Aristeia

{{Short description|Scene of heroic excellence}} An '''aristeia''' or '''aristia''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|ær|ᵻ|ˈ|s|t|iː|ə}}; {{langx|grc|ἀριστεία}} {{IPA|el|aristěːaː|}}, ''"excellence"'') is a scene in the dramatic conventions of epic poetry as in the ''Iliad'', where a hero in battle has his finest moments (''aristos'' = "best"). ''Aristeia'' may result in the death of the hero, and therefore suggests a "battle in which he reaches his peak as a fighter and hero".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/i/the-iliad/summary-and-analysis/book-v |title=''The Iliad'': Summary and Analysis Book V |last=Linn |first=Bob |date=n.d. |website=Cliff's Notes |access-date=2020-08-05 }}</ref>

==Historical background== In the pre-hoplite phase of Greek military evolution, the well-armed aristocrat was the major focus of military action, placed at the apex of his less well-armed dependants.<ref>J Griffin, ''The Oxford History of the Classical World'' (1991) p. 29</ref> This was reflected in the Homeric division between nobility and commoners,<ref>M I Finley, ''The World of Odysseus'' (Penguin 1967) p. 61 and p. 135-7</ref> and in the regular epic struggles over the armour of the former, once fallen in their aristeia.

Classical hoplite armies, though very different, nevertheless still awarded prizes (aristeia) for individual excellence in action.<ref>D Hamel, ''Athenian Generals'' (1998) p. 64</ref>

==Epic examples== Literally, "moment of excellence", ''aristeiai'' often coincide with battleground slaughter, and feature one warrior who dominates the battle.<ref>{{cite book |last=Willcock |first=M. M. |author-link=Malcolm Willcock| chapter=Battle Scenes in the ''Aeneid'' |url=http://www.jstor.com/stable/44696898 |title=Proceedings of the Cambridge Philological Society |series=New Series No. 29 |date=1983 |volume=29 |issue=209 |location=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=88 }}</ref>

*Aristeiai abound in Homer's ''Iliad'',<ref>{{cite journal |last=Rossman |first=Gabriel |s2cid=64910176 |title=Glory and Gore |journal=Contexts |volume=16 |issue=3 |date=2017 |pages=44 |doi=10.1177/1536504217732052 |jstor=26370536 |doi-access=free }}</ref> the peak being Achilles' ''aristeia'' in Books 20–22 where he almost single-handedly routs the Trojan army and then goes on to kill its champion Hector. Achilles' "extended and phenomenal solo performances in battle"<ref>{{cite book |last=Raaflaub |first=Kurt A. |chapter=Historical Approaches to Homer |title=Ancient Greece: From the Mycenaean Palaces to the Age of Homer |year=2006 |editor1-last=Deger-Jalkotzy |editor1-first=Sigrid|editor-link1=Sigrid Deger-Jalkotzy |editor2-last=Lemos |editor2-first=Irene S. |location=Edinburgh |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |page=457 |isbn=0748618899 }}</ref> are shown in the epic's "longest and most murderous" series of events.<ref name="Homer">{{cite book |author=Homer |date=1990 |title=The Iliad |translator-last=Fagles |translator-first=Robert |location=New York |publisher=Penguin |page=625 }}</ref>{{sfn|Rossman|2017|p=45}} Other instances of this phenomenon in the ''Iliad'' are found in Diomedes' "preeminent deeds" in battle while empowered by Athena (Books 5 and 6, the longest after Achilles' from Book 20–22),<ref name="Homer" /> Hector's leading of the Trojan assault on the Achaian camp in Book 8 (with the help of Zeus), Agamemnon's ''aristeia'' in Book 11 where his rampage prompts Zeus to warn Hector against meeting him in battle,<ref>{{cite journal |last=Rabel |first=Robert J. |s2cid=190876498 |title=Agamemnon's Aristeia: ''Iliad'' 11.101-21 |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/459690 |journal=Syllecta Classica |volume=2 |date=1990 |pages=1–7 |doi=10.1353/syl.1990.0003 |access-date=2020-08-05 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> as well as Patroclus' ''aristeia'' in Book 16, which ultimately leads to his demise at the hands of Hector.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Allan |first=William |title=Arms and the Man: Euphorbus, Hector, and the Death of Patroclus |journal=The Classical Quarterly |volume=55 |issue=1 |date=May 2005 |pages=1–16 |doi=10.1093/cq/bmi001 |jstor=3556236 }}</ref> Book 16 illustrates how ''aristeiai'' often fit into the "epic overextension"<ref>{{cite journal |last=Raaflaub |first=Kurt A. |title=Homeric Warriors and Battles: Trying to Resolve Old Problems |url=http://www.jstor.com/stable/25471969 |journal=The Classical World |volume=101 |issue=4 |date=2008 |page=469 |doi=10.1353/clw.0.0015 |s2cid=161299924 |access-date=2020-08-05 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> of battles: the arming of the warriors, the march into battle, the initial clash, the intense exchanges, and the retreat of one of the armies—often leading to a hero's opportunity for his ''aristeia''.{{sfn|Raaflaub|2008|pp=476–77, 481}}

*In Book 22 of the ''Odyssey'', Greek hero Odysseus slaughters all of the suitors in his palace in another homeric display of martial excellence. ''Aristeia'' also suggests the qualities of the hero that make his great deeds possible, such as Odysseus' ''polymetis'' ("cunning intelligence") that allows him to triumph over the Cyclops Polyphemus in Book 9 of the ''Odyssey''.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Friedrich |first=Rainer |title=Heroic Man and ''Polymetis'': Odysseus in the ''Cyclopeia'' |url=https://www.proquest.com/openview/a421e0281213ce4fd39c8a79d82874ad/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=1819401 |journal=Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies |volume=28 |issue=2 |date=1987 |page=121 |access-date=2020-08-05 }}</ref>

*''Aristeia'' is also seen, to some extent, in the ''Aeneid'', when Nisus and Euryalus leave the Trojan defences in Book 9 to slaughter the Latin captains while they sleep.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Makowski |first=John F. |title=Nisus and Euryalus: A Platonic Relationship |url=http://www.jstor.com/stable/3297483 |journal=The Classical Journal |volume=85 |issue=1 |date=1989 |pages=3, 10–13 }}</ref> It also features in Book 10, when Mezentius takes the place of Turnus and strikes down all in his path:{{sfn|Willcock|1983|p=97}} it draws upon Homeric models, using a simile. Camilla also has an ''aristeia'' in Book 11 killing twelve opponents, but ends with her death.{{sfn|Willcock|1983|p=91}}

*In Paradise Lost, Books V and VI see the most individual moments of battlefield domination (aristeia), associated with (for example) the figure of Abdiel.<ref>M Kean ed, ''John Milton’s Paradise Lost'' (2005) p. 9</ref>

==Recent examples== In the film ''300'', individual Spartan deaths are often portrayed as a Homeric aristeia.<ref>D Lowe, ''Classics for All'' (2009) p. 65</ref>

==References== {{reflist|40em}}

==External links== * [http://greekmythcomix.com/comic/aristeia/ Aristeia] A comic-strip explanation of the formula of an Aristeia by [http://greekmythcomix.com Greek Myth Comix] * [http://greekmythcomix.com/comic/arming-formula/ Arming formula] A comic-strip explanation of the arming sequence that tales place at the beginning of an Aristeia by [http://greekmythcomix.com Greek Myth Comix]

Category:Ancient Greek theatre Category:Narratology