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Elu, thanks for the connections to The Odyssey. Are you suggesting that there was a development from a limited view (honor valued over life) to a broader one (life valued over honor)?
I wonder if we're giving "Life" too broad a meaning in some of our examples? The long and short of it is that to value Life over Honor is to say "I'd rather stay alive than be known for ___-heroism, loyalty, fill in the blank-____".
So when we say that Gandalf values Life above Honor, is this what we mean?
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In the Homeric Epics, life means "to live long and healthful, and enjoy it with your family and friends" (as what happens at the end of the Odyseey) as opposed to the Iliad's developing theme of "die in honor fighting for something you believe in". It dosnt have to mean Life as opposed to Death, but Honor in Life as opposed to Memory in Death.(in the Greek sense)
It dosent fit in with LotR exactrly that way, like with what you said about Gandalf. I dont think we can easily argue or believe that Gandalf would want to die (as anobjective, not on impulse like in Moria) and be honored or want to live gloriously like a king.
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Mercedes-amg