Introduction to the Greek Code of Honor in The Odyssey and The Iliad
The Odyssey and The Iliadshow values like every book of a civilization does and these values come to the fore through its people, their celebrations, their religious beliefs, and their literary pieces. As Greeks lived too far in the past, it is only the literary masterpieces that the world has found in order to evaluate the excellence of their civilization and their ways of life. As Homer is the most popular Grecian poet, as well as the most popular classic figure on account of his famous epics, it is through epics The Odyssey and The Iliad that their values, they used to live by, could be evaluated. Those values form the core of their civilization and way of life, and it was considered an honor to abide by them. Several of those values go totally against the topical charters, but several of them surprise the modern reader that they existed more than 2,800 years earlier in Greece. From the reading of The Odyssey and The Iliad, several values and moral codes can be observed which form their Grecian honor code. Some of them go against their Greek norms, but some of them conform to the Greek civilization. Almost all the heroes of the Greek era abides by those values in order to win the honor and respect of the people. The values that set their code of honor are arête, means physical and mental power and ingenuity, ergon, which means manual labor, time, means the ability to take away a gift, war booty or a trophy, kleos, which means to win public opinion, xenia orhospitality or guest friendship, loyalty to the land and the people and above all the prevailing religious belief.
Best Quality in The Odyssey and The Iliad
The term used by Homer for pointing out the best quality in human beings is arête, which is one of the best examples in the Homeric epics. It has been translated in several ways but the best way in which it could be defined is that it is a personal trait where an individual uses his best potential to the maximum to achieve the best results. It has been, however, closely associated with mental agility, bravely, strength, courage, and even deceptiveness is included in it. Both have been given in The Odyssey and The Iliad. It means it involves all human faculties and abilities that he could use to his advantage. For example, Odysseus himself says about Achilles in The Iliad Book-I that “To your health, Achilles, for a generous feast” (1,229) which shows that a good health is the first point in arête, which clearly shows that Achilles is far above all other Greeks including Odysseus in strength. That is the very reason that he is a respected figure among all others. Odysseus himself is no less strong and the best proof is provided by the Phaeacian Prince Alcinous when he says, “Come, my friends, / let’s ask our guest…He’s no mean man, not with a build like that …/ Look at his thighs, his legs, and what a pair of arms—his massive neck, his big, rippling strength! (8, 326-329). However, this is not the only quality: a hero or a good person must have the mental faculty sharper than others to win the respect he desires. Odysseus, in this respect, excels Achilles who is far stronger than Odysseus. He displays this quality on several occasions during his decade long itinerary he undertook to reach home. However, its best display is shown when he along with his comrades is trapped in the cave of one-eyed monster, Polyphemus, who asks his name in response to which he says “Nobody” adding ““Cyclops, you asked about my famous name. / I’ll tell you. Then you can offer me a gift, / as your guest. My name is Nobody. / My father and mother, all my other friends—/ they call me Nobody.’ (8, 484-488). When he, along with his surviving comrades, hatches a plot to blind him and succeeds in it, Polyphemus blurts out; “Nobody is killing me, my friends, / by treachery, not using any force.” (6, 539-540). When he sees that they are out of the harms’ way and that monster cannot do anything to harm them he boast over this quality addressing Polyphemus ““Cyclops, if any mortal human being / asks about the injury that blinded you / tell them Odysseus destroyed your eye”(8, 662-667). This implies that the common Greeks see their entire world as the one in which a person demonstrates his supreme importance in the face of difficulties and conflicts and arête is the only yardstick to measure his success or failure. It became the ideal of the excellence of a person and quickly became a yardstick to measure the effectiveness of a leader. Bravery and mental faculty were not enough; wit and courage were also its fundamental elements. To say that my name is “Nobody” and then when the Cyclops says that “Nobody is killing me” shows how witty Odysseus is. Even deceptiveness is also allowed on occasions when it is necessary to save the lives of comrades and Odysseus displays this when he is in Phaeacia and listening to the tales of blind Demodocus regarding the Trojan Horse. He could not control his emotions saying “I am Odysseus, son of Laertes, / well known to all for my deceptive skills—my fame extends all the way to heaven” (9, 225-228 ).
Comparison of Persuasion in The Odyssey and The Iliad
And Achilles is no less deceptive as he rallies the whole army, when Agamemnon demands a prize he replies “And where do you think, son of Atreus, / You greedy glory-hound, the magnanimous Greeks / Are going to get another prize for you” (1, 130-133) which shows both his power to respond, persuade as well as win public support. Odysseus does the same when he returns from the journey and meets his old servant to check his loyalty with him and then Telemachus to check what is happening in his land. However, there are two other values included in the Greek arête which are kleos or sense of glory and other is aidos or sense of duty. As far as glory is concerned, even deceptive skills are allowed to seek glory and win public opinion as stated by the speech of Achilles who accuses Agamemnon of running after glory but he himself is seeking the same. However, whereas the sense of duty is concerned, it was taken by the Greeks very seriously. Achilles asks Calchas to predict what is there in store and he says “I live / And look upon this earth, no one will lay a hand / On you here beside these hollow ships, not even “Agamemnon, who boasts he is the best of the Achaeans.” (1, 193-196). This is makes him even more respected and honorable in the eyes of his soldiers that he is on the one hand, berating his enemy and displaying here is his sense of responsibility as a hero. Odysseus also feels this burden of duty and saves his comrades from any mishap during his journey and also feels the same about his nostos – the reason that he says; “But still I wish, / each and every day to get back home, / to see the day when I return.” (5, 268-276). However, the best of the arête is that which is praised by the enemy himself as Sarpedon asks his friend about Greeks and specifically Achilles that “They are strong, and fight with our best, / Ah my friend, if you and I could only / Get out of this war alive and then?” (12, 320-323) which they know that they cannot. However, if they can, it means that they would be considered immortal like gods, for it was not a mean feat to hoodwink Achilles and escape. Sometimes even the heroes do not abide by the code set by society or they violate it due to a weakness in character or to achieve some end or deliberately due to some other reason. Sometimes honor is showered after the hero is compared to his opponent such as Ajax who relates another story about the blood price saying “a man accepts compensation” (9.652) which means that the forgiver stays in the same town but shows restrain which Achilles should have shown towards Agamemnon.
