Signs of Hero Cult in Homeric Poetry by Gregory Nagy

This essay centers on the ancient Greek practice of worshipping heroes in the context of hero cults. The question to be addressed here is whether this practice was as yet current in the era when Homeric poetry took shape, and whether we may expect any signs of hero cult in this poetry. Concentrating on Homeric references to ritual honors received by heroes, I argue that such references are in fact signs of hero cult. Among these signs, as we will see, are references to the prospect of heroic immortalization after death, which is a primary theme of hero cult. The main point of my argument, as we will also see, is that these signs are integrated into the overall structure of both the Iliad and the Odyssey.

 Signs of Hero Cult in Homeric Poetry by Gregory Nagy