You have heard people say “fighting for peace” like it’s a punchline. Like it’s a contradiction so obvious only a politician could say it with a straight face. I used to hear it that way too. Then I went back to the ancient Greeks, and I realized the phrase isn’t a contradiction at all. It’s a question about method. Everybody says they want peace. The warmonger says it, the pacifist says it, the protester says it, the general says it. The goal is almost never the argument. The argument is about how you get there, and what you’re willing to destroy along the way. That’s what this post is about. Meet Eirene, the Goddess Holding Wealth in Her Arms The Greeks gave peace a face. Her name was Eirene, and she was one of the Horai, the goddesses of the seasons and the natural order, daughters of Zeus and Themis. Her sisters were Eunomia, good order, and Dike, justice. Think about that family tree for a second. To the Greeks, peace didn’t stand alone. It came bundled with order and justice, ...