Mainstream analyses of the Russia-Ukraine war frequently rely on classical realism, constructivism, or Marxian models; these theories focus primarily on rational action and material interest. The present paper underscores a deeper phenomenological dimension of conflict. More precisely, it turns to the philosophy of Simone Weil, drawing from her reading of Homer’s Iliad. This analysis uncovers the metaphysical nature of ‘might’ (la force), an overwhelming power that dehumanises all who come into contact with it. Might does not simply refer to physical coercion; ontologically, it is autonomous and operates beyond geopolitical necessity or rational judgment. Might petrifies both victims and aggressors, stripping them of moral agency. Applying this ontology to modern European defence policies (specifically rearmament and military deterrence), the study warns that political elites risk absorbing the very pathologies they fight against, sleepwalking into systemic escalation. To counter this destructive dynamic, the article explores Weil’s readings of Aeschylus (Prometheus Bound and The Suppliants). Through the concept of ‘Promethean recognition’, which implies an awareness of universal human vulnerability, the paper supplies a normative counterweight rooted in an ethic of self-limitation. In short, the paper demonstrates that preventing total annihilation requires moving beyond military mastery to sustain the intermediate spaces of ethical interaction.
Author: Dr. Michail Theodosiadis
Dr. Michail Theodosiadis
Brill’s Companion to Simone Weil’s Reception of Classical Antiquity (WIP) – Edited Companion
This Companion examines Simone Weil’s deep and sustained engagement with Ancient Greek literature, philosophy, religion, […]
Thinking Ethically About War (WIP) – Edited Volume
This project is a proposed edited volume with Palgrave Macmillan. It examines the moral questions […]
Visiting Professor – Università degli Studi di Macerata
I was honoured to be a Visiting Professor for the Mobility Programme for Incoming Professors […]
Chreos and Philotês in Homeric Ethics: Beyond Enlightenment and Reverence
This article offers a philosophical reinterpretation of Homeric ethics by bringing into debate the opposing views of Peter J. Ahrensdorf, Richard Ruderman, and Darrell Dobbs. Ahrensdorf and Ruderman highlight the whimsical, capricious, selfish, and morally indifferent behavior of the Homeric gods. Given these divine flaws, humans lack perfect safeguards against calamities caused by fate (Moîra) and necessity or by their flawed judgments. For both authors, rational judgment serves as the most reliable antidote to suffering and destruction. Ruderman, in particular, interprets Homer as a defender of “enlightenment,” grounded in the rejection of false hopes on divine providence, which in the Homeric context is considered unreliable and untrustworthy. Blind faith in gods, he argued, indulges thymos, the most self-assertive innermost human longing that incites rampant anger, often culminating in hubris (extreme moral transgression). In contrast, Dobbs focuses on Homer’s Odyssey and defends a vision of reverence as morally stabilising. For him, rational action cannot guarantee morality and justice. More importantly, the instrumentality of rationalism can lead to recklessness and hubris.
The Flame and The Lyre: Promethean Echoes in Homeric Epic
This article reinterprets Homer’s epics through the lens of “political Prometheanism,” a theoretical concept grounded in Aeschylean and Protagorean thought, symbolising political participation without placing unlimited trust in the human capacity for moral judgment on the other hand. While Homeric society lacks formal democratic institutions, it incorporates core features of participatory politics, most notably in the presence of synaxes (assemblies of public deliberation). Drawing on Hammer, Feldman, Castoriadis and Arendt, I argue that Homer prefigures the democratic concept of the human being as a political animal (zoon politikon), endowed with the capacity for speech, judgment, and collective responsibility. These traits are symbolically represented by the Promethean gift of fire. Through close readings of The Iliad and The Odyssey, I examine how characters such as Achilles, Thersites and Telemachus dramatise both the potential and the limits of public agency. Particular attention is given to the notions of aidōs, aischynē, and themis (or dike, in Protagoras’ terms), which are central to the Promethean emphasis on self-limitation in the wake of the limits of human judgments. Ultimately, this paper presents Homer not merely as a mythmaker but mainly as a political and moral thinker, engaged in an early critique of power and injustice.
Cultural / Educational diplomacy 2021 – 2022 (KRI)
In December 2021, I was an Academic Communications Manager for the Early Modern Greek Culture […]
Summer Course – Ancient Perspectives − Modern Challenges
The International English-language Summer School, ‘Democracy: Ancient Perspectives − Modern Challenges,’ is hosted by the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA), led by Professor George Steiris (the Vice President of the Department of Philosophy). It is supported by Study in Greece (SiG), occurring annually each July from 2022 onwards. This two-week program has brought together students from various universities, including the American University of Iraq in Slemani (AUIS) (2022, 2023), the University of Kurdistan Hewlêr (UKH) (2023, 2024) and the University of Edinburgh (2024). It is supported by inter-university agreements, and features lectures by prominent scholars from institutions like the University of Athens, University of Crete, Harvard University and the UKH.
Monograph – Ancient Greek Democracy and American Republicanism (2025)
Ancient Greek Democracy and American Republicanism explores the archetype of Prometheus in political theory, representing faith in human agency and self-governance. It borrows perspectives from Hannah Arendt and Christopher Lasch, tracing Promethean elements in the philosophy behind the ancient Athenian polis as well as in early American republican thought, which laid the foundations of the American Revolution and also of the Populist Movement during the nineteenth century.
Koç University: on The Promethean philosopher king
An open event at Koç University, “The Promethean Philosopher King and the Pursuit of Ethical Leadership,” offered a compelling exploration of leadership and ethics through the lens of classical philosophy and mythology. The event centred on the concept of the Promethean Philosopher King, a visionary figure who blends the transformative power of Prometheus with the wisdom and ethical governance of a philosopher king. Scholars and attendees examined the relevance of this archetype in addressing modern leadership challenges.