The Homeric Hero

The following is an excerpt copied from Professor Roger Dunkle of Brooklyn College concerning the Homeric Hero (see Work Cited below). This should help you to think about the differences between what the society of Homer’s time thought of “hero,” and what we citizens of the 21st Century think of “hero.”

“The code which governs the conduct of the Homeric heroes is a simple one. The aim of every hero is to achieve honor, that is, the esteem received from one's peers. Honor is essential to the Homeric heroes, so much so that life would be meaningless without it. Thus, honor is more important than life itself. . . . A hero's honor is determined primarily by his courage and physical abilities . . . The highest honor can only be won in battle. . . . Homeric heroism is savage and merciless. Thus the hero often finds himself in a pressure-filled kill-or-be-killed situation. Success means survival and greater honor; failure means death and elimination . . . The Homeric hero is also fiercely individualistic; he is primarily concerned with his own honor and that of his household,6 which is only an extension of himself. . . . The Homeric hero is supremely concerned with the reaction of his fellow heroes to his actions, since ultimately it is they alone who can bestow honor.”

Work Cited
Dunkle, Roger. The Classical Origins of Western Culture. Online. The Core Studies 1 Study Guide. Brooklyn College Core Curriculum Series, 1986. http://depthome.brooklyn.cuny.edu/classics/dunkle/studyguide/homer.htm