Sarpedon As A Homeric Hero

A Homeric Hero is usually a character who understands his fate and is willing and capable of battling through dangerous situations. Another important attribute that a Homeric Hero must attain is that the hero is not immortal and willing to accept this fact. Though Heroes pass away, their legacy lives on in the stories passed down by word of mouth and late recorded.
This was evidenced by what Sarpedon said to Glaukos before they went to battle, “…Therefore it is our duty in the forefront of the Lykian’s to take our stand, and bear our part of the blazing battle, so that a man of the close-armored Lykians may say of us: ‘Indeed, these are no ignoble men who are lords of Lykia’,… since indeed there is strength of valor in them, since they fight
On the other hand, the Greeks are more humanized and therefore are more susceptible to errors and failure. So if Sarpedon is the example of the perfect warrior, then Achilles is the opposite kind of warrior, with more humanistic features that allow you to empathize his empathize with his stubborn nature. This is evident with the very beginning of the Iliad’s introduction, which stated, “Sing, goddess, the anger of Peleus’ son Achilles and its devastation, which put pains thousand fold upon the Achaeans,” (Page 75). Achilles anger leads to a rift within the Greek army, which begins with his refusal to fight in response to Agamemnon’s comments and the subsequent loss to Briseis. Achilles refusal leads to the Greeks losing their next battle and losing a large chunk of their army. Later on when Patroclus, Achilles best friend who gets killed by Hektor, his anger causes him to return to the battle. Achilles great fury leads to him not only killing Hektor but also dragging his dead corpse behind his chariot around the city of Troy angering the
A hero is not motivated by hate or greed, but rather by the sudden rush of adrenaline and the idea of helping another human being. During the Iron Age Greece was a nation whose heroes were warriors, protectors of city-state pride, and heroes who needed to accept their fate which was inevitable death. Greece was a divided nation during this time with the notion of city state over national pride. This is why there were so made differing opinions amongst even the gods. The gods were split to each side of the battle in Troy. Modern day heroes would not even begin to comprehend the appearance of a god during a situation because most times the hero is by himself. Today a brave hero is your typical Joe who chases down a purse snatcher or a man who runs into a burning building to save a baby. These are true hero attributes in my opinion, and the only thing that I see that is different really is that today a hero is judged on his merit and contribution of being a Good Samaritan. So what does this tell me about the Iron Age in Greece? It tells me that this was a wise but barbaric time in recorded ancient history. The perfect example of how Greeks during this time were making heroes of barbarians is their overwhelming obsession for Achilles, who though played a crucial role for Greece winning the war, also dragged Hektor’s body with his chariot. This is absolutely atrocious in a way, even if Hektor killed