Aristotle's Perspective of Friendship in Homer's Iliad

An Aristotelian Examination of Friendship in Homer's Iliad

It is strange to label any friendship a success or a failure; it is stranger still to call the friendship between Achilleus and Patroklos a failure, especially when it has long been celebrated as one of the greatest friendships in antiquity. After all, friendship is called a success when friends remain just that, and a failure when they part ways with diffidence. How else could we possibly judge friendship? I suggest, however, that the good of the friend is the end of true friendship, and that this principle can guide critical inquiry into the nature of friendship. The basis of this statement is Aristotelian. The Nicomachean Ethics defines true friendship as the mutual appreciation of the intrinsic good in the other, and the desire to will the other’s good. The critique of true friendship, in Aristotelian terms, should consider not only whether the parties loved each other for their intrinsic good, but also the extent to which they were successful at promoting the good of the other. The tragedy of Achilleus and Patroklos is that, despite their love and desire to promote the good of the other, they may have ultimately failed. Their friendship may have failed not because of a lack of good will or capability, but because of the conflicting obligations placed upon that friendship by society, circumstance, and the unyielding character of Achilleus.

For Aristotle, the perfect form of friendship "is that between good men who are alike in excellence or virtue" (Ethics 8.219).1 Indeed, both Achilleus and Patroklos are foremost amongst the Achaians, and both are commanders and warriors of the first rank. Yet, theirs is not exactly a friendship between equals either; ...

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...Hades. It is ironic that the friendship of Achilleus and Patroklos resonates so strongly precisely because of their tragic self-sacrifice; it is, perhaps, the most successful, celebrated, true friendship, that ever ended in failure.

Works Cited

1. Aristotle, Nichomachean Ethics, trans. Martin Ostwald (Library of Liberal Arts 1999). Citations are given in book and page number.

2. Homer, The Iliad, trans. Richmond Lattimore (University of Chicago Press 1961). All subsequent citations are given in book and page number.

3. (Ethics 9.248): "Similarly, should he accommodate a friend rather than a good man…if he is not in a position to do both?" Book 9, Chapter 2 "Conflicting Obligations" deals with this subject at length.

4. (Ethics 9.250): "A further problem is whether or not a friendship should be broken off when the friend does not remain what he was."