The Iliada and its heroes: an analysis of the greek’s formative ideals

Abstract

Homer has always been the inspirator and father of the Greek paideia. A focus on the Iliad, whose heroes are the social agents required by archaic Greek society, evidences that Homer´s perspective on human perfection deals with integral formation/education through which the aristocratic young man should develop a sound and healthy body and a noble soul. In the divine and heroic example, a reference in archaic formation/education, the erstwhile model virtues are represented, namely, goodness, nobleness, pride and love of the gods. The noble hero, depicted by Homer, stubbornly struggles to be better, above his peers, exceptional, the first in war and in the Olympic Games. The Homer´s paideia is not merely the root of traditional classical pedagogy but also the base of later pedagogical concepts.