The Heroic Age

by H. Munro Chadwick

The first argument in its favour is derived from a story quoted by Plutarch (Theseus, cap. 34) from Istros, a writer of the third century, to the effect that Alexandros (Paris) was overcome by Achilles and Patroclos on the banks of the Spercheios. In confirmation of this story it is pointed out that the warriors with whom Paris fights in the Iliad mostly belong to Thessaly, while his sister Alexandra (Cassandra) was worshipped by the Locrians. Another argument rests on a story derived from the Little Iliad, that Andromache was brought to Pharsalos after the fall of Troy. The inference that she belonged originally to this region is supported by the proposed identification of Thebe Hypoplacie, her home in the Iliad, with the Phthiotic Thebes, to the east of Pharsalos. Yet a further argument relates to Hector. It is noted that he was worshipped as a hero at Thebes in Boeotia, and that most of the persons associated with him, either as friends or foes, are connected with Boeotia, Thessaly and the intervening districts. In Prof. Bethe's words "Hector's tracks lead from southern Thessaly, through Phocis and Boeotia, to the Cadmean Thebes." "In other words Hector, or rather the tribe which honoured Hector as their hero, migrated by this road. More accurately, the tribe gradually, in how many centuries none can tell, moved in a south-easterly direction, driven by a pressure which was no doubt exerted by the Aeolic tribe represented in the Epos by Achilles[413]."

Now it is manifest that the argument derived from Istros' story can have validity only if it can be shown that there is reason for believing it to be based on genuine native tradition, independent of the Homeric poems. For everyone who has studied the history of Teutonic heroic poetry knows that in the later forms of the stories the scene is liable to be changed to entirely different countries. Thus the fight of Heðinn and Högni is located in the Orkneys in the Norse version of their story, while in Kûdrûn Hagen is made a king in Ireland. Again, in the Vitae Duorum Offarum the whole story of Offa and his single combat is transplanted to the English Mercia, the home of the hero's descendants. Yet in the case of Istros' story the requisite evidence seems to be altogether wanting. If the story really comes from local tradition it may very well be due to an imperfect acquaintance with the Homeric poems. But the context, which mentions Hector as well as Paris, suggests rather that Istros was referring not to the story of the Iliad at all but to an early adventure of the two brothers[414]—presumably one of those accretions to the old heroic cycles, for which so many parallels can be found in late Teutonic authorities like Thiðreks Saga af Bern.

The argument relating to the Locrian cult of Alexandra (Cassandra) need scarcely be considered at length; for, however ancient this cult may have been, it was always connected with the sanctuary of Athene at Troy[415]. The cult of Hector at Thebes likewise seems to have been derived from the same quarter, perhaps in comparatively late times[416]. Again, the identification of Andromache's home with Thebes in Phthiotis is admittedly nothing more than a conjecture.

One argument still remains for consideration, namely that the persons brought into contact with Hector come chiefly from the north-eastern parts of Greece and those encountered by Paris chiefly from Thessaly. Now it is to be observed that several of the persons whose names figure in Prof. Bethe's lists (op. cit., p. 670 ff.) are not said to come from Thessaly, Boeotia, etc. in the Iliad itself. That they were derived from this quarter is merely an inference from the fact that other persons belonging to Thessaly, Boeotia, etc. bear the same names. It cannot for a moment be suspected that in V. 705, XV. 547 ff. the poets themselves were thinking of Orestes the son of Agamemnon or of Melanippos the famous Theban hero But surely nothing can be more absurd than the proposition that persons who bear the same name must necessarily be identical in origin. In the Teutonic Heroic Age we know from historical sources of five kings named Theodric, all of whom were living within half a century of one another. Have we any reason for supposing that the ancient Greeks were more careful to avoid the use of names which had already been appropriated?[417]

Again, the lists given by Prof. Bethe contain merely a selection of the warriors encountered by Paris and Hector. The former fights in the Iliad not only with the Thessalian heroes Machaon, Eurypylos and Menesthios, but also with Menelaos from Sparta, Diomedes from Argos and Euchenor from Corinth. Hector's antagonists include, among others, Aias from Salamis, Stichios from Athens, Periphetes from Mycenae, Lycophron from Cythera and Amphimachos from Elis. On the other hand Melanippos is merely one, and by no means the most conspicuous, of the same hero's supporters. Considering the evidence as a whole therefore I fail to see that this argument is worth any more than the others.

It appears then that the evidence adduced in favour of the theory which we are discussing is open to serious objection at every point[418]. But, leaving questions of detail, we have yet to notice that the theory as a whole consists of two main propositions. The first of these is that the warriors of the Iliad are really 'tribal heroes,' i.e. in some sense or other personifications of tribes. In other words the contests described in the poem were originally conflicts of tribes and not of individuals. The second proposition is that these conflicts must have taken place between neighbouring tribes. It will be seen that this proposition depends very largely upon the first. If the conflicts of the Iliad really took place, as the poem states, between individual warriors or bands of soldiers, there is no occasion for supposing that the combatants were necessarily neighbours. As far back as the twelfth and thirteenth centuries Egyptian monuments testify, as we have seen, to enterprises far more distant than the expedition against Troy.

Now the first proposition is of course nothing new in itself. On the contrary, Prof. Bethe's theory is an outgrowth from a view which has been long and widely current—that the conflicts recorded in the Iliad are a reflection of the Aeolic settlement of the Asiatic coast. His purpose has been to show that only a comparatively small portion of the story comes from this source[419], and that the bulk is derived from reminiscences of earlier tribal struggles in Greece, which have become embedded in the story of Troy. The two theories differ very greatly in the explanations which they give of the origin of various incidents and characters. But it is not to be overlooked that the principle of interpretation is the same in both cases.

No one will deny that the personification of tribes and nationalities is to be found in both the poetry and the prose literature of many peoples. In certain passages of the Old Testament this principle of interpretation has been recognised from ancient times. But the authorities in which these passages occur cannot be described as heroic poems. Again Greek literature itself also yields plenty of obvious examples, such as the stories of Hellen and his sons and Danaos, several of which can be traced back to quite early poems. But these poems appear to have been of the Hesiodic, and not of the Homeric school. If we turn to the Teutonic peoples, evidence for such personification is abundant, and some of it belongs to our very earliest records. But, except in genealogical references such as we have dealt with above (p. [267]), examples are not to be found in heroic poetry. The idea that the characters who are brought before us in the poems—let us say Beowulf or Sigurðr or Witege—are themselves personifications of tribes is one which probably no scholar would entertain.

Now in the Homeric poems, as we have them, just as much as in Teutonic heroic poetry, the interest of the poets lies in the fortunes of individual heroes, not in those of the communities to which they belong. Even in those Teutonic stories which have the least claim to be regarded as historical there is no reason for doubting that such was the case from the very beginning. On the other hand the current hypothesis with regard to the origin of the Greek heroic stories postulates what can only be described as a complete revolution in the interests of the poets and their audiences. This however is a postulate which ought not to be accepted, unless decisive evidence is forthcoming in its favour.