Some Thoughts about the Origins of ``Greek Ethics''

Abstract

In this paper, I argue that several of the main issues that became a focus for classical Greek philosophy were initially framed by Homer. In particular, Homer identifies a tension between justice and individual excellence, and problematizes the connection between the heroic conception of excellence and ``eudaimonia'' (happiness). The later philosophers address the problems raised in Homer by profoundly transforming the way each of these terms was to be conceived.