ὉI ΠΟΛΎΤΡΟΠΟΙ ἭΡΩΕΣ: A STUDY OF HOMERIC HEROISM

Abstract

This thesis investigates how the foundational value of connection underlies all forms of heroism within the Homeric epics. It argues that the traditional values of honour and shame that inform heroic choices require the framework of connection to operate upon. Homer takes the foundational value of connection, and the secondary values of honour and shame and presents many forms of both complicated and uncomplicated heroism across two distinct mediums. The Iliad presents the reader with a variety of Iliadic heroes who operate within the medium of the battlefield, including Ajax as the uncomplicated form of Iliadic heroism and Achilles and Hektor as complicated forms of this heroism. The Odyssey showcases the evolution of Homeric heroism from the medium of the battlefield to the medium of the nostos, with Odysseus’ evolution across the poem paralleling the evolution of Homeric heroism. The foundational value of connection is what allows the values of honour/shame to have significance in Homeric society, and therefore by engaging with connection and then the honor/shame matrix, a hero was able to gain time which upon his death was converted into kleos by his connections. Odysseus serves as the focal point for multiple types of heroism as his characterization in the Iliad, while he operates within the parameters of the Iliadic hero, is proleptic of his evolution into the Odyssean hero in the Odyssey.