Honor and Glory
All this Iliad stuff still going on. One student asked about the gods something along the following: If the gods influence actions that the humans do, then do the humans really deserve the honor and glory they get for killing in battle? Let me just say that:
1) understanding the gods and their relation to fate is less than facile.
2) this question does not have a simple straightforward answer.
posted by Scott @ 9:24 PM
3 Comments:
you manage to get your kids interested in that??
nah i'm kidding, i'm sure you're a great teacher :) it's a good sign if your students ask difficult questions like that! good job!
Certainly honor is the single most important concept in the Greek system of values. If you like I can send you some short stuff about honor. I try to tell people that honor in the ancient world is sort of like how money is now: it's how you keep score, how you relate all other values.
Paul,
Sure, send stuff my way. What makes the concept of honor and glory all the more interesting in the Iliad is Achilles and his questioning of it. Since his mother was a goddess, he is given the chance to see his fate and see that he will die young but gain glory for it. In book 9, he seriously questions if honor and glory really make an early death worthwhile. Achilles status as both an outsider who questions glory and honor and as an insider who ultimately buys into the value system of the Achaeans (Greeks) has made him a character who has made the story more interesting for 2500 years.
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