Human Excellence: Iliad, Genesis and Meno

Human Excellence: Iliad, Genesis and Meno

The concept of the 'perfect' man or woman has always existed throughout the history of humankind. In the three classical texts of the Iliad, Genesis and Meno, there are portrayals of the ideal human qualities, as reflections on their specific culture and times. It would be of great interest to examine what exactly these qualities are, and in what respects they differ or are similar. If there is a single concept of human perfection then there must be a definite set of qualities which define it. It is the goal of this paper to discover whether such an ideal exists, and if it does, then to ultimately reveal what constitutes it.
But how can we tell in each of these texts what is held as the human ideal? In the case of the Iliad it is that which is portrayed as glorius and magnificent, such as a victory scene after battle, or a warrior gloating over the body of his fallen opponent. In Meno it is whatever Socrates and Meno agree to be ...