Importance Of Kleos In Ancient Greek Culture

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In Ancient Greek culture Kleos, or glory, was one of, if not, the most important life goal for a Greek citizen. The reason it was so important is that Kleos would, with enough of it, secure you a spot in one of the three rings of Elysium; the more kleos you had the farther into the three rings you got, and the better your after life ended up being. To the Ancient Greeks making it to the center, or third ring, was the holy grail of life. To put it into perspective making it to the third ring was today's equivalent of being superman and saving the world several times over. Unfortunately, Greek heros can and often do dig holes for themselves by not recognizing that a god has helped them along in getting more Kleos. In this article three …show more content…

The cases being referred to is when Odysseus decides he doesn't need the gods to get back home at the end of the Iliad. The resulting consequence is that Odysseus is sent, by Poseidon, to Calypso’s island, Ogygia, for 7 years.
The importance of this example is showing that Odysseus lost sight of what was the most important thing in the Greeks’ eyes; the gods. As a result of Odysseus’ actions the whole conflict of the Odyssey is thus created through the simple action of not making a sacrifice to the gods for safe travel home. So while this may not be one of Odysseus’ shining moments of glory it is important for showing that the search for more Kleos may result in terrible or unwanted outcomes.
The next instance that will be discussed will be when Odysseus tells his story to the Phaeacians in exchange for a ride back to his homeland, Ithaca. This happens at the beginning of book 9 when Odysseus begins his tale. The significance of this example is that it shows that Odysseus is willing to lie in order to get more Kleos among the mortal population. For instance, Odysseus leaves out that a sea nymph gifted him a scarf that would grant him invulnerability while he wears it to escape the wrath of Poseidon after leaving Calypso's’

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