Who Lives Longer?

In the first book of Herodotus, Herodotus tells the story of Solon visiting Croesus and figuring out how many days a seventy-year old lives. For us that is 365 x 70 = 25550 with an additional 17 days every fourth year for leap years. For the Greeks, however, there are not leap years but leap months which are added every other year.

Given twelve months of thirty days in a typical Greek year, how many days does Solon think a 70 year old lives for? Would you rather live to be seventy years old as an ancient Greek or a modern one?

Saved by a Dolphin

Herodotus (I.23-24) tells the story of Arion, a Greek poet. In his day he was the most famous singer in the world. Arion got his money in Taenarum. Sailing back home to Corinth, the sailors decided that they could use the money that he had earned far better than he could. So they decided to throw him overboard and take the money that he had raised. He, however, sang one last song and when he jumped ship, a dolphin saved him and swam him back to Taenarum. In the end, Arion made it back to Corinth where Periander, the ruler of Corinth, caught the sailors in their lies and punished them appropriately.

At least one aspect of this ancient tale has now been called into question. Too bad.

A Recipe for Mediocrity

Readers of Herodotus will remember the story that he tells in his fifth book about the lesson that Periander, the tyrant of Corinth, learned from Thrasybulus, the tyrant of Miletus:

Having sent a herald to Thrasybulus, he inquired what was the safest way to establish affairs and the best way to administer the city. Thrasybulus led Periander's messenger out of the city, and entering into a sown field. As they went through the crop he kept asking the herald about the situation in Corinth, and he was always cutting off the individual grain stalks that excelled, and having cut them down cast them away, until the best and finest of the field was ruined in this manner. Having gone through the country and saying nothing by way of advice, he sent the herald away. (Herodotus 5.92)

Since Thrasybulus said nothing, the herald understood nothing.

But Periander understood what needed to be done. It was clear to him that Thrasybulus recommended that he kill anyone who excelled in the city. (Herodotus 5.92).

 This Periander proceeded to do, inflicting the worst things he could imagine on his citizens.

Tyrants (the English term is simply the Greek term for king) often employ similar measures. Anyone who excels in any way is disposed of. Some do it by overtaxing the wealthiest citizens, others by getting rid of anyone who rises to national or international prominence. It is a way of keeping everyone in the middle, being neither very good nor very bad. If people just stay in the middle of their walk of life everything flows smoothly for the manager.

Unfortunately, since no one is very good, everyone is rather mediocre. That way the tyrant is the only one who appears to excel, despite his own mediocrity (sometimes these managers do not even rise to the level of mediocre). One thinks, for example, of Ramses III, constructing his window of appearance at the temple of Medinet Habu so that he stands with his feet just above the heads of the crowd. The populace were all beneath him.

If we rid ourselves of all that are exceptional, it will be no surprise that only the mediocre survive.