Hard Work in The Odyssey and The Iliad
The other value that a society values high in a person is the ability and the will to do manual hard work more than all others do. This is called ergon. The concept about hard work is that gods and men hate the person who leads an idle life and live like a parasite. All Greek heroes have displayed some manual skills as Odysseus is a skilled woodworker (4, 311-340) while Priam himself has built the palace. Time or the material possession of a trophy and prize is also a Greek value that is honored in a hero or even a simple individual. That is why Achilles says “I am not going to be the only Greek without a prize” (1, 127) adding to ask Menelaus that “now you’re threatening to take away the prize / that I sweated and the Greeks gave me” (1, 171-172). It is the threat of losing a prize that actually spurs a war between both the heroes; Agamemnon and Achilles. The major objective is that it is through gifts and prizes that they used to sway public opinion in their support. However, there must be one thing cleared that sometimes these gifts have no value but it is the value that is associated with these gifts by the people that counts.
Virtues in The Odyssey and The Iliad
Another value regarded highly among the Greeks was hospitality. It is considered a great virtue to befriend a guest and extend proper honor to him. In Homeric language, it is called xenia which is closely associated with the value of the sense of duty or responsibility. Hence, it was a duty of a good Grecian to respect his guest. The Odyssey shows several examples of bad hosts and bad guests such as Penelope’s suitors are very bad guests, while Polyphemus is a bad host along with good hosts such as the Phaeacians, who honored Odysseus. However, it also involves connectedness or association with a friend such as Achilles shows with Patroclus and with his death, he feels deep anguish saying to his mother that he thinks himself “a dead weight on the earth” (18, 109). It means that sometimes heroes consider several other issues and welfare of their near and dear ones which prompt them to demonstrate arête.
Loyalty in The Odyssey and The Iliad
Loyalty to the land, people and faith was also considered another character trait honored well. Achilles and Odysseus both are half-divine and half human being. Hence, there is no doubt about their having inherited religious touch and hence they pay proper respect as Achilles says, “When you two speak, Goddess, a man has to listen / No matter how angry” (1, 225-226) which shows how religious entities were regarded high in the Greek culture. Even his depression and sorrow over the death of his friend Patroclus is also a show of deep loyalty while Odysseus shows the same thing to his wife, his people and his land when he states that “I myself know very well Penelope / although intelligent, is not your match” (1, 268-269) which he says to Circe when he is trapped. Even Zeus also supported his yearning to go home which is due to his loyalty to the religious order, his wife and above all his people. Even Achilles pays proper homage to the religious entities despite his victories.
Conclusion
In short, the Greek civilization, as depicted by Homeric epics The Odyssey and The Iliad, has several values which were to be adopted by the heroes and the common lot alike in order to win the respect, honor, and homage of the whole nation. All Homeric heroes have almost all of these qualities though sometimes they may have displayed some slight defiance but it is human nature to be strayed away. The value that has set the code of honor of the Greeks of the Homeric era were arête which is interpreted as the holistic ability of mind and body of a person to display during trying times. It also includes manual hard work, the ability to get away with his prize or booty, hospitality, and loyalty towards the nation as well as the religious order. Even when Odysseus or Achilles violated these values, they are reprimanded either by the religious entities or by the people themselves in order to keep them on the right track and they both understand the importance of this code of honor. Therefore, The Odyssey and The Iliad demonstrate the code of honor that the Grecians have set for themselves and for their heroes in order to win respect and lead the nation.
Works Cited
- Homer. The Odyssey. Xist Publishing, 2015.
- Lattimore, Richmond, ed. The Iliad of Homer. CUP Archive, 1962.
- Kowalczyk, Kamila. “Poetic Inspiration in Homer’s ‘Iliad’ and ‘Odyssey’.” Scripta Classica, vol. 6, 2009, pp. 9-14.
Relevant Questions about The Odyssey and The Iliad: Fundamental Values of The Grecian Code of Honor
- How do the actions and decisions of Achilles in The Iliad and Odysseus in The Odyssey reflect and evolve in relation to the Grecian code of honor, and what lessons about honor can we draw from their respective journeys and character developments?
- In both The Odyssey and The Iliad, how do the protagonists, Odysseus and Achilles, exemplify or challenge the concept of kleos (glory or fame) as a fundamental value in the Grecian code of honor, and what is the significance of their pursuit of kleos in the context of these epic narratives?
- The themes of xenia (hospitality) are prominently featured in both The Odyssey and The Iliad. How do these epics portray the importance of xenia as a vital component of the Grecian code of honor, and what insights do they provide into the expectations of hosts and guests in ancient Greek society?
