The Iliad: Honor Through Victory and Vengeance

From the beginning of the epic to its finish, the distinguishing element that was most prominent in the Iliad was the concept of honor which is held by Greeks. Honor in the Iliad is not viewed in the same way as it is in western society; rather honor is won through gaining victory and exacting vengeance. Not to say that this is the only concept of honor in the Iliad, however it is a prevalent theme in the story. Honor seems to be of more importance to mortals, as opposed to the gods. The gods have this problem with constant intervention in the lives of the warriors which arguably takes the honor out of the fight, but to the warriors, fulfilling their vows of destroying their enemies seems to be more important than fighting fairly.

A line characteristic of the Achaean thought process is uttered by Nestor, who is an Achaean commander. He says, “Therefore let none make haste to go till he has first lain with the wife of some Trojan, and avenged the toil and sorrow that he has suffered for the sake of Helen.”[1] Nestor speaks these words while rallying his warriors to continue the fight with Troy. Ulysses, a few lines earlier, expresses similar sentiments saying, “Still we shall be shamed if we go home empty after so long a stay.”[2] Ulysses believes that rather than receiving honor by going home without defeating the Trojans, only dishonor will come from ending the war prematurely, demonstrating clearly the idea of honor through victory and vengeance. Achilles, who was livid because of Apollo who saved Hector and the Trojans from certain doom, exclaims, “You have robbed me of great glory and have saved the Trojans.”[3] Achilles’ statement shows that his source of glory comes from the Trojan’s demise.

In Conclusion, it should be clear to the reader that though the Greek concept of honor differs from the modern western understanding of honor, the basic idea is present. Their conception of honor differs primarily in that rather than acting in a civilized and upright manner, justice is the main emphasis of honorable actions. Failure to bring a foe to justice is truly dishonorable to the Greeks; at least it is displayed this way in The Iliad. Western society holds to this concept in some form or another as well, for example the concept of dueling is all about retaining one’s honor by slaying the one who has offended it. However the concept of dueling differs in that dueling is a fair fight, whereas the Greek warriors were bent on rape and carnage by any means necessary. With a system of honor lacking certain rules of civility and fair play, Greek warfare should stand out to modern westerners in sharp contrast to their own sense of honor and warfare.

Bibliography

Homer. The Iliad. Translated by Samuel Butler. 800 B.C.

[1] Homer. The Iliad. Translated by Samuel Butler. 800 B.C., Book 2.

[2] Ibid

[3] Ibid, Book 22.