Aristeia

Aristeia is Ancient Greek, literally: "A warrior's prowess; excellence."

In the dramatic conventions of such works as the Iliad, this is a scene in which a hero in battle has her or his finest moments ("aristos" = best). It is usually associated with men but can be expanded also to encompass women (as in the case of Andromache). In the latter case the "aristeia" is of a different sort, grief. Such is the high quality of the hero's offensive, an Aristeia scene usually results in the death of all those standing in his way.The elements of the scene and the order in which they appear in the "Iliad" are:

# Arming scene
# Brilliance of armor/hero
# Exhortation to followers
# Initial exploit
# Setback (wounding)
# Divine inspiration
# Renewed exploits
# Double simile
# The kill
# Taunting the victim

One of the most epic examples of "aristeia" is in Book 21 of the Iliad when Achilles almost single handedly routs the Trojan army. This includes his chase of Hector around Troy; Achilles eventually succeeds in killing him and dragging his corpse around the city.cite book | title= The Iliad | first=Homer |url=http://classics.mit.edu/Homer/iliad.21.xxi.html |chapter=Book XXI Also in the Iliad, another instance of this phenomenon can be found in Diomedes' outstanding performance in battle, empowered by Athena (book 5) as well as Patroklos' aristeia of book 16, which ultimately leads to his demise. In Book 22 of Odyssey, the Greek hero Odysseus slaughters all of the suitors in his palace in another homeric display of martial excellence.

See also

Arete (excellence)