Chapter 3069 The Veil of Ignorance (10)

In the eighteenth book of the Iliad, Homer spends a lot of time describing the shield of Achilles.

It was a very gorgeous shield. Hephaestus, the god of forging, used bronze, tin and gold as materials to decorate the earth, sky, stars, and two human cities.

Hephaestus was originally the child of Hera and Zeus. He was abandoned because he was ugly. He was later picked up by Thetis, the goddess of the sea. She was also the mother of Achilles.

Because Hephaestus broke his leg during the fall and became lame from then on, Achilles, another son of Thetis, was called "Swift-footed" in Homer's epic.

After hearing the prophecy, Thetis lifted Achilles upside down and immersed him in the waters of the River Styx, making Achilles invulnerable except for his ankles. However, Thetis was still worried and asked her adopted son Hephaestus to forge a shield and armor for Achilles.

Of course, Hephaestus was dedicated to his adoptive mother's request, and the forge used by Hephaestus was made for him by the Cyclops.

One of the two human cities on the shield was being attacked by two armies, strong but divided, quarreling over whether to destroy this beautiful city completely or to divide its wealth into two halves.

The residents of the city were unwilling to surrender, and they did not intend to sit still and wait for death, so they quietly prepared their weapons and left the city, leaving the guarding work to their wives and children.

They came to a place suitable for an ambush. It was the river bank where people usually provided water for their livestock. The scenery there was beautiful and there were no traces of war at all. A shepherd boy even played a flute for fun.

Then the battle began, with the two sides constantly throwing bronze spears at each other, and the blood of humans quickly stained Death's clothes red.

Then the red god of death surrounded the battlefield with soft, fertile and wide farmland, and many farmers drove their cattle back and forth in the field.

He also attached a vineyard with lush vines and leaves. During the harvest season, people gathered the grapes and brewed them into fine wine for the farmers to drink. There were also carefree boys and girls singing and dancing, and the cattle were braying. , rush out of the cattle pen and run towards the pasture, or towards the stream with swaying reeds.

This is such a beautiful and peaceful scenery. No one remembers that there was a war here, or that the war has become history.

The islands of Cyclops don't even need farming. Zeus will send rain and all the crops will grow by themselves. Although they have no laws, there are no disputes on the island, unlike the other city on the shield of Achilles. People litigate in public meetings like that.

The city structure where Odysseus is located is "perfect" and is well known in history. However, Agamemnon and Troy are in the so-called "Dark Ages". They are like the pre-Roman Republic era, with "King" Basileus. .

At the same time, there was no word "Greece" in that era to collectively refer to these city-states (polis). Polis is a masculine word, which roughly refers to men who actively participate in political activities. In Homer's time, they were regarded as people who formed a political community. Bada is also a "city-state", but it is not as grand as Athens, and it does not even have city walls. It was not until about 700 BC that the city-state was the central place for political activities. And from this, politics, policy, and police are derived.

Thucydides said that settlement was the basis for the development and strength of a city-state, and tribes that moved around could only struggle to make ends meet.

The Greek ancestors would fight for fertile land.

In contrast, Attica lived a sedentary life because of its poor soil.

After the coalition forces arrived at Troy by ship, they first built a city wall. According to the poet, this wall was not protected by divine grace like the wall of Troy, but was built against the will of God.

There are two legends about Kuklos, one is that they are lawless pastoral shepherds, the other is that they are the children of Gaia and Uranus, representing thunderbolt, thunder and lightning respectively.

Ouranos was afraid that they would usurp the throne, so he imprisoned them in the Tartarus Hell. When Cronus overthrew Uranus, he initially released the Cyclops, but soon Cronus was also worried. He was threatened by them and imprisoned them in Tartarus Hell. After Zeus became the God-King, the Cyclops surrendered to Zeus and willingly became "servants" and made lightning for Zeus.

Laws in ancient times were all customary laws without exception, and early written laws were also compilations of customary laws, such as the Roman Twelve Tables and the Code of Hammurabi.

Ancient Greece also had written customary laws. Before the advent of writing, the memory of citizens was the only proof of events that had been promised or had been agreed upon. Later, people had the art of carving and painting to record them, like Akha The shield of Leus.

In another city on the shield that has not experienced war, in addition to lawsuits, there are also weddings. Not only the newlyweds are happy, but the wedding attendees are also singing and dancing, and the women stand in front of their homes to watch the excitement.

There was a priest of Apollo named Chryses, who had a beautiful daughter Chryses, who was captured by Achilles in the war, so she was present in the assembly with other spoils of war.

The citizens' assembly of this era was not the popular court of the Socratic era. Its members were limited to those who held military positions. Its role was to distribute the spoils of war. As a human king in the Bronze Age, Agamemnon had priority in choosing the spoils of war. He chose Chryseis.

This incident was later known to Apollo, who told his priest Chryses, who then took the money and wanted to redeem his daughter, but Agamemnon rejected his request.

The priest asked Apollo for revenge, and Apollo sent a plague on the Achaean camp, causing countless deaths and injuries.

To appease Apollo's anger, Achilles called an assembly, where everyone agreed to return Agamemnon to Chryseis.

Agamemnon proposed that if he let the priest's daughter go, he would have to pay for it with other "gifts."

Achilles is the son of the goddess. Although she is a low-level person in the theogony, this half-human and half-god hero did not take Agamemnon seriously.

He said, "It is my hands that do most of the fierce fighting, and it is you (referring to Agamemnon) who gets the most among the spoils."

Achilles also said that Agamemnon was a "cannibal king." Agamemnon himself had never eaten people, but he was the son of Atreus... This is another story.

Then Agamemnon said that the daughter of the priest could be released, but in exchange for Achilles' maid, Achilles was greatly insulted and withdrew from the war led by Agamemnon.

