- and, at least in Achilles' case, he expects to be honored for his heroism.
What is that heroism? In both Achilles and Hector's case it is roughly the same: the ability to slay many foes - despite the certain knowledge that "He lives not long who battles" (V, 407). Why do they pursue such an activity in the face of cutting short their worldly existence? Again, as Homer points out, it is for worldly recognition:
Of men who have a sense of honor, more come through alive than are slain, but from those who flee comes neither glory nor any help (XV, 563).
This is a very egotistical sense of the heroic life, more on the "let's get what we can while we can" level of conceptualization than directed towards any sort of high-minded approach to the matter. Balancing that apparent opportunism, however, is a rather interesting sense of humility:
If you are very valiant, it is a god, I think, who gave you this gift (I, 178).
Moreover, there is a very real sense of fatalism and doom pervading the ancient Greek worldview as set forth in The Iliad:
Even when someone battles hard, there is an equal portion for one who lingers behind, an
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