David Cameron is convinced he was right to call a referendum and to promise to enact it. Justifiably: there was a huge turnout and a clear winner. That’s democracy. But he has been lashing out because the referendum did not go as he hoped. This whingeing makes him look like a total loser. An ancient Greek in that position would argue he was a winner: he had kept his promise, and therefore reputation, intact.
For a Greek, reputation was of the very highest importance because simply doing or being good was not enough: if people did not know about it, what was the point? As a result, Greeks often explained their motive for action in terms of the honour and renown it would bring them. For example, those borrowing money did so with few witnesses, but when they paid it back, they invited a multitude ‘in order to be regarded as honest in their dealings’.
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