The Ancient Hero and the Apollonian Measure

Abstract

The paper analyzes the connection between Homer’s heroes from the Iliad and the Apollonian measure. Heroes embody celebratory love and courage; thus Achilles chooses to die young on the battlefield in order to gain immortality. It is sometimes more important for a hero to die young than to have his body decay in old age. In addition to courage, the hero also carries a tragic fate, because almost all Homer’s heroes suffer and are aware of their mortality. It is thanks to the awareness of transience that they perform
“immortal deeds” on the battlefield, facing their own tragic fate. Although the heroes are beautiful and strong, and thus fit into the Apollonian measure, they still express fragility, suffering and mortality. Through hubris – excessive self-confidence and overpowering – they exceed the Apollonian measure, violate it, which is why they are often punished by the gods. However, it is precisely through punishment and tragic fate, at the moment when the Apollonian measure is violated, that the cosmic balance is reestablished. The paper applies the intermedial comparative method to highlight the similarities and differences between the plastic arts – sculpture and the temporal arts – poetry, in order to illuminate the principles of the Apollonian measure that are reflected both in the content and in the form of the work of art.