Traits Most Admired by the Ancient Greeks

Characters such as Achilles and Odysseus were the most highly regarded of heroes. The Greeks admired many characteristics in the characters and heroes of their mythology, but the ones most admired by them were strength, cunning and beauty. The gods and goddesses of Mt. Olympus embodied all these traits and characteristics most revered by the Greeks.

Strength in battle was greatly admired by the ancient Greeks. The strongest warriors were a favorite topic of myths. The gods of their myths are known for their vast strength and are often depicted with large muscles and a weapon and armor showing the Greeks great love of strength.

Even the King of Troy, Priam says to Achilles, “Great godlike Achilles” after he defeats the greatest warrior of Troy, Hector. This shows that Achilles was such a great warrior that he was considered to be at a godlike level of strength, And the Iliad was a favorite story to Greece; therefore strength must be a admired trait to them.

Cleverness was a favorite trait of the Greeks as well. In many of their stories the hero would have to figure out a clever way to achieve their adjective, for example Odysseus was a beloved hero who was known for his cunning along with being a great warrior. He gained this reputation after he penetrated the Trojan defenses, which were said to be unbreakable, by coming up with the clever plan of building a large wooden horse to give them as a gift, and filled it with is men.

His cleverness is what made him famous and that is because it was a trait the Greeks held to the highest honor.

Beauty was very important to the Greeks. From their stories to their religions and even their art it is apparent that beauty was a highly regarded trait to have. All the goddesses were known for being perfect and having unsurpassed beauty. Even in the Iliad character Helen of Troy is known as “The face that launched a thousand ships”, which is saying that her beauty was so great it started the Trojan War. The Greeks clearly thought of beauty as a great source of power and a great trait to have.

Traits such as cleverness, strength and beauty were all highly admired by the Greeks and was constantly shown in their myths and art. And such traits were embodied in their gods and heroes to show the people of the time what to stride for, so these characteristics must have been very important to their society.