The Portrayal of Heroism in the Iliad
Discuss the Portrayal of Heroism from the Books of the Iliad Studied So Far
Throughout the Iliad, Homer portrays heroism in a variety of ways. Heroism is not just the heroic code, the set of guidelines that heros follow, but is a reflection of what actions are acceptable in a certain context. In addition, heroism must be portrayed through a medium of a hero, thus the portrayal of a hero is essentially a portrayal of heroism. I will explore some themes within the Iliad and discuss how they portray heroism.
The aim of every hero is to achieve timé, which can be translated from Greek to English to mean honour. Timé is essential to heroes; a life without receiving esteem from their peers is perceived as meaningless and undesirable. A hero’s timé is determined primarily by his courage and physical abilities and to a lesser degree by his social status and possessions. A key example of heroism being portrayed through timé is in book 1, when Agamemnon has to give back Chryseis to her father. As he has lost his prize of war, he therefore demands another to compensate for the loss of honour this has incurred. “Is it so that you can hold on to your own prize, while I just sit back and bear the loss of mine, is that why you tell me to give back the girl? No, if the great-hearted Achaians will give me a prize, suiting it to my heart’s liking, to be of equal value – then so be it.” Book 1, pg 6. This follows the idea of timé, as something reflecting Agamemnon’s status has been taken from him, thus he needs to get his lost honour back through compensation. His loss of honour leads to him taking Briseϊs from Achilleus, which consequently dishonours Achilleus thus leading to Achilleus’ mental and physical withdrawal from heroism, through his refusal to fight. Therefore, in this example both heroes’ response to timé is used by Homer to portray heroism as being concerned with status, as it is this issue of timé that lies at the heart of what it means to be a hero.
Furthermore,
Throughout the Iliad, Homer portrays heroism in a variety of ways. Heroism is not just the heroic code, the set of guidelines that heros follow, but is a reflection of what actions are acceptable in a certain context. In addition, heroism must be portrayed through a medium of a hero, thus the portrayal of a hero is essentially a portrayal of heroism. I will explore some themes within the Iliad and discuss how they portray heroism.
The aim of every hero is to achieve timé, which can be translated from Greek to English to mean honour. Timé is essential to heroes; a life without receiving esteem from their peers is perceived as meaningless and undesirable. A hero’s timé is determined primarily by his courage and physical abilities and to a lesser degree by his social status and possessions. A key example of heroism being portrayed through timé is in book 1, when Agamemnon has to give back Chryseis to her father. As he has lost his prize of war, he therefore demands another to compensate for the loss of honour this has incurred. “Is it so that you can hold on to your own prize, while I just sit back and bear the loss of mine, is that why you tell me to give back the girl? No, if the great-hearted Achaians will give me a prize, suiting it to my heart’s liking, to be of equal value – then so be it.” Book 1, pg 6. This follows the idea of timé, as something reflecting Agamemnon’s status has been taken from him, thus he needs to get his lost honour back through compensation. His loss of honour leads to him taking Briseϊs from Achilleus, which consequently dishonours Achilleus thus leading to Achilleus’ mental and physical withdrawal from heroism, through his refusal to fight. Therefore, in this example both heroes’ response to timé is used by Homer to portray heroism as being concerned with status, as it is this issue of timé that lies at the heart of what it means to be a hero.
Furthermore,