Politicians should concentrate on the present – not the past

The ancient Greeks were adept at mythicising their heroes, this government – led by Boris Johnson – has a similar trait, argues Sean Russell

The prime minister, Boris Johnson (Getty Images)

Imagine you are an ancient Greek of the Dark Age (1100-800BC). You look around and see the echoes of the incredible palaces of the even older Mycenaen or Minoan age looming above you, but your own civilisation is nowhere near that grand.

Don’t worry, your leaders say, these hard times are to be endured, this dip in living standards is nothing, the reason we lack the magnificence is not because we are failing, but simply because the age of those palaces was actually one of heroes, demigods. We should instead, admire them, in some cases worship them, draw strength from their memory to keep on enduring hardships. Sound familiar? It no doubt will to Boris Johnson and those around him.

Hesiod, an Ancient Greek poet, thought to be writing around 750-650BC, laid out the idea of an age of heroes in his Works and Days. He talks of the five ages of man: Gold, Silver, Bronze, Heroic and Iron. Each generation gets steadily worse, from the Gold age of man who live alongside the gods with “happy hearts/untouched by work and sorrow”, down to Hesiod’s own Iron age.