Homeric Hero

A detailed Summary of Homeric Hero

The heroic code that Homeric heroes follow is that of honour. Every hero endeavours to win the respect of his peers. In fact, achieving honour in life is more important than life itself. Hence, it is not surprising when heroes such as Achilles and Hector, give up their lives to gain the admiration of their peers. In Homeric society, the person who shows highest usefulness enjoys greatest honour. In a war situation, as the one presented in the Iliad, this would translate to ones fighting abilities. Hence, courage and physical strength are the two most important characteristics desired from a Homeric hero. With this notion of heroism, it is easy to conclude Achilles as the better hero. Thus, the purpose of this paper is two-fold. First, to ascertain Achilles as the greatest Homeric hero. Second, to point out the absurdity of Homeric values and prove Hector as the better hero.

Achilles was pre-destined to be powerful. His mother Thetis was wed to a mortal by Zeus only so that her child would not become a danger to Zeus~{!/~} throne. Thus, Achilles is the strongest mortal alive. No mortal can compare to him in physical prowess. Since, strength is one the most desirable characteristics of a Homeric hero; it makes Achilles the greates

It is not just enough to show Achilles in good light to be able to claim that he is the better hero. It is just as necessary to analyze his short-comings and take care of any criticism of his character that may arise.

A person~{!/~}s heroism is also determined to a lesser extent by his status and material possessions. The two are related; the most powerful warrior gets the highest share in the loot. Women in this period were also considered mere possessions of men and hence also their symbols of honour. The victor often asserted his superiority by taking away the women folk of the defeated. Hence, the number and beauty of women awarded to a successful warrior is an important measure of ones heroism. Though Achilles is the most successful fighter of the Achaean camp he is not the most powerful chief. He is dominated by Agamemnon. In Book I of the Iliad, Agamemnon demeans Achilles by taking Briseis away from him. Briseis was the woman awarded to Achilles as his share of the spoils of war when they sacked Thebes. Achilles~{!/~} helplessness at preventing this shows him in poor light. A Homeric hero is not supposed to let himself be dishonoured while alive. It is the worse form of disgrace one could meet. The lack of any such instances applicable to Hector does make him look like the better hero, for he does not meet such humiliation in his lifetime. But here it is important to remember that Achilles does win his reputation back. He is not only able to acquire Briseis from Agamemnon again but also much more for his absence from the battle field. Sinc

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Approximate Word count = 1052
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English