Piety was an important concept in ancient Greek civilization, as it shaped the culture and actions of Greek citizens. Exactly what piety means has varied over time and the definition differs in Greek literature. Characters such as Odysseus from The Odyssey and Orestes from The Oresteia reflect a more traditional view of piety, while Socrates in Plato's Five Dialogues sees piety differently by questioning and challenging previous notions of what is pious/ungodly. Due to his actions, it appears that Socrates rejects traditional notions of piety, although he is still a pious man who has different views of piety than previous Greek figures such as Odysseus and Orestes. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”? Get an original essay Based on the writings of Homer and Aeschylus, traditional Greek piety is defined as following the will of the gods without doubt, and you have to honor the gods to have luck. Odysseus demonstrates this belief in piety as he and his crew repeatedly make sacrifices and pray to the gods so that they can return home safely. Most of the problems Odysseus experiences are due to the fact that he displeases the gods; Odysseus' journey continues when he angers Poseidon by blinding the Cyclops, and Apollo punishes the crew for eating his sacred livestock. Odysseus tells Eurycleia, in reference to the suitors, to “rejoice in [his] heart, but not to cry aloud.” It is impious to rejoice in the slain. These men were destroyed by divine destiny and their own carelessness” (Homer 349). He believes that since the suitors were ungodly by not respecting the laws of the gods, their deaths were justified by the will of the gods ("divine destiny"). According to the Homeric view of piety, one must always honor the will of the gods, otherwise they will face their wrath. Orestes also reflects a more traditional view of piety. When Apollo told him to kill his own mother, Orestes readily obeyed. Although matricide is generally considered an ungodly act, it is therefore justified because it is the will of a god. Even when Orestes wonders whether killing his mother would be morally right, he is convinced to do so because "Apollo wants it" and it is better to "make all of humanity your enemy, not the gods" (Aeschylus 217). This shows that Aeschylus' view on piety is to always follow the will of the gods, as disobeying them would be considered ungodly and lead to bad luck. Orestes is at the mercy of Apollo, and it is knowing that the god is on his side that gives him the confidence to commit a violent act that would generally be frowned upon. Socrates, however, does not accept these views of piety. Rather, he seeks a more “universal” definition of piety and rejects the definitions given to him as imperfect. For example, "when told that what is dear to the gods is pious, what is not is impious", Socrates challenges this notion, as he notes that "the gods consider different things to be right, beautiful , ugly, good and bad, for they would not disagree with each other if they did not differ on these matters” (Plato 7). Orestes faces this in his worship of the gods; by following the will of Apollo, he puts himself in conflict with the Furies and must go to court to defend his actions. Socrates believes that since the gods have conflicting ideals, then it is impossible to determine what is truly godly; he therefore disagrees with more traditional views. He is also not satisfied withHomer's ideal that piety is the act of prayer and sacrifice between men and the gods, because he believes that the gods do not actually benefit from this exchange and that there is a flaw in the logic . opinions held by citizens such as Homer and Aeschylus from traditional societies. Speaking of poets and tragedies, he says: "...because of their poetry they considered themselves very wise men in other respects, although they were not" (Plato 27) . Rejecting the idea that writers and poets were wise, Socrates infers that their lack of wisdom means that they cannot have the correct definition of piety. Because of his belief that he is perhaps wiser than all men, he chooses to follow his own definition of godliness until someone else can give him a satisfactory one. Some would argue that Socrates' dissatisfaction with his previous views of piety would make him ungodly; However, even though his beliefs differ from Greek tradition, he remains pious in his own way. Because of his refusal to conform to traditional conceptions of piety, Socrates is accused of corrupting the youth of Athens by "teaching them to believe not in the gods in which the city believes, but in other new spiritual things." (Plato 30). The jury considers his actions impious; However, although Socrates has religious views different from theirs, this does not necessarily make him ungodly. During the trial, he declares: "I myself believe that there are gods... not, however, the gods in whom the city believes... but others..." (Plato 31). It is clear that the real problem between Socrates and the jury is not that he is acting against the gods, but rather that he shares a different religious way of thinking. Instead, Socrates lives according to his own belief about what is godly. For example, he believes "... that it is wicked and shameful to do evil, to disobey one's superior, whether god or man" (Plato 33); therefore it is pious to be obedient to the gods because they are superior, and this is what is right. Socrates uses his own interpretations of the gods to shape his spiritual beliefs. He describes his mission as a philosopher: to get people to examine their own lives, not settle for popular stories of the past, and to think and question ethical questions such as what does it take to be a good person and what does it take to be a good person? this is true happiness. Socrates believes that he is completing the will of the gods by questioning the other citizens around him, even though others reject his way of thinking. Although his belief in obedience to the gods is similar to traditional notions of Greek piety, it nevertheless differs from them because Socrates inserts his own wisdom into his actions while others choose to follow only what the gods want them to do . By encouraging others to think for themselves rather than blindly following the gods, citizens view it as upending the norms of society. It is these religious differences, along with previous scrutiny towards Socrates, that lead him to be accused of being ungodly, when in reality he is still a pious person, even if he does not conform to the way others perceive piety. Socrates uses the statement This is a pious motivation for his philosophical work, but he states that human reasoning within his own person is the final arbiter of what he finds to be right and wrong. This way of operating differs from the actions of Odysseus or Orestes, in which the gods had the final say on what was good or evil. It could be argued that this belief would make him less pious than the.