Often, epic heroes can be characterized the same way. They are portrayed as superhuman beings, possessing strength, physical beauty, and intelligence. These heroes aspired to live by a heroic code that would ensure immortality by keeping their memory alive in the people. Homer’s The Iliad shows how the heroic code was ingrained in ancient Greek warriors. In many cases, the Greeks put this code of honor above their own lives. During a battle, Glaukos, a Trojan, and Diomedes, an Achaian, encounter one another in a space between the two armies. By chance Diomedes asks who his enemy is. The two men then realize that their fathers were friends.
Two important characteristics for warriors are honor and virtue. Virtue is deemed to be the most important to a warrior’s life and it means achieving your greatest potential as a human being. “The reward for great honor and virtue is fame (kleos), which is what guarantees meaning and value to one's life. Dying without fame (akleos) is generally considered a disaster, and the warriors of The Iliad do the most unimaginable deeds to avoid dying in obscurity or infamy. Other components of a warrior’s heroic code are courage, loyalty, generosity, mercy, dignity, decency, honor, stoicism and strength.” This is the heroic code of honor that the warriors are taught throughout their life. It is the code that all warriors live and die for to achieve greatness. A warrior is fierce, savage and merciless which attributes to their virtue and honor. The four codes that a warrior lives by are “always to be the best and bravest and to be distinguished above others.
The stereotypical warrior would be with prestige, which he must defend. A great warrior is goal oriented to the point of being narrow minded with the goal of becoming the.....
