Homeric society is a ‘results-culture’” (Adkins 29).
#Honor meaning code
“Inherent in this code was a too-ready acceptance of bloodshed and carnage: without violent death there can be no kleos” (Toohey 22).Īn important aspect of the Shame Culture is that "it makes no difference to the evaluation of the situation whether the failure results from cowardice, or from mistake: only the result is taken into account. Both the desire for glory and the fear of shame created a society that valued battle and success above all else. Heroism is all the greater because a Greek will fight until the end he will not lose his honor" (Pre-Axial 4). Therefore, it is apparent in the epics that "valor and the adherence to duty in the face of overwhelming odds were all important. Not having arete, losing timé, and never gaining kleos could all lead to aidos. "The warriors of the heroic caste were impelled to certain courses of action, or were restrained from others, by aidos: they were ashamed of ‘losing face’ among their equals or inferiors, and this fear of public indignation kept before the mind of the heroes where their duty lay" (Hooker 121). In The Odyssey, where we hear from bards a number of times, “the songs of the bard are always esteemed more highly than the viands of the banquet” (Musial 109).Īidos, or shame, was the worst fate to befall a warrior. He is seen as a necessary component of society and is always treated with respect.
“The magic of the singer is necessary to call these deeds into being and give them their life” (Bloom 131). Because the bard is the keeper and transmitter of kleos, he holds a special place in Greek society. It is conferred chiefly by the bard, who celebrates and perpetuates the information… he creates the objectification of the hero’s personal survival in epic song, the ‘imperishable fame’ which lives among men and keeps alive the hero’s name” (Bloom 129-30). “Fame, more widespread and more lasting, even beyond death, is the great demand of the Homeric hero. These perceptions are preserved through song. Kleos, it has been stated, is based on others’ perceptions. The role of the bard, or singer, is extremely important when talking about honor and glory. T he term as used in ancient Greek history refers to the social elite, whose status depended on a combination of factors, of which wealth and public conduct were very important." (Martin) Below are the matter of "public conduct" most important to the Greek Honor Code. That is, ancient Greece never had an aristocracy that was an officially recognized nobility, whose members inherited their status regardless of their wealth or other socio-economic characteristics. "A ristocracy in this context does not mean what it often means in, for example, French or English history. This is because winning and keeping honor, a key value for the Greeks, took time and resources. " All of the heroes in Homer's epics were men of wealthy birth. The men are mainly warriors, like the incomparable Achilles of The Iliad.
" The primary characters in the Homeric poems are aristocrats, who are expected to live up to a demanding code of values. It is important to note, from the beginning, that much of the Honor Code only applies to the wealthy.
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