Western thought and culture developed from Greek ideals. Since “there is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9), many of the ideals expressed by Homer, Sophocles, and Hesiod are also true for Westerners today. Part of the myth of a tragic hero includes a leadership position of some kind: often of noble birth, royalty, or military leadership. Tragic plays such as Oedipus Rex, Antigone, and the Iliad served as worship, entertainment, paragons of virtue, and cautionary tales. Modern Americans can look back on such works and apply the ideas to select and serve as leaders at the national, community, or family level. Some of the desirable qualities illustrated in the works of archaic and classical Greece include self-control, fairness, respect for moral law, service to one's community, courage, and honor. “The Greek maxim 'Nothing in excess'” (Hollister 131) illustrates the need for self-control. Every tragic hero ended up committing an act of hubris based on their fatal flaw. Many of these fatal flaws might have served the man and his country if tempered by self-control. “In the field of ethics, [Aristotle] advocated moderation in all behavior, arguing that emotions and actions (anger and love, eating and drinking) are in themselves neither good nor bad and should neither be suppressed nor brought to excess: virtue is the avoidance of extremes, the 'golden mean'” (Hollister 130). In the Iliad, many characters lack self-control, which results in war, conflict, and death. Paris' lack of self-control towards Helen started the Trojan War which kept soldiers away from their homes for years. Achilles' lack of self-control in his anger added to the loss and grief for both the Greeks and the Trojans. The Iliad begins: Anger: Sing, Goddess, Achil...... center of the card...... his inability to remember the past allowed him to sin against the gods and cost him both his position and his view. Creon possessed many good qualities, but he overstepped his limits and out of pride found his decree in conflict with the laws of the gods. Antigone inherited her father's recklessness and lack of self-control, as evidenced by his suicide, committed so quickly that not even Creon's change of heart could save her. Some decisions simply cannot be corrected. In choosing modern leaders, one can take a lesson from the Greeks on how a person's character can influence his leadership skills and his constituents. Even positive traits without self-control can lead to devastating results. Hesiod's words remain true through the centuries:... Good is also he who accepts the good advice of another. But he who neither thinks for himself nor learns from others is a failure as a man. (Works, 68)