In our last handful of +1s, we’ve been exploring some wisdom from John Hale’s great book Lords of the Sea.
Today we’re going to wrap up our tour of the wisdom from the Aegean Sea.
Let’s get straight to work.
John tells us: “When they surrendered to the Macedonians, the Athenians had more ships and a better-equipped naval base than ever before. Philo’s Arsenal was still brand-new. Some mysterious spiritual essence, however, had vanished. As Nicias once reminded the Assembly, a trireme’s crew could remain at the peak of performance for only a short time. For the Athenian ship of state, thanks to the unremitting effort and self-sacrifice of its people, the peak had been prolonged for a century and a half. Now rule of the sea would pass to other city-states and empires: Rhodes, Carthage, Alexandria, Rome. As for the creative explosion called the Golden Age, it ended with the naval power on which it had been built. With the Athenian people divided and the Paraeus in foreign hands, the reign of Themistocles’ navy reached its final day.”
He continues by saying: “The gleaming city of marble and bronze still enshrines the memory of many heroes whose ashes lie buried in tombs along the Sacred Way. Thucydides set down a Funeral Oration delivered by Pericles for citizens who died in the Peloponnesian War. Near the end of his speech Pericles issued a challenge: ‘Famous men have the whole world as their memorial. It is not only the inscriptions on their graves in their own country that mark them out. No, in foreign lands also, not in any visible form but in people’s hearts, their memory abides and grows. It is for you to try to be like them.’ Many have tried, chasing the same goals of democracy, liberty, and happiness that generations of Athenians pursued in their ships. Few can claim to have equaled their achievements; fewer still to have surpassed them.”
Those are the final words of the book from the final chapter called “The Last Battle.”
As I read that passage and thought about the fierce ambition of Pericles and the Athenian heroes who dedicated their lives to creating the Golden Age that changed the world, I thought of Doris Kearns Goodwin and wisdom from her GREAT book Leadership in Turbulent Times.
Goodwin features a number of iconic, Heroic leaders including Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and Franklin D. Roosevelt. She tells us they were all very different types of leaders who affected the world in very different ways.
But...
The ONE thing they ALL had in common?
A FIERCE AMBITION to make a difference in the world and be remembered by those they served.
Channeling Pericles, I say…
Try to be like them.
All day.
Every day.
Especially...
TODAY.
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