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Avarice is a synonym for greed, and it is defined
as excessive or rapacious desire, especially for material possessions and
wealth. This predominantly corrupt trait has been
with society since its beginning and is still in effect. In The Odyssey,
avarice is evident with the crewmen and Ailos¡¯ bag of winds. When Odysseus
lands on Ailos¡¯ island, Ailos is very hospitable and gives him many riches,
along with a bag containing all the winds except the west wind, which was
to aid Odysseus¡¯ sail back to Ithaca. Nearing Ithaca however, the crewmen
open the bag of winds, thinking that it contained gold or some other treasure
for Odysseus only (envy). ¡°Upon my word, the man [Odysseus] is a prime favourite
wherever he goes! Plenty of treasures from the spoils of Troy, and we who
traveled the same road come home with empty hands!¡± (Homer 113) This unfortunately
releases a violent tempest and blows the ship back to Ailos¡¯ island. This
section of The Odyssey clearly shows the detriments of greed in ancient
Greece. Other examples in The Odyssey are displayed in the actions of the
suitors: They slaughter Odysseus¡¯ sheep and pigs, eating and drinking to
no end. They are always greedy for more, and their wine cups are always
filled. (Homer 14) They are all greedy in a sense (lust) for the maids and
especially Penelope. However, The Odyssey also displays the opposite of
greed: generosity. The Phaiacians as well as Ailos (Homer 112) were extremely
hospitable to Odysseus (Homer 149). Both Nestor and Menelaos were very generous
to Telemachos as well, inviting him in with warm welcomes. When one of King
Menelaos¡¯ men-in-waiting considered that he send Telemachos off elsewhere,
the king became very angry, saying: ¡°I didn¡¯t know before that you were
a fool, Eteoneus Boethoides!¡ how often have we eaten the food of a stranger¡¡±
(Homer 44) Undoubtedly, avarice (greed) and generosity is found in multiple
instances in The Odyssey, and therefore must have existed in ancient Greece.
Greed has also shown its disreputable face in modern society, as recent
as December 2002. It is now clear that the energy corporation Enron was
based on the corruption of greed and wealth. The executives Lou Pai, Kenneth
Lay and Jeff Skilling admitted that they have overstated their income by
nearly six hundred million, causing the abnormally high stock prices to
plummet, which in turn caused a massive bankruptcy. Before the bankruptcy,
the executives greedily cashed out their stock options, receiving approximately
five hundred and sixty million dollars. The employees, on the other hand,
were never informed and lost their entire retirement accounts from the plummeting
stocks. Also, the auditor (business examiner) Arthur Anderson defected greedily
from his job as a dedicated auditor and wrote inaccurate business reports.
He was richly rewarded (twenty-five million) from audit fees from his inaccurate
corrupt reports. Clearly, greed lives within the human race even now. (Byrnes
1)
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