Happiness in Greek Mythology Essay Example

How is happiness measured? Is it measured day to day or over time, by power or success? Throughout Greek mythology, a central pessimistic theme emerges that no one of the living can be happy. However, the ancient Greeks do not have a word that means the same as happiness. The closest word they have is eudaimonia which means “the condition of human flourishing” (Duignan). People today often view happiness as a temporary mood or feeling, but the ancient Greeks saw happiness as a measurement that could only be calculated after death. 

Deep in the glittering palace of Croesus, the king of ancient Lydia is finishing up a tour of his treasures with a renowned wise man named Solon. Confidently, Croesus asks Solon who the happiest man in the world is. Sure that his great riches will certainly make him the happiest, he is shocked when Solon names a perfectly ordinary man named Tellus the Athenian who has already died. Solon explains that Tellus lived in a prosperous city, had many beautiful children, lived a simple but comfortable life, and died in a victorious battle defending his city. While he never achieved fame or riches, Tellus was fortunate his whole life, even in his death. After Croesus asks who is the second happiest man with a similar result, Solon says, “For the one who has great wealth is not at all more fortunate than the one who has only enough for his daily needs, unless fate attend him and, having everything that is fair he also end his life well. For many very wealthy men are unfortunate and many with only moderate means of livelihood have good luck” (Herodotus). Croesus may seem to have found Eudaimonia or be flourishing as a human now, but the rich are often unfortunate and Croesus’ life hasn’t ended yet. 

With this perspective in mind, the number of people who live well or flourish as a human for their entire life is relatively minute. Even with all his fortunate strengths Achilles could not be a candidate because of all the misfortune he faced towards the end of his life. In a moment of sadness Achilles empathizes with King Priam, the very king he has been fighting against when Priam comes to retrieve his dead son from Achilles’ tent for burial. Achilles says that Zeus gives some lives a mixture of blessings and curses but to others, he gives only trouble. These people, he says, are “an object of abuse, to be driven by cruel misery over the divine earth” (Homer). Eudaimonia is not for everyone, moreover, some like Achilles are disproportionately given misfortune. 

Nevertheless, when Odysseus visits the edge of Hades we are actually able to see the post-mortem happiness of Achilles. Although he is a ruler of the dead, Achilles is dejected and only asks for news of his son, Neoptolemus. After hearing that Neoptolemus has become a great success, Achilles strides away jubilantly. Because of this interaction, we can calculate the eudaimonia of Achilles firsthand. Unsurprisingly, his happiness comes not from any of his great accomplishments but from hearing of the legacy he passed down through his son. Achilles did accomplish one aspect of human flourishing by having a son which is the only thing now that brings him joy after death. 

“No one of the living is happy” are Solon’s words that come to Croesus’ mind as he prepares to be burned. (Herodotus). Since Solon visited his kingdom Croesus’ beloved son has died and he has lost his kingdom to the Persians. Croesus certainly isn’t experiencing eudaimonia now, and his temporary happiness has disintegrated. To the ancient Greeks, happiness wasn’t just a feeling, it was a pattern of human flourishing over a lifetime. Consequently, before death, any misfortune could befall someone leading to their demise. Only after death is it possible to say how well they flourished, how happy they were, and how happy they will be in the afterlife. 

Works Cited

Duignan, Brian. "eudaimonia". Encyclopedia Britannica, 3 Jul. 2020, https://www.britannica.com/topic/eudaimonia. Accessed 23 April 2022.

Herodotus. "History of the Persian Wars." Classical Mythology, edited by Mark P. Morford, Robert J. Lenardon, and Michael Sham, 9thth ed., Oxford University Press, 2011, pp. 144-49.

Homer. "The Iliad." Classical Mythology, edited by Mark P. Morford, Robert J. Lenardon, and Michael Sham, 9thth ed., Oxford University Press, 2011, pp. 504-05.