Abstract
The topic of piracy has been long debated by both Greek and modern readers of Homer. The scenes involving piratical acts, with only a few notable instances, seem to have little to no negative judgment on the pirates. This paper examines the scenes that involve piracy and address the reasons for the attitudes toward the pirates. Their actions and those of the Homeric heroes are often similar. Though the terms for pirates are not associated with heroes, the similarity in their behavior can allow us to interpret some of the actions of the Homeric heroes as also being piratical. The judgement of piracy within the epics should be understood primarily in terms of the targets of the raids, and not a judgment on the raiding itself. By examining when there seems to be a condemnation of piracy and who is being attacked at that time, a hierarchy of relationships is able to be made. This hierarchy helps us to understand how a Homeric warrior is expected to interact with those around him, and how he is able to treat people differently depending on what level of relationship he shares with them. This paper displays the categories of relationships and provides the scenes which reveal the conduct that is expected of the hero towards each group. The hierarchy of relationships is primarily focused on the topics of violence and acquisition of beauty, but is also able to illuminate additional interactions in which the relationship of the Homeric characters can be understood.