Kleos in The Odyssey by Homer

Odysseus's wife, Penelope plays a crucial role in Homer's ‘The Odyssey’, with not only providing the motivation for Odysseus's return to Ithaca, but she is also the center of the plot involving the suitors and the fate of Telemakos and Ithaca itself.  Therefore the objective of this essay is to analyze the importance of Penelope’s role in ‘The Odyssey’.

While traditional readers of Homer’s, The Odyssey, view Odysseus as a hero, they often reduce Penelope to Odysseus’s helpless wife, but Penelope is more than just a damsel-in-distress. Penelope proves to be Odysseus’s heroic equal, as through her resilient, witty and strategic actions she ensures Odysseus fighting advantages over the suitors.

Furthermore, Penelope is an important character as her identity “functions as a stable and unchanging reference point for the adventures of Odysseus” (Katz, 6). As Katz explains, Odysseus’ travels are interwoven with his lust for home and his desire to be with his wife again. As well, her identity becomes a parallel to Odysseus’ identity through her use of polutropus (tricks and turns). She proves, by the end of the poem, that she is the perfect match for Odysseus as both of them share the same skills with rhetoric and language to get what they want. Their like-mindedness is evident during the recognition scene between the two. Penelope tests Odysseus’ knowledge of their marital bed - before blindly trusting his claim of identity - by asking the slaves to move their immovable bed: “[putting] her husband to the proof-but Odysseus/ blazed in fury, lashed out at his loyal wife” (Homer, 23.203-204). In his angry response to Penelope’s test, Odysseus proves his identity to his wife as he explains why the bed cannot move. When she hears their familiar story of the creation of their bed, - which only the two and a slave know about - Penelope submits to her long-lost husband in an emotional reunion. Her caution, before accepting Odysseus’ claim, shows the wary protectionism stance that she had to adopt while her husband was gone so she could protect the kingdom from the suitors.

In death’s atrocity, Achilles and the Athenians turn towards their self-interests in hopes to regain control and dignity. Achilles withdraws from the army in hopes they will recognize his worth, thus restoring honor to him. The Greeks “were stricken with unendurable grief” yet his “proud spirit” kept him from letting go of his anger. (Il. 9.4, 259). His inability to understand his mortality and resulting lack of philotēs “pitched countless souls of heroes into Hades’ dark” (Il. 1.3-4). Falling into fits of self-pity, Achilles is unable to recognize others’ sufferings, even of his own people. He complains to his mother that Agamemnon “has taken away [his] prize and dishonored” him and playing a lyre by the shore, away from the war displaying death’s reality (Il. 1.370). In his isolating mēnis, Achilles hardens into an apathetic death-like figure. Similarly, the Athenians begin to lack pity as their city turned towards “unprecedented lawlessness,… acts of self-indulgence,” and immorality during the plague (HPW 2.53). The Athenians even abandon their own people in fear of falling ill as well. Their civilization reveals it shallow-nature as they result to only considering present desires as honorable. In the face

For Greeks, gaining honor while alive that is important, but holding of a proper burial after death is also considered essential to them and their beloveds. In the Iliad, Homer places the emphasis on the retrieval of the body and the burial for both Patroclus and Hector, demonstrating the Greek perception that respect and fame continue after death, and therefore certify the struggle in life to achieve honor. Patroclus is like a brother to Achilles as they grow up together. While Patroclus is alive, he respects Achilles’ decision to remain out of the battle. After he dies, Achilles lays down his individual pride, which has insulted by Agamemnon earlier and returns back to the battle. Achilles successfully kills Hector and exacts his revenge by mutilating the body. Patroclus’ honor is shown in his elaborate ceremonies that Achilles holds for his passing and extends to the mourning shown. (Homer, Iliad 19.325-360, 23.245-280) On the other side, Priam has gone through many difficulties to have his son’s corpse back from Achilles. Hector’s honor also can be seemed from the paramount funeral and the

Every character in a story is motivated by a feeling or action. In Homer’s Iliad, the themes of aidos (shame) and kleos (honor) are used to propel the story forward and to keep the reader’s attention. The actions of the characters are heavily influenced by shame and honor. Homer does a stupendous job of portraying the feelings of shame and honor to develop specific characters in the story.

