War and Peace in Ancient Philosophy

Zuzanna Szpakowska Wojskowa Akademia Techniczna w Warszawie War and peace in ancient philosophy Abstract Periods of peace and armed conflicts have been present since the very beginning of the human history. For some, they are a natural consequence of culture clash, for others they are the moving force of civilization progress, while others perceive them as unjustified aggression and disrespect for human life. Regardless the chosen vision and individual point of view, war, peace and the need for security are an inseparable part of our life and reality. For this reason, they have become a very important subject of philosophical, political and sociological considerations, the impact of which we observe in virtually all epochs, regardless the cultural circle, political system or social situation. Due to the ampleness of the topic discussed, this article focuses on the chosen period - antiquity and one of the most important (and closest to us) cultural circle - Greek, Roman and Hellenic. The author tries to answer the research question - does the output of ancient thought influence the formation of contemporary understanding and interpretation of war, peace and security? The considerations are accompanied by the author’s thesis that the way we currently perceive and interpret the phenomena that surround us, in particular war and peace, is strongly determined by the concepts developed by the protoplasts of ancient philosophy. Keywords: war, peace, security, ancient phylosophy Introduction It is assumed that the ancient period abounded in political, cultural and military events. This had a strong influence on the political thought of that period, which was reflected in the numerous works of writers and philosophers of Greek, Roman and Hellenic culture. Among the many distinguished artists, one should mention Heraclitus of Ephesus, known from the concept of constant change, Socrates and his “Dialogues”, Plato, “rhetoric” by Aristotle, Epicurus and others. Analyzing the literature of the subject, one can often find claims that the above-mentioned Studia Administracji i Bezpieczeństwa nr 6/2019 Hellenic thought, and later Hellenistic thought, have become precursors to their secondary Roman art. It is easy to see differences regarding not only creativity, but also a universal view of the world. Greeks are mainly identified with love of art, while Romans are characterized as practitioners and exquisite warriors1. It is hard to deny this generalization, considering even the most important styles of contemporary art. To this day, we remember the names of many eminent Greek philosophers and Roman speakers, trained in political disputes. However, all similar stereotypes should be assessed primarily from the perspective of systemic practice, history of the region, policy, and other factors2. This article briefly outlines the most important concepts of ancient thought regarding three important themes - war, peace and security. The main goal of the article is to reach for sources. Finding the foundations of currently accepted, universal ideas shaping our image of the world around us, which will allow us to refer to the thesis formulated before. 1. Ancient writers about war One of the most outstanding Greek authors of the antiquity was Homer, known for his many outstanding works, hymns, poems, especially Iliad and Odyssey. This writer is considered the father of the genre - epic poetry. He is also the oldest known European poet. His work rooted so deeply in Greek culture at that time that temples and statues in his honor began to appear in many places, for example in Olympia and Delphi. This individual had been also depicted in numerous legends regarding his divine origin. Unfortunately, the ancients did not know much about Homer’s life, which means that most of the preserved information is a mixture of facts, theories and legends3. Analyzing these literary works, we do not find a clear picture of security known today. Particularly with reference to war and armed conflicts, the author does not even try to mitigate the picture. A clear example of this is the interpretation of the Iliad quotation “Did they not leave their homelands or exchange peace to laurel of war?”4. According to Józef Borgosz, the quoted passage testifies to Homer’s strong belief that war deeds and the conflict itself are much more glorious than a peaceful life. Thus, it can be said that for him the war appears as both useful and necessary. War is both an instrument and a goal. 1 J. Świniarski, W. Chojnacki, Filozofia bezpieczeństwa, ZUMS BN, Warsaw 2004, p. 6-19. 2 Ibidem. 3 Homer, Encyklopedia popularna PWN, PWN, Warsaw 2017, record: Homer. 4 Homer, Iliada, hymn III, translation: Franciszek Dmochowski. 