Kleos In The Iliad

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The reward given to the Homeric hero for great honor and virtue is kleos (Greek word for fame), which guarantees that their lives will have meaning and value as they will ultimately die regardless of their actions. The greatest tragedy for these heroes was akleos, dying without fame and being forgotten making their lives meaningless. In the Iliad, Achilles is given a terrible choice: to fight and die in great fame to be remembered forever, or to stay away from the fray and be forgotten by all. It’s a terrible choice to make; life over glory, glory over life. They will often choose the latter, because the Homeric hero’s greatest expression of self lies in glory, in fame, in living on in people’s memory (Beye, 1968). Moreover, Homeric heroes

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