When we consider the Hero in ancient Greek culture, we must forget our notion of what a hero is. The ancient Greek concept of a hero was different from our own culture's. The motivation for any Homeric Greek is glory, or "Kleos", that is to be honored and respected among their people. Not only does kleos imply being honored and respected, it literally means ‘to be heard.’ Achieving kleos entails that your tale and ultimately you will live on forever. Kleos is essential to the Greeks and life would not be worth living without it. When a warrior or hero is advised to avoid risking their life in battle it almost drives them even further towards the deed. It is better to be killed in action rather than to live

The idea of kleos otherwise known as glory in Greek, and honor is one of the most essential motifs of the Iliad. For many warriors depicted in the Iliad, honor was vital and personal. For many, Glory earned in battle was more important than one’s life. Glory or the lack of, was remembered long after one’s life. Possibly the greatest fundamental part of honor to the fighters of the Iliad was courage in battle as shown throughout multiple books. Throughout the course of this book we can see how different characters display these traits and how they influence the course of the war. Even though the Achaeans and Trojans are enemies they display a similar view, the acquisition of glory is more significant than life

Penelopeia is in so much distress after losing Odyesseus but she doesn’t let up. P. deals with all the suitors very courageously she represents a powerful female figure in a time where women were not thought very highly of. Although P. has the most stress placed on her, she embodies the most calm and constructive individual particularly when she faces the world she was described as, Theme Awareness:

For many years, Greek culture based their social status on prominence and rank in their colony. This prepotency over the culture is shown in the epic poem, The Iliad of Homer. Great vitality is exhibited by the characters in the poem. The need for glory, honor, and eternal remembrance is mentioned numerous times from beginning to end in this composition. Glory and honor comes with great responsibility and wisdom. Homer presents this idea in various ways. This fortitude is passed throughout The Iliad showing the foundation of dignified heroes and self-glorification.

In The Odyssey, monsters like the Sirens, Scylla, and Polyphemus provide “new and interconnected methods” of defining what it means to be human (Cohen 7). The Oxford English Dictionary defines a monster as a “creature which is part animal, part human.” According to this definition, Odysseus becomes monsterous when he gives into the animalistic part of himself. When Odysseus meets the Sirens in Book 12, they immediately sense his presence and knew everything about him. They know how to draw on his insecurities and how to tempt him to come closer. He is also distracted by his sexual desires when he is first introduced to Circe. She draws out more sensual and carnal qualities of him, which is arguably more animalistic. All along the way, Odysseus is hesitant to explore new places because of his inherent biases and fear of the unknown. The monsters in this epic help reveal all of these aspects through Odysseus, As a human, he is always subject to weaknesses like fear, distractions from women like Circe, and bias which causes him to have preconceived notions of the foreign.

A comparison of Homer’s Achilles and Virgil’s Aeneas brings up the question concerning what makes someone an epic hero. Although each poet lived in a dramatically different time period, with different literary integrity, Homer and Virgil each portray an epic hero using different development of the characters, but similar themes and influences. Achilles and Aeneas demonstrate that an epic hero will do whatever it takes to fulfill their duties while simultaneously displaying the difference between Greek and Roman Society. The question will be answered by first, analyzing the individual characteristics of Achilles, a merciless warrior, and Aeneas, a civilized leader, then

Warriors of ancient Greece were considered heroes by following the Heroic Code of excellence. They achieved this by acquiring a kleos; establishing fame, glory and a positive reputation. It was not an easy task to become a Grecian hero. Building and maintaining kleos meant that a warrior must be brave and strong, be “a speaker of words and a doer of deeds.” The solider had to protect his friends and harm his enemies, respect the gods and his elders, and most of all value his honor over his life. To die in battle, and be spoken of after death was the most important act of honor for a hero. The Greek tragedy, Iliad, attributed to Homer, portrays Achilles as the most gallant hero of the Athenian army. The story tells of Achilles, who develops into the greatest hero of the Trojan War. While the end of the end of the poem does portray Achilles as the solider that the story foretells throughout the poem he does not act like that. Many times in the story Achilles actions are perceived as unheroic but ultimately they shape the course of the few weeks of the Trojan Wars described in the Iliad, the Achaean’s final victory at Troy and his emergence as a hero.

Meaning in music is derived from parenthetical analysis of several technical aspects including lyrics, form, historical context, emotional content, and personal connection. A hermeneutical approach to the Star-Spangled Banner can yield only interpretational results. Therefore, we must examine the more concrete details of the work, and how the music relates to the meaning of the protests as stated by Colin Kaepernick in August of 2016.

Odysseus describes Hades as the place “where senseless/dead men dwell, mere imitations of perished mortals” (Homer, Odyssey 11.475-6). Furthermore, Achilles states that he would sooner prefer to be a slave than king of the dead (Homer, Odyssey 11.489-91). As Diane Thompson highlights, this depiction of the afterlife is one that the Greeks would understandably dread. This further affirms the Trojan War as a tragedy for all those who perished, as even for Achilles, an admirable hero. Thomas Finan argues that in the Iliad, death is the ultimate enemy, and Achilles’ rage is its opponent. Evidently, Achilles in the Odyssey demonstrates that this is a struggle that not even Achilles and his emotions can surmount. Thompson mentions that the Odyssey’s depiction of an unhappy afterlife indicates a strong value seen in life itself for the Homeric Greeks. Considering this detail, the death of characters in the Iliad are made all the more