The Iliad

The warrior ethic was the foundation upon which ancient Greece and its realms were built. This way of life may have seemed barbaric at times, but it was greatly admired by the Greek men. It led to constant feuding of the Greek peoples, but also paved the way for such great epics as the Iliad. The warrior ethic also led to pseudo-immortality: the warrior’s legacy (or infamy) lived on after death.

In such a time as before the Trojan War, power was ever the goal of man; and this power would come from dominance over his fellow man. To achieve this dominance, a man must be strong, and a brave warrior. He must never show fear, and never turn away from battle. Showing fear was not respected, as illustrated by Hektor in the Iliad: “…yet I would feel great shame/ before the Trojans…if like a coward I were to shrink aside from the fighting…”(66). These ideas formed the warrior ethic, and helped shape the governments of the day in which ruling powers must be strong to fend off their enemies. However, these ideals allowed simple problems to escalate into blood feuds and even war.

A terrific example of this escalation of violence occurs in the ancient Greek text, the Iliad. Events prior to the Iliad saw Paris of Troy steal Helen from the Greeks. The events in the Iliad depict the result of a feud between two states, and their great and proud warriors. The boldness of the warriors of ancient Greece quickly turned a simple kidnapping into a war to the death (or recapture of Helen). This war seems grossly ruthless, and unnecessary to modern societies; but to the Greeks it was not viewed as irregular, or unethical.

This warrior ethic sometimes went ...

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This warrior ethic sometimes went beyond simple male machismo and turned into an ethic more fitting of a barbarian (NB- the ancient Greeks saw everyone but themselves as barbarians). Warriors may commit cruel or unusual acts during fighting, such as Achilles treatment of Andromache’s family. Before the war at Troy, Achilleus seemingly had a feud with Eëtion whom he killed and respectfully burned. Yet Achilleus did not stop at Eëtion’s death, he proceeded to kill Andromache’s seven brothers whilst they were “…tending their white sheep and lumbering oxen…”(66). So Achilleus slaughtered these ‘non-warrior-ethic’ men who could defend themselves. This act does not seem to fit anywhere within the warrior ethic. Yet this brutal act seemed not to defame Achilleus in the eyes of his comrades. Achilleus even went on to commit another heinous act: the dishonouring of Hector of Troy’s dead body.

The Greek world had many immortals that were loved and worshiped. And so be it through the Golden Apples, or ambrosia, the Greeks sought their own immortality. Through their deeds, warriors gained respect and admiration as illustrated by Hektor “… since I have learned to be valiant/ and to fight always among the foremost ranks…winning for my own self great glory…”(66). Certainly, death was a troubling idea for Greek warriors, and this legacy assured him that he would be remembered after his death. One of the greatest of such warriors was a leading character in the Iliad, Achilleus. Achilleus was a fearsome warrior; and during the Trojan War, enemies fled before him. His comrades respected him greatly for this, and offered his tremendous gifts to continue fighting with them. Achilleus knew that if he remained at Troy he would die with glory, but if he returned home he would live long but without glory. The warrior ethic, so deeply embedded in Achilleus’ mind, told him to stay and fight, and die having gained such a legacy to be remembered ages after his death. He did so, and killed the second greatest warrior of the day, Hektor.

Hektor provides insight into the matter of living after death in his plea to the gods concerning his son, Skamandrios “…grant this boy, who is my son,/ may be as I am, pre-eminent among the Trojans,/ great in strength, as I am, and rule strongly over Ilion;/ and some day let them say: ‘He is better by far than his/ father,”(67). Hektor shows no concern for the length of his Skamandrios’ days, so long as Skamandrios acquires respect, glory and admiration from his peers. This idea of glory over life sums up the nature of the warrior ethic. Yet even better than glory during life, would be glory after death. And obviously, certain Greek and Trojan warriors did achieve this posthumous glory by inspiring the composure of the Iliad.