Homeric Values of Ancient Greece

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History of Ancient Greece The Homeric Epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey, are to the ancient Greeks, what the Bible is to Christians and other associated religions, past and present. Like the Bible, the Epics provided an early moral framework and set of values for Greeks to aspire to by recounting the parables of triumph and struggle that defined the lives of the ancient heroes. Like the saints seen in the Christian faith, ancient Greek heroes were worshipped and glorified for the values and characteristics they best personified. Within the Iliad and the Odyssey, “Homeric” values such as Arete, Phronesis, Kleos, Xenia, Oikos, and Kratos permeate the lives of the heroes, whose examples inspired the lives of those great kings, warriors, and politicians who pioneered Greece to its Golden Age. Revealed through the prose of the Odyssey are the values and characteristics that define the culture of “Homeric Greece”. Chief among these are Arete (excellence/virtue), Phronesis (practical wisdom/wit), Kratos (strength/power), Oikos (family/loyalty), Xenia (hospitality), and Kleos (glory). Being in a collegiate Greek organization I am no stranger to Arete as it is ultimately, like the heroes of Homer, what we seek to attain, as we put it: “to achieve a sound mind in a sound body” so that we may best “become balanced men and leaders for the world’s communities”. The stories of the Iliad and the Odyssey are ones of great men and women seeking Arete. By endeavoring to achieve this greatness through grand words and deeds one could also attain Kleos, or glory, something the ancient Greeks valued highly. If Arete and Kleos were what was being sought, it was done so by the acquisition and use of Phronesis and Kratos and through the practice and expression of Oikos and Xenia. Practical intelligence and wit were highly valued by the Greeks and many examples of this can be found

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