manhood in ancient Greece was not simply a biological state, but a complex interplay of physical prowess, intellectual development, and moral integrity. The ideals of manhood were exemplified by the concept of arete, which meant excellence, virtue, and the realization of one's fullest potential. To be a true man was to possess arete physically, mentally, and morally. It was to overcome adversity, conquer danger, and strive for excellence in all domains. When we think of virtue today, we often think of a saintly man or woman like Mother Mary. The Christianized cardinal virtues have become humility, love, compassion, and charity, and these largely feminine virtues have created conflict in the Western man for millennia. Yes, they are important, but they don't teach men how to be men. They don't lead to a robust and strong character and personality. Now, this is a large claim to make. Unfortunately, in today's video, I don't have time to go into the entire evolution of morality and how it created conflict within the experience of masculinity. But today, we are looking at

the ancient concepts of virtue and how manliness was perceived and cultivated in the classical era. The concept of virtue to the ancient Greeks and Romans was very different from Mother Mary. Not the humble contemplative man, but the man of action and exceptionalism was the ideal. Manliness and Excellence was the Cornerstone of all virtue to the ancient Greeks and Romans. Virtue was something that was about life affirmation, something that would lead to a more vigorous, a more strong, a more robust Citizen and Society. Virtue comes from a Latin ver meaning man. We see this reflected in words like virility and vertice. Vertis was a concept and deity of Rome that encompassed a range of qualities from Valor, Excellence, courage, character, and worth. In Vertis, we see the union of virtue, excellence, and manliness. It was not merely theoretical virtue, but a lived reality, an expression of embodied manhood in its highest form. Roman emperors frequently emphasized Vertis both as personal virtue and a trait that embodied the spirit of the empire.

glory of Rome. Virtue was a manly ideal similar to ancient Rome. Greece had concepts of Andrea and orete, which were at the heart of manhood. As we've discussed, arrete meant excellence and this encompassed physical feats on the athletic field, intellectual achievements in philosophy and the arts, and the embodiment of the cardinal virtues: Prudence, Temperance, Justice, and Courage. These were the classical cardinal virtues. Courage comes from the Greek word Andrea, which encompasses courage and far more. Andrea denotes strength, bravery, forbearance, and manly virtue in the face of challenge. It was one aspect of arête, or virtue, that men were measured by. To be a man of orete, to be a man of excellence in all domains, was to embody all the cardinal virtues, but Andrea stood supreme. Without manliness, without courage, all other virtues would flounder, and society would be toppled. Greek manhood was further characterized by a deep sense of camaraderie and community. Competition was sacred to the Greeks, and though it appears to separate

people it also powerfully bonds them. Men forged strong relationships through shared experiences in the military, athletic competitions, and philosophical discussions. The Symposium, for instance, was a social gathering of men over couches and wine after dinner, and it provided an avenue for intellectual and philosophical debate. These interactions allowed men to refine their thoughts, to develop their rhetoric, and cultivate their identities as thinkers and leaders. Competition to the Greeks meant to strive with in every sense of the word. They strove with each other athletically, militarily, intellectually, philosophically, politically, and artistically, and this produced a higher order of erete and camaraderie in all domains. It fortified their masculinity. What makes a prize fighter awesome opponents to train with the level of excellence exhibited by our enemy and our allies calls men up into higher degrees of excellence. It's like boys competing on the football field. You know the harder your opponents play, the harder you want to play, the more you bond as men. And I think this relationship to other men in terms of

intellectual conversations, in terms of moral character, in terms of training, in terms of combat, in terms of challenge, in terms of competition, and overcoming, is so important, and it really is a lost art. I know for me, like some of the best experiences in my life have been playing football, have been playing sports, and feeling a sense of strong camaraderie, and this call upwards from other men around me. And for the first time in my life, I've been lucky enough and fortunate enough to be cultivating Brotherhood again, and doing stuff, creating things, and feeling called into Excellence by the men around me. And I think this sense of facing challenge together is something that is so important in the cultivation of masculinity. Oftentimes, in the modern world, we want to spend our time with our girlfriend, we want to, you know, spend our time alone with the TV or entertainment, or we're on like our Lone Wolf Mission. And I think the company of other men, participating in a value system that revolves around ideas like Excellence.