224 Zuzanna Szpakowska, War and peace in ancient philosophy Therefore, Homer himself does not condemn the war, although he does not diminish its tragedy and presents it in a factual way5. However, Homer should not be seen as a person who glorifies warfare, but rather a kind of confrontationist of strength and courage, naturally attributed to men - soldiers. Wars were not depicted by this author as an integral part of reality, but rather a way to perceive and affirm the virtues - heroism, strength, courage, physical fitness and honor. One of the most important of them is bravery and related fame, which are the dream of heroes and other Homeric heroes. War is not only a political tool for Homer, but also a circumstance in which one can prove his virtues. Appreciation of fame and honor is therefore the driving force and main motive of Homer’s work. Otherwise, war, fame and honor create a feeling of well-being. That is why death on the battlefield is also a reason for glory. The author repeatedly evokes a fragment of the chorus in his work, which reads: “he fell as a brave man as he was”6. In the Iliad, the connection between war and heroism comes to the fore in terms of individual actions, not fighting in the name of a community, tribe or country. Thus, the ethos of an ideal soldier, unsurpassed in his courage and agility, is being created, trying to match the gods. On the basis of this, an unwritten archetype of a soldier was formed, following the principles of heroism and honor, a warrior and strongman, an ingenious tactician and strategist. This archetype suppressed and took on the parenthesis and overlooked the cruelty and barbarity of war struggles, their deadliness, degradation of humanity, and plundering character. The idealized homer archetype of a brave and courageous warrior is often referred to by the creators of subsequent epochs, not only antiquity. It is worth noting that despite the creation of the archetype of war for fame, history is unlikely to know a single conflict, the cause of which would be only the desire to obtain glory and recognition. Behind each of them were other, more important reasons. In conclusion, Homer’s works should be considered the first attempts to glorify the valiant deeds of individuals, not the war itself as a collective activity. Thus, indirectly, through the actions of heroes, the Homer’s war is ethically accepted, mainly because it creates the conditions for the manifestation of the ethos of heroic struggle. In the manifestation of this ethos, there is no grievance against suffering and death, robberies and rapes, degradation of humanity and the horrors of wars that have been wicked for centuries and are associated with the Lucifer effect7. Homer focuses mainly on the glorious deeds of war and heroes who seem to be averted idealization of real deeds accomplished during war. 5 J. Borgosz, Drogi i bezdroża filozofii pokoju. Od Homera do Jana Pawła II, MON, Warsaw 1989, p. 11. 6 Ibidem, p. 12. 7 Ph. G. Zimbardo, Efekt Lucyfera. Dlaczego dobrzy ludzie czynią zło?, PWN, Warsaw 2008. 225 Studia Administracji i Bezpieczeństwa nr 6/2019 The ideas declared by Homer should also be compared to other concepts of the Hellenic culture. One of them was the theory of the poet Stasinus of Cyprus who created in the spirit of Greek poetry. Today, we do not know much about his life, which is why he is considered a partially legendary figure. His work, strongly inspired by Hesiod, often covered the subject of war and peace as well as armed conflicts related to the migration of peoples and overpopulation. Stasinus rejected all interpretations different from the concept of interference of guardian deities, who supervise individual tribes. According to this philosophy, each region or area were inseparably assigned to the deity guarding them. Moreover, the author excluded completely hostile political or interpersonal relations assuming that the fate of human groups is subordinated to the will of supernatural beings. Stasinus’ thinking could be compared to the sophist’s beliefs, because he stated that man is not naturally an aggressive being because, assuming the natural hostility of the people, war would be permanent. Therefore, the poet ruled out such factors of influence as the will of the gods, greed, and innate hostility. According to him the source of conflicts must have been something else. For this reason, the cause of wars was perceived as depletion of natural resources of the inhabited areas along with natural population growth, which in the long term only aggravate living conditions. At that time tribes moved by the desire to find new sources in order to satisfy their basic needs abandoned the existing areas in search for others, more wealthy regions. Any tribes encountered in this path constituted natural opponents on the way to the chosen goal. In that way Stasinus explained the majority of conflicts known to him (including the Trojan War), and this idea was acknowledged and further developed in the work of Plato8. Another outstanding representative of ancient philosophy was Heraclitus from Ephesus. Born around 540 BC, he is often considered a philosopher of nature, just like Homer, originating from the Asia Minor region.

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