Edith Hamilton: Difference Between Greeks And Modern Man

When compared to the lifestyles of Greece’s ancient heroes, modern life appears uneventful and repetitive. This is why Edith Hamilton’s belief that “Greece’s great men let all their acts turn on immortality of the soul. We don’t really act as if we believed in the soul’s immortality and that is why we are where we are today” perfectly describes the difference between Greeks and modern man. When Hamilton says that the great men of Greece let their acts turn on immortality, she describes the desire of the Greeks to be remembered. Unlike the Greeks, modern men do not have the desire or aspiration to remain remembered; aside from the famous, an average man will be remembered only by few outside his family. The story of Theseus describes the Greeks’