“And so, my dear friends, I beg and pray you all to give ear to my story, and learn how bravely I fought and how I suffered, for it is a tale of great sorrow and of great joy, such as has never happened to any man before.” This excerpt from The Odyssey best demonstrates the importance of perseverance in Greek society.
The first thing that stands out about this excerpt is that Odysseus’s journey is not an easy one. In fact, it’s called a “tale of great sorrow and of great joy,” which implies that he will have to endure many hardships before he can achieve his goal. Throughout the story we see him persevering through many obstacles—most notably being shipwrecked on his way home from war—and overcoming them all by using his wits and intelligence to find a solution to each problem he faces along the way.
Perseverance was important in ancient Greece because it showed that someone had the strength of character needed for leadership positions within society. If someone was able to complete a task despite facing difficulty along the way (such as Odysseus!), then they would likely be able to complete other tasks successfully as well.
