‘tyrant’ takes over instead of the rightful heir. Even if it was a righteous man who was chosen by the people, a part could be drawn away if they later disliked the laws or actions of the new king. He also understood that a king had the power to drive his people to commit sins against God and destroy their souls and their very lives due to furthering the king’s own desires. In his own words Mosiah wrote in verse 7 of chapter 29, “and now if there should be another appointed in his stead, behold I fear there would rise contentions among you…which would cause wars and contentions among you… and destroy the souls of many people”.
This wisdom given to the Nephites by their king is mirrored in how the Greeks saw their leaders. We see that there was an understanding that a king leads the people and was responsible for a majority of their victories and failures. The entire Trojan War began because of the responsibilities of the Greek cities to defend the honor of Agamemnon’s brother. Thousands died, and cities were destroyed because the ruler of the Greeks commanded it. Yet a central ruler is also desirable for swift action and decisive decisions. Mosiah makes a point of declaring a just king as better even that a division of power among judges. In verse 13 of Mosiah, he says, “…if it were possible that you could always have just kings, who would establish the laws of God, and judge the people according to his commandments… ye should always have kings to rule over you”. The Greeks as well wanted powerful wise men to be their rulers, and associated the greatest as being part God or close to the Gods. These men they saw as having the ability to lead them to victory and prosperity.
Kings had a special purpose that was different among the Nephites and Greeks but shared the common goal of being the spiritual leader of the people. For the Greeks, the King was to seek the Gods’ will and perform the necessary sacrifices to the Gods on behalf of the city. They were not and did not need to be moral leaders. Whatever was best for the people they were expected to do. When dealing with an uprising of a city against Athens, the two choices were to forgive and kill the leaders, or kill all the men and enslave the women and children. Both were valid choices for furthering the strength of Athens, and the morality of the action was never taken into the debate. For the Nephites there could be a spiritual leader separate from the King like the prophets or soothsayers of the Greeks, but at the time of Mosiah it was a dual role fulfilled by him. He labored to administer just laws but also taught the people to choose to follow God’s commandments and treat one another with love. He was a strong moral leader looking more to Gods will and not to the people’s best interest if it was not just. The difference came in Mosiah seeing himself as being equal to the common man and the role of the king did not make him above others but in a position to teach and guide the people. Ancient Greece saw its leaders as lead by divinity but not out of a sense of morality. Whatever was best for the ruler and his kingdom was right to pursue.
Even with this difference of moral leadership and a position of power to further the gain of the people or king, both had to lead during times of war. The needs of the people dictated the role of the king in both societies and the role that a king played in ancient Greece is still seen in our society today. When the Greek cities fought together, they elected a chief ruler among them as Agamemnon was for the Trojan war in the Iliad. The president of The United States was intended to fulfill the same role of uniting the people and providing a central leadership figure. Even though the original 13 states feared a king, they knew that a strong leader was essential to the unity and advancement of their society. In an article on Massachusetts (The 13 Colonies in the Revolutionary War), the financial difficulty of doing business with other countries without a leader to act for the states was addressed as being damaging to the power and respect of the states. They wrote that after a president was elected, “this newly strengthened central government affected the economy in small but simple ways”.
A strong central leader is necessary for quick action and sometimes the evil of having a single leader was tolerated in exchange for this leadership. In both the ancient Americas and ancient Greece, we see that kings held power by leading the people in triumph and it took a massive effort to remove a ruler from power. They were seen as both a political and religious leader and lead their people during times of war. They held their power by being strong and appeasing the wants and desires of their people. They also have the most influence in guiding their people spiritually and in choosing war or peace based on the choices of their king. Societies, even democracies desire a strong leader for all that they can offer their people, even if it comes with risks. This was the understanding of both the Nephites and the Greeks.
Works Cited
The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ; The Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints; The Pearl of Great Price. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 1999.
Brooks, Rebecca Beatrice. “The 13 Colonies in the Revolutionary War.” History of Massachusetts Blog, 8 Dec. 2019, historyofmassachusetts.org/13-colonies-revolutionary-war/.
Homer, and Stanley Lombardo. The Essential Homer: Selections from the Iliad and Odyssey. Hackett Pub., 2000.
Hornblower, Simon, et al. The Oxford Classical Dictionary. Oxford University Press, 2012.
Sophocles. Oedipus Rex: Prestwick House Literary Touchstone Classics Series. Prestwick House, 2005.
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