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The Iliad as heroic poetry
91A0S. In a few cases (Herakles, Akhilleus) the relationship is reinforced by
immediate divine ancestry. In the narrative the heroes are represented as
the only persons of consequence in their society; the productive classes are
ignored. In the field the other ranks make up an anonymous Accos except
when they are singled out for slaughter. Yet even then, for there is no credit
in overcoming the unresistant, the poet of the Iliad will say TOUS dp' 6 y'
fiyeuovas Aavacov IXgv (11.304) after listing the victims of an androktasia. To
check a rout Odysseus appeals dyocvoTs iTreeacn to the |3aaiAfJ6s and H£ O X° 1
dv6p6S, but uses the stick on the 'men of the people'. In the assembly
only the dpiorf)8S speak, a custom enforced by blows on those who get
above their station (2.265). After summoning an assembly of the whole
host Akhilleus addressed himself solely to Agamemnon (19.56), Idaios the
diplomatic herald added dXAoi apiaries TTavaxoacov, but even at the lowest
point of his demoralization Agamemnon could still ignore the rank and
file and speak to 'Apyeicov f)yf|Topes f|8e UESOVTES (9.17). The dpiorfies then
are the sole actors in the drama. Their position is assured in life and their
memory in death.
This status is part of the background of the heroic tradition and presumably
reflects some sort of social reality, though at a certain distance; the
Iliad's terminology of leadership is imprecise. Simpler societies that are
innocent of hierarchy have heroes (leaders), but a genuinely lower class
heroic character is probably always a product of special circumstances. 10
Heroes may be kings, but a king who is a hero carries a heavy burden
of symbolism that inhibits the application of many heroic themes to him.
He and his line symbolize the continued existence of his people, and so,
for example, the pathos of a gallant end must be denied him. Better to
keep the king in the background and focus on a figure free of kingly
responsibilities.
The idea of the king in the background, for whom, or in spite of whom,
the hero fights is a powerful one and very common in any culture that
incorporates the ranks of lord and vassal. In Old English epithets for heroes
fall roughly into two classes, those meaning 'old, wise, or good' which are
applied to kings, and those meaning 'bold, fierce, or strong' which are
applied to warriors. Beowulf is held up as the ideal king (Beowulf 1380-2),
cf. the Odyssean formula TraTrip a>s f\Tnos fjev (4X ) and the implied description
of Odysseus himself as dyavos KOCI fJTTios at Od. 2.230 = 5.8. The king
may be noble but distant, like Charlemagne in Roland and Hrothgar in
Beowulf, or ungrateful or malevolent, like Louis in the Guillaume-cycle,
Alphonso in the Cid, or Gunther in the Nibelungenlied. The idea seems to
10 The Indian thug OmpurT is one example, cf. Hatto, Traditions 1 54. 'Robin Hood'
figures lie on the margin of the heroic idea, or beyond it.
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