like Andrea you know tempered by love and wisdom as well is is a very powerful thing in the nurturing of masculinity and mature masculinity. I think the Greeks had something right with their competitions during the day, their intense training, their intense pursuit of Excellence, but also their symposiums, and their debates, and their discussions, and their camaraderie at night. I think there's a grain of Truth there for the modern West. Let's go into manhood and exceptionalism. Man is not measured by averages as science so likes to do. Man is measured by the exception. The man of virtue has always been the ideal embodiment of cultural Heroes. The exceptional man has been an essential subject of art, literature, philosophy, and sculpture since before Antiquity. The first Greek statues, for instance, were of athletes and idyllic men. The first stories were of near Godlike Heroes like Achilles, Heracles, Hector, and Jason. Always the men of oret day were celebrated in Greek sculpture and plays. The athletic, beautiful, tragic Warrior man was the

main object of admiration centuries of statues and potteries, and stories reflect this cultural fascination with the manly ideal. Classical art was never concerned with averages, but with exceptions. It was there to depict what was most powerful, ideal, and profound. And with every revival of high culture, we see man's aim return to the stars rather than the muck. The Renaissance, for instance, was called the Renaissance because it was a rebirth of classical culture, and in this we see Michelangelo's and Da Vinci's paintings were always of the idyllic and profound. So in classical cultures and the Renaissance, and in indigenous ones, we see an emphasis on the man of exceptional qualities, the man of honor, physical excellence, strength, courage, vigor, and industriousness tempered by justice, wisdom, and piety was the ideal man. This isn't restricted to just the Greeks and Romans, but to many cultures and tribes around the world. The Norse celebrated great leaders and heroes who embodied the manly qualities of Thor and Odin. The Native Americans often celebrated their

ancestors, men of Great Character, honor, and wisdom. Myths and legends of Heroes are the norm across the world. Hero worship has been the standard means of guiding boys into men and setting The Benchmark for manhood since the dawn of time. These Heroes were held up as the Pinnacle attainment of masculinity, perhaps the most celebrated achievement in any society. The great and Noble qualities of these men, Chiefs, and heroes inspired emulation in the youth and set the standard of measurement; hence the saying, man is measured by the exception. The exceptional man has always been remembered and venerated for a great reason; he shapes the cultural conception of true manhood and the trajectory of boys into men. Culture holds a powerful influence over aspiring men. You see, Greek boys were raised with stories of Heroes like Achilles, Hector, and Heracles, figures who exemplified Excellence or arete through their Feats of Strength, bravery, and wisdom. These stories instilled in young men that drive to push their limits, strive for greatness, and demonstrate their worthiness as a citizen.

just think of your Boyhood. Did you not want to be a hero? Did you not want to be great? Did you not idolize a sports star, a celebrity, a fictional character, a superhero, a movie star of some kind? I think it's one of the most powerful things in boy psychology is for the imagination to grasp and be so moved by Hero worship, by whatever we idolize, we should really strive to become like. I remember I would read fantasy book after fantasy book starting in about the fourth grade until the eighth grade, and you know, I start with Rangers apprentice, and I remember it as going out into the forest and swinging a stick against trees for hours on end because that's what the character did in the book. If he could hold his breath for four minutes, I started practicing. If he was impervious to pain, I would start hitting my wrist with sticks until it didn't hurt anymore. Like anything these characters did or embodied, I wanted to be like them, and I see this early fascination with

these fantasy Heroes still impact my character to this day, like hugely. I was listening to forests, I was throwing nines, and I was shooting my bow. Now I thought back, and I was like, wow. The first book and character that ever moved me was Will from Ranger's Apprentice. And what did he do? He was an Archer and knife thrower. I'm 26, and those are things I enjoy doing in the force to this day. So I guess what I'm saying is my whole world was spent in emulation of these idols, and I think many boys can relate. And this idea of emulation, along with competition, excellence, and camaraderie, I think are really key things in the boy psychology that create that will lead to mature masculinity. Because it is about embracing training, Challenge, and growth. One problem today is that our Idols are dispersed and often degenerated forms of an ideal, right? We no longer have that ideal Heracles who's full of wisdom and cunning and strength and insight and power and prowess and like we don't have

