Kleos in The Odyssey by Homer
CONCEPT OF KLEOS IN THE ODYSSEY
Heroic glory occupies a very crucial place in the Indo-European epic tradition, because the Greek society is a shame culture, in which being honoured is one of the primary purposes of people 's lives. Hence, the concept of kleos formed an essential part of the bardic tradition which helped the people to maintain the heroic stature of the mythical heroes from generation to generation. This is why, it has got an important place in the Greek epics also. In The Odyssey by Homer also, we find indirect references to the kleos of the eponymous hero Oddyseus and his son Telemachus. In the words of Nagy, “Kleos is the formal word which the singer himself used to designate the songs which he sang in praises of God and man or by extension the songs which people learnt to sing from him.” Kleos is also the objectification of the hero’s personal survival in epic song, the imperishable fame which lives among men and keeps alive the hero’s name. Thus as Nagy points out, “The usual translation of Kleos as fame is inadequate, for fame indicates only the consequences rather than the full semantic range.” He says that the actions of gods and heroes gain fame through the medium of the singer’s words, and the singer calls his medium kleos. So, simplistically, kleos is the sung and heard glory of a person. In the 9th book of the epic, titled The Cyclops, Odysseus tells the Phaecian king Alcinous about his glory. He says ‘I am Odysseus, Laerte’s son. The whole world talks of my strategems,and my fame has reached the heavens.’ Usually, kleos is mainly dependent upon what the world thinks of the character, but this is the only instance in the epic where a character talks about his own kleos, which is usually sung by the bards. Kleos is usually attained and portrayed in the battlefield. But here, Homer views Odysseus’ kleos retrospectively, when Odysseus glorifies himself while being at a safe place away from the battlefield. Aware of the
Heroic glory occupies a very crucial place in the Indo-European epic tradition, because the Greek society is a shame culture, in which being honoured is one of the primary purposes of people 's lives. Hence, the concept of kleos formed an essential part of the bardic tradition which helped the people to maintain the heroic stature of the mythical heroes from generation to generation. This is why, it has got an important place in the Greek epics also. In The Odyssey by Homer also, we find indirect references to the kleos of the eponymous hero Oddyseus and his son Telemachus. In the words of Nagy, “Kleos is the formal word which the singer himself used to designate the songs which he sang in praises of God and man or by extension the songs which people learnt to sing from him.” Kleos is also the objectification of the hero’s personal survival in epic song, the imperishable fame which lives among men and keeps alive the hero’s name. Thus as Nagy points out, “The usual translation of Kleos as fame is inadequate, for fame indicates only the consequences rather than the full semantic range.” He says that the actions of gods and heroes gain fame through the medium of the singer’s words, and the singer calls his medium kleos. So, simplistically, kleos is the sung and heard glory of a person. In the 9th book of the epic, titled The Cyclops, Odysseus tells the Phaecian king Alcinous about his glory. He says ‘I am Odysseus, Laerte’s son. The whole world talks of my strategems,and my fame has reached the heavens.’ Usually, kleos is mainly dependent upon what the world thinks of the character, but this is the only instance in the epic where a character talks about his own kleos, which is usually sung by the bards. Kleos is usually attained and portrayed in the battlefield. But here, Homer views Odysseus’ kleos retrospectively, when Odysseus glorifies himself while being at a safe place away from the battlefield. Aware of the