4. Heroism (Iliad)

About this Lecture

Lecture

In this module, we think about heroism in the Iliad, focusing in particular on: (i) the specific meaning of the word ‘hero’ in the context of the Iliad; (ii) some key terms – timē (‘honour derived from one’s possessions’), geras (‘special gift of honour’), aidōs (‘shame’), kleos (‘honour derived from being talked about’); (iii) the different aspects of the ‘heroic code’ emphasised by three different heroes – Hector, Sarpedon and Achilles; (iv) the rituals of supplication (hiketeia) and guest-friendship (xenia); and (v) the idea that the Iliad witnesses the breakdown of the heroic code, which is only restored in the final book of the poem.

Course

In this course, Dr Emily Hauser (University of Exeter) provides a comprehensive introduction to Homer. In the first module, we think about the Iliad and Odyssey as ‘oral poems’ and consider this should impact how we read them. The following four modules (2-5) focus in the Iliad, with discussions of: (i) the narrative structure of the poem; (ii) the role of the gods; (iii) the nature of heroism; and (iv) the presentation of war and warfare. The five modules after that (6-10) focus on the Odyssey, with discussions of: (i) the theme of ‘nostos’; (ii) the theme of ‘xenia’; (iii) the nature of heroism; (iv) the role of women; and (v) the related themes of disguise and recognition. Finally, in the eleventh model, we think about the reception of Homer from antiquity to the twenty-first century, and how – if at all – it is possible to escape ‘the shadow of Homer’.

Note: Translations from the Iliad are taken from Martin Hammond (Penguin Classics, 1987) and those from the Odyssey from E. V. Rieu (Penguin Classics, 1946), unless otherwise noted.

Lecturer

Dr Emily Hauser is Senior Lecturer in Classics and Ancient History at the University of Exeter, and the author of an acclaimed trilogy of novels reworking the women of Greek myth, including For the Most Beautiful (2016, Penguin Random House). She has written articles on gender in Homer, women poets in antiquity and their reception in contemporary women’s writing; she also co-edited Reading Poetry, Writing Genre: English Poetry and Literary Criticism in Dialogue with Classical Scholarship (2018, Bloomsbury). Her latest books are Ancient Love Stories (2023, Bonnier) and How Women Became Poets: A Gender History of Greek Literature (2023, Princeton).