a unifying myth anymore. In fact, our myths, our stories, our idols that boys idolize are really fallen from grace. Whether it's like a sports star who is jacked up on steroids and materialistic, or it's some supermodel or celebrity or politician, we don't have shining examples of mature masculinity and manly virtue anymore. Like, instead of hearing stories from The Iliad, we watch Cartoon Network. We, you know, most of these Netflix shows and Disney movies that are coming out are no longer glorifying the heroic. There has actually been a systematic attack on the heroic. These shows are highlighting the average, the commonplace, the very flawed individual, and this makes people feel safe and comfortable. Like, hey, you know, this isn't so lofty and high that it makes me feel inferior and sad about myself. But the problem with that is idols are supposed to be ideals, a place to strive for, a perfection to emulate towards, right? We no longer have that. We have this messaging that is telling boys like

it's okay not to strive. It's okay to be the messed up, weak, beta version of yourself. It's not about a race and becoming your strongest, most alive, most capable version. It's about, Hey, let's be comforted in the fact that you're a pug and you're not a wolf, right? I have the saying in my book I just wrote, gonna be published in a month. Here, The Psychology of Slaying Dragons. In that, I have a line that says, We become like whatever we venerate. Whatever we venerate, we become akin to. What do we venerate today? Often, our idols are materialistic, degenerate, decadent. They're flexing, they're rap stars, they're singing about [ __ ] and money and materialistic things. And our boys, are their heroic energy, their natural striving to emulation has been co-opted by a million different avenues. Instead of a shining heroic figure that is embodying manly virtue. And because of this, they swim through lies and weakness.

degeneration and decadence, and they never cultivate this true, strong-rooted masculinity that is going to make their life beautiful and great. So, why is Excellence Andrea virtue so important in the cultivation of mature masculinity? In my experience, in order to stand rooted, present, and expansive as a masculine man, it's important to feel capable. It's important to have gone through many challenges, to have tested yourself, to face fears, to conquer resistance in order to step into an upright place as a man. And without that, you're still a boy. You're tight, you're anxious, you're insecure, you're seeking approval, you are manipulative, and because you don't have true power, you seek power through maybe covert means. And this creates this weak masculinity, this fragile masculinity that we see the West trapped in. The cultivation of Excellence of manly virtue is so important for the capacity to face life open and upright. In many ways, our culture is emasculating, it weakens men, it sells this idea of entertainment, of luxury, of comfort.

getting more and more and more and building these walls of security around you, but it never teaches you the classical virtues that actually lead to embodied masculinity. Safety breeds weakness. Too much prosperity creates laziness. Comfort, prosperity, opulence, these things were actually seen as dangers to the ancient Greek and Roman. They knew that the overcoming of resistance, the facing of adversity, the purification of loss and hardship is what bolstered masculinity. And they knew that manly men were the foundation and the protectors of a strong society. They knew that virtue, manly virtue, was a foundation of flourishing. You must have power to be virtuous because here's the thing, the world wants you to be kind, but if you don't have the courage to be dangerous, if you're not formidable already, being kind is no virtue that is required of you because you are weak. It's like being humble, if you have nothing to be proud of, of course you're going to be such a humble guy. You haven't done [__] in your life, right.

I think the path to true virtue is kind of like how Jordan Peterson says, like having a sword but keeping it sheathed. The world doesn't want you to have a sword anymore, my friends, and this is why things like charity, compassion, humility, you know, self-restraint, all these things, yes, they're important, but they are more of the fruit of the tree of masculinity versus the foundation. True virtue comes only when you have the capacity to do the opposite, when you have the capacity to indulge, then Temperance becomes virtue, when you have the capacity to be mean, then kindness becomes a virtue, when you have the capacity to do anything because you are powerful, you are empowered, and self-reliant and capable as a man, then you can live in the true virtue. And this is getting into what we're gonna get into the next video, is the cultivation of mature masculinity, of self-reliance versus weak masculinity and fragile masculinity. Make sure to subscribe for that and subscribe Link in the description below for my newsletter where you're gonna get free essays from.

my book, which is coming out in one month. I can't wait to launch. The psychology of slaying dragons, and I'll see you guys at the next video. Peace, peace. [Music]

The Extreme Masculinity of the Greeks - Ancient Manhood

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