In ancient Greek myth, heroes were humans, male or female, of the distant past, gifted with superhuman abilities and descended from the immortal gods themselves. What defines the heroic life itself is the fact that humans are mortal. The certainty that one day you will die is what makes us human, distinct from animals who are unaware of their future death and from gods who do not die. In this essay what makes a hero and the qualities one possesses and what one has to go through to be considered a Homeric hero such as honor, how to achieve honor, what is valued in Homeric myths as well as what is devalued will be discussed.
The very first quality that is valued in a Homeric hero is an honor. Not just having honor but as well as how one achieves it. The belief that one needs to have personal honor is widespread throughout the Iliad. While honor was important to every person, to the hero it was the most important quality he could own. The difficulty of the tasks a hero faces weighed heroic value, of course, battle brings the highest honor while hunting and athletics acquire less honor, and so on and so forth. The hero’s responsibility and obligation were to fight and the ultimate goal and the highest way to achieve honor was a warrior’s death in battle. One could not avoid life-threatening situations and maintain his honor this almost always resulted in preparing his life for the risks of battle and was a must. Whether the battle was a single combat, a massed hand-to-hand combat, or massed missile combat a hero must not turn away (Wees 2). A hero lived by strict social and cultural norms that would direct his life at home and on the battlefield. He must have an understanding of where he stands in society and carry out in accordance with society’s expectations which included a hero’s suffering and a hero’s death (Adkins 4; vol. 91). Like Adkins mentions in Homeric Values and Homeric Society “There are activities in which success is of paramount importance; and in these, commendation or the reverse is reserved for those who in fact succeed or fail” which is to say that actions are not the only thing that measures a hero but results as well (4; vol. 91).
Not only was it not enough to have honor but it was important to value honor, and have values in general, above life. Homeric heroes believed that men had to stand together in battle; men had to respect each other; and must avoid excessive cruel acts as well as deliberate acts of cruelty and injustice. Shared honor was very important to the Homeric hero’s status. Their honor revolved around not only battlefield-related challenges but was also determined by his relationship with his family and the city. A Homeric hero had to respect his superiors and show loyalty to his friends, and could in no way disgrace himself, his family, or his community (Adkins 10; vol. 92). There is a Homeric hero's personal concern for personal honor and their competitive objective to always be the best.
While having honor and valuing honor above life and anything else are two major qualities in being considered a Homeric hero what is devalued is quite simple; the opposite of what is valued. Weakness, such as running away or turning down a daring task, constitutes one for failure. As like mentioned before the action and intentions and emotions of one are simply not enough to be praised but the results need to be reward worthy too (Adkins 6; vol. 91). A hero must be willing to fight to the death in battle for their family’s honor, communities honor, and above all their own personal honor. Intentional acts of brutality and unfairness were not only frowned upon but despicable. A Homeric hero believed that if he was ready to kill an enemy it should be done fast and quickly and was not to make one suffer; mercy over revenge (Adkins 13; vol. 92).
In conclusion, there are quite a few qualities and bullet points that constitute a Homeric hero; with honor being at the top of the list followed by valuing honor. In a Homeric myth honor is the center of the web while it spreads and has different traits that all connect in the middle. Heroes must have the honor and achieve honor in respectable ways as well as value honor above anything else to be considered Homeric heroes. Going to battle for one’s community and lying down their life without question was the most honorable thing a hero could do. While unfortunately in some instances failure was seen as non-heroic and was, for lack of a better word, a disgrace being a hero was a choice and a role that one had to take. In a sense, we still have these values today maybe not as harshly and not as expected but nonetheless still there. We appreciate the things our active members and veterans do for our country or community and we tend to hold that in high regard.
Works Cited
- Adkins, A. W. H. “Homeric Values and Homeric Society.” The Journal of Hellenic Studies, vol. 91, 1971, pp. 1-14. JSTOR www.jstor.org/stable/631365. Accessed 11 Jan. 2020.
- Adkins, A. W. H. “Homeric Gods and the Values of Homeric Society.” The Journal of Hellenic Studies, vol. 92, 1972, pp. 1-19. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/629970. Accessed 12 Jan. 2020.
- Hans van Wees. “Kings in Combat: Battles and Heroes in the Iliad.” The Classical Quarterly, vol. 38, no. 1, 1988, p. 1. EBSCOhost. search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsisr&AN=edsis.639200&site=eds-live&scope=site.
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