|
|
|
| Heroes， Justice and Communities： Morality and City-State in the Age of Homer |
| Yan Shaoxiang |
| (School of History， Capital Normal University， Beijing 100048) |
|
|
|
|
Abstract Were Homer's heroes morally conscious？ Some scholars have argued that the heroes in the epics had no morality of cooperation and sense of community， but only shame and competition. Dodds' theory of shame culture does inspire some insights into the characteristics of Homer's heroes， but it goes too far to claim that they completely lacked a sense of cooperation and justice. By analyzing the quarrel between Agamemnon and Achilles， it can be found that the heroes show a caprious and self-interested side. They sometimes placed their honor over the community interest. However， other information provided by Homer also shows that some of the heroes had a clear sense of right and wrong and a concern for the community. Discussions of the morality of Nestor and Polydamas suggest that they have a strong sense of the city-state. Agamemnon and Achilles also chose to put the interests of the community first again after experiencing painful choices. In The Odyssey， the nascent idea of justice in the city-state has already sprung up. The moral concepts of Homeric society， as other aspects of Homeric society， are harbingers of the coming city-state in classical Greece.
|
|
Received: 22 September 2023
|
|
|
|
| [1] |
Du Shizhong. The Theoretical Sources， Empirical Grounds and Practical Approaches of Institutional Moral Education Theory[J]. journal1, 2023, 62(3): 160-169. |
| [2] |
Gai Jianmin Zhang Kezheng. A New Discussion on the Time and Place of Li Rong’s Writing of the Laozi Commentary[J]. journal1, 2022, 61(6): 109-117. |
| [3] |
Xiong Yihan Lin Jiayi. Ambiguous Justice： Reasonableness， Morality， Rule of Law in the Governance at Grass Root Level[J]. journal1, 2022, 61(5): 10-18. |
| [4] |
Wu Xiaoxi. Justice and Becoming Oneself——Using Heidegger and Korsgaard as Examples[J]. journal1, 2020, 59(5): 81-87. |
| [5] |
You Qiaorong Zhou Baiqing. An Ethical Interpretation of Bloom's Goodness and Tolerance in Ulysses[J]. journal1, 2020, 59(3): 92-98. |
| [6] |
Wang Xianpei. Ethical Dimension of Narrative Techniques[J]. journal1, 2020, 59(2): 93-97. |
|
|
|
|
2023, Vol. 62 
