Daily Life of the Ancient Greeks

The Public Sphere 239
Homeric warrior. From Thomas Hope, Costumes
of the Greeks and Romans (New York: Dover, 1962).
Reprinted by permission of Dover Publications.
his victim’s corpse of its armor. Where particular animosity existed,
the victor might even despoil the corpse. Achilles engaged in this
barbaric practice when he attached Hektor’s corpse to his chariot
and then dragged it around the walls of Troy under full view of his
victim’s parents. The death of a major hero on either side caused
such disruption that it interrupted the whole war. Even on the battlefield,
the aristocratic hero was provided with a full-scale funeral.
Seventeen days were devoted to the obsequies for Achilles, nine for
Hektor, and two for Patroklos. The extent of funeral rites conducted
on behalf of any individual reflected his social standing and value
to the army. Ordinary soldiers received only minimal rites of burial.
The only method of disposing of the dead was cremation.
The primary objective of the Homeric hero was to win “imperishable
glory” so that his deeds of prowess would be celebrated
forever in epic verse of the kind written by Homer himself. His goal
was “always to excel in battle and to outstrip others,” as Peleus
explained to his son Achilles (11.783). The value of the prize or
geras that he received when the spoils of war were distributed to