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oa De prijs van de roem in de Ilias
- Amsterdam University Press
- Source: Lampas, Volume 54, Issue 3, dec. 2021, p. 316 - 329
Samenvatting
Starting from the story of Iphidamas in Iliad 11, this article argues that the presentation of war in the Iliad and Odyssey is mostly negative, with strong emphasis on its many victims and the suffering and losses on both sides. Within this context, the idea of κλέος (‘fame’) is found mainly as a motivation to join the war or to engage in the fighting. The victims’ family and friends do not find comfort in it, as we can see very clearly in the cases of Patroklos and Hektor. Nor do the heroes themselves, confronted with a premature and often cruel death, find any comfort in the prospect of fame. Consequently, κλέος appears as a kind of illusion that tempts men to go to war, but in the end has nothing to offer them. Only later generations and people far removed from the actual events can enjoy the κλέα ἀνδρῶν.