Achilles said that what had been taken from the enemy's cities should not be taken back from the warriors once it had been distributed.

Agamemnon is the king, not to mention that this is a solution agreed by the citizens' assembly convened by Achilles. The son of the goddess is also qualified to convene the assembly.

This privilege of assembly involves the king's priority or exercise of power, and Achilles knocks a scepter nailed with gold nails to the ground in full view of the public. He also threatened that it was once a living piece of wood, but now it is lifeless.

Agamemnon has a scepter, which has been passed down from his ancestors, but Achilles may be referring to Agamemnon's injustice.

Anyway, this "contradiction" existed. From the first volume to the nineteenth volume of "The Iliad", the two people "reconciled".

At the ceremony to witness the reconciliation, Achilles looked at the table full of delicacies and wine without even taking a sip. He said to Agamemnon, "You should find other time to do these things. In the short interval after the fierce battle, the anger in my chest It is not as prosperous as it is now, and the companions killed by Hector are still lying mutilated on the plain. You actually want to disband the army and let everyone eat breakfast! But I want the Achaeans to endure hunger, Let’s go out to the camp now to fight, wait until the sun goes down and wash away our shame, and then we can have a good meal. Before that, I won’t let any food or drink go down my throat.”

There was a general in the East who created a "burning cauldron" situation. The soldiers did not want to starve to death but had to fight desperately.

But it has been 10 years since the siege of Troy. Who still has the energy to fight as hard as Achilles?

In the Trojan camp, in addition to Hector, there was also a general named Polydamas. He publicly said "the right words" to Hector and believed that he should not continue to seize ships from the Danaos. Instead, they retreated to Troy to show off their strength. As long as they could not leave the city, the Greeks would definitely encounter huge difficulties due to internal strife. This was the possibility of the Trojans' victory.

Hector had no interest in this "tortoise strategy" and tried to burn the allied warships many times - Thucydides confirmed that the word "Greece" did not exist before the Trojan War.

In the "Ten Books on Architecture" written by the Roman Vitruvius, he talked about how to build city walls and fortresses.

The tower should protrude outward so that the enemy can shoot arrows from the side windows of the tower when they want to attack the city. In addition, when choosing a location, choose an area that is sufficient to supply the city-state in terms of "food", or build roads, manage rivers, or ports for shipping to the city. place.

However, the destruction of Troy was not due to the inability to defend the city. The tall city wall protected by God still existed, but the city gate was blocked by a Trojan horse.

Before the decisive battle between Hector and Achilles, Aenetus, the son of the god of love and the favorite of Apollo, hit Achilles' shield with a spear, but it only penetrated two layers. The third floor is blocked by gold.

Achilles killed Hector, but was shot in the ankle by Paris.

Whatever justice is, it can be seen here as a kind of exchange, or something that adds something to both parties in the process of resolving disputes, rather than a principle that excludes dissenters when applied.

Or it can be explained this way, isn't there someone on the shield who is litigating a murder case? In addition to tit-for-tat and eye-for-eye methods, compensation can also be used to solve the problem. Two talents of the same gold are placed in the center of the venue. The gold will be given to the one who is more reasonable in the argument.

There was a hawker who claimed that he had the sharpest straw and the strongest shield. What "contradictions" could not be solved by gold?

As long as Zeus is willing to open his eyes, he can see what "justice" is done in the city-state.

But Zeus was very busy. In addition to Hera, he also had countless lovers, so he handed over the task of examining the world to the goddess of justice. She would inform those people of unfair intentions until they suffered retribution.

But if you blindfold Lady Justice, what will she see?

Homer wrote in his poem:

Greedy man, do not pass unjust judgments, throw them away quickly.

He who harms others harms himself.

The greatest misfortune will befall those who cause harm.

Odysseus said to Cyclops, "Abominable thing, you dare to devour guests at home, the gods and Zeus will punish you as you deserve!"

Thetis's husband and Achilles' father had joined Jason in his adventure to find the Golden Fleece. They also encountered mermaids, and they would be fine as long as they did not land on their island.

Odysseus sealed his ears with wax, and Jason and his party heard the more beautiful sound of the piano, and could not hear the mermaid's song at all.

While chasing the students who were skipping class, Pomona seemed to hear the singing of a mermaid.

In fact, there is a possibility that she has forgotten, that is, the mermaid smashed Slytherin's windows and let the Black Lake water pour into the lounge. Even if there are magic such as the Bubble Charm that allows people to breathe underwater, but under water Life in the next world is also a challenge for human beings.

There are many ancient ruins around the school, all related to mermaids.

So, who does this land belong to?

Of course, it was not the "Goddess of Disaster" that caused Odysseus to encounter so many dangers, but Poseidon, because Odysseus blinded the Cyclops.

Poseidon here is not the god of the sea, but the god of the earth. Who is more terrifying, the waves or the tsunami on the sea during storms?

Pomona tugged at Severus's robes.

The old bat who was chasing with all his strength stopped and looked at her in confusion.

"There are many secret passages in our school, like a log drilled by termites." Pomona sorted out his thoughts. "If we encounter an earthquake, what do you think..."

"Even without these holes, this school is 1,000 years old." He raised his head and looked at the ceiling made of ancient stone. "We are going to move the students outside the castle."

"They have a test," Pomona said.

He glared at her, turned and walked in the other direction.

"This is my assumption!" Pomona shouted at his back. "There is no basis!"

But he ignored her completely. Pomona stamped her foot. Who should she care about now?

"You're really asking for trouble." She muttered, thinking of a countermeasure.

This time she didn't have time to think slowly. She had to hurry up or stop thinking about it. According to the Gryffindor Code, "do it before you do it."