When one discusses the Greek Heroic Period, one remembers the famous work of Homer, the Iliad and the Odyssey. These two poems depict a more detailed retelling of the Trojan War and what has happened afterward. These poems also depicted the life and hardships of heroes However, this depiction of Homer influenced religion as the two poems shown his view on how heroes and gods are like, and why they are to be respected and worshipped. Homer’s heroes were seen to be shrewd, but they were still good. In one example, Odysseus was seen to be a deceitful hero and his capacity to trick almost everyone can be compared to Athena herself. This then shows people that gods were like humans in such extent. Man became the ultimate comparison to what gods are and eventually, this became a stepping stone for poleis or mini cities to harbour their own gods and worship them through temples and offerings that they would give them . Plato saw that Homerian gods were powerful and yet they can also feel human passion and be like humans in image. Nevertheless, it can be pointed out that these gods and goddesses were shrewd enough to be greedy; they can keep the temple and all the sacrifices given to them .
In terms of politics, the Greek Heroic Period created a concept of community since in this period; the Persian War enabled each polis to bury their differences to defeat their common foe. In one notable statement from one of the Greek generals in the war, he noted that the victory they have gotten from the war was a collective effort by everyone. In a military perspective, the war also showed the Greek collective effort as they fought in a disciplined fighting in close combat, an art they have understood from the Argons that have been held in the poleis. The Poleis were also influenced by the Heroic Age as the poleis were led by men selected by their honour, status and right. This then gave birth to the political cycles of tyranny, aristocracy, oligarchy and democracy. Each of these cycles was by-products of the Argon or the contests since these men had the honour everyone strives to have. However, these men were different from the rest since like athletes, they had to endure the agony before they get to this position. Women and slaves had no rights as they are seen only useful in homes and can only go out if there is a public affair . Each polis also had to follow their own sets of rules and traditions, which differs from other poleis. These rules and traditions are set in such a way that the traditional gods have set them. It was also noted upon this period that these gods are one with the nation and one with the people as seen in the creation of the Parthenon and the Acropolis .
In later years upon the start of the Greek thought and Philosophical Revolution, the Greek Heroic Age and the concepts of their gods and politics was questioned. One of the forerunners of these doubts on the capacity of the Heroic gods was Plato and Socrates. Socrates questioned the fact that if one considers greed, lust, deceit and killing, then why are gods in Greek Art depict these sins and why worship them. Socrates asked more questions such as how these gods depict morality. For Plato, he noted that there is a more powerful god than these traditional gods from the Heroic Age that can explain more about the world and how reality takes into shape. In the end, these Heroic Age traditions declined as more and more polis had lost their autonomy throughout the wars .
Bibliography
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Kleiner, Fred. Gardner's Art through the Ages: The Western Perspective, Volume 1. Santa Barbara: Cengage Learning, 2009. Print.
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The Western Tradition: Rise of Greek Civilization and Greek Thought. Dir. WGBH Boston. Perf. Eugen Weber. 1989.Video.
