descent from heroes and were proud to hear of their prowess,” C.M. Bowra believes that it should be treated for what it is, as an “artistic resurrection of the past.” 90 On the other hand, it does not need to be historically correct, as even if the depictions are not true, it sets the template for which representations of heroes in other works of literature and culture can be measured against. Some of the descriptions in Homer’s Iliad do more than accentuate the strength of a character. Hector, for example, is more than a hero to the reader because of the scene with his wife and son which shows us “the cause for which he is fighting and makes us feel for him throughout the story as typ ically human as well as heroic.” 91 Although he does have heroic qualities, there is more to him than simple strength and honour, and the humanity which is represented gives him more depth than other characters. Being a hero is more than being strong and brave and winning battles. Homer develops this idea through some of his characters like Hector, but also sets a basis for other writers and film-makers through generations to work from, in regards to the hero. Homer can be attributed to creating a template from which writers, artists and film-makers have since used in their works. This Homeric tradition of the hero, especially heroism in wars, can be seen, for example, in works by artist Jacques- Louis David. David’s life “coincides with the most tumultuous pe riod of history that France and the Western world had yet experienced.” 92 He therefore had a lot of events to capture in his work. He was also “recognized as the artist whose works best captured the ideals of the Revolution.” 93 By using his art to show events of the time, he allows historians today to have 90 C.M. Bowra, Homer , p. 94; p. 80 91 W.A. Camps, An Introduction to Homer , p. 27 92 Warren Roberts, Jacques-Louis David, Revolutionary Artist: Art, Politics, and the French Revolution (Chapel Hill: The University of North Caroline Press, 1989), p. 3 93 Roberts, Jacques-Louis David , p. 5
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