Analyzing the Social Roles of the Heroic Code in the Iliad Analytical Essay by Top Papers

This paper offers an analysis of the social roles of the hero in "The Iliad" by Homer. The paper seeks to understand these roles by understanding the grim and hard facts of war in relation to death and life, one can see an increased social role when understanding the hero's responsibility that gives greater ethical compassion for the sustenance of the family unit, as well as for maintaining honor amongst military peers. The social role of Hector as a hero will be defined as an ethical defender of his family through civic responsibility. Furthermore, the social role of gift giving is also a part in the heroic code, as honor becomes the central catalyst for the heroic portrayals provide by Homer in The Iliad.