essay

The Greek hero

Honor and grace in anthropologyCambridgePublished In 1992 • Pages: 129-149

By: Campbell, John Kennedy.

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This essay first presents an historical account of the Greek hero concept as depicted in Homer's Iliad and Odyssey. This concept is then compared to the traditional role of young unmarried men in the eighteenth century A.D. who were expected to possess and display heroic qualities of courage and physical strength as the avengers of family honor. Many of these young men joined paramilitary organization in the mountains of continental greece throughout the Ottoman administration. The organization and function of these groups, called KLEPHTS (brigands), and the ARMATOLES (locally organized militias) organized under the Ottoman government to combat them, are described in detail in the text.
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Music
Status, role, and prestige
Ethics
Brawls, riots, and banditry
Military organization
Mythology
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Greeks
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
2003
RegionThe area the document pertains to
Europe
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
Southeastern Europe
Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
essay
Evaluation
Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
Ethnologist
Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
4: Excellent Secondary Data
AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
John Beierle ; 2002
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
no date
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
ninth century B.C.-eighteenth century A.D.
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Greece
NotesAdditional notes
John K. Campbell
Includes bibliographical references (p. 148-149)
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
90001861
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Greece