Paradigmi epici, ovvero della volontà degli eroi

Heroes are the first paradeigmata for everyone, even for philosophers. Their most important virtue is tlemosyne, i.e. the ability to choose and resist in the face of dan- gers and di iculties. But the will has some more problems. Heroes have to deal with the gods and with Fate, that is, with the Moirai and their own destiny. Heracles, the greatest of all heroes, performs the well known labours in the service of Eurystheus, by the will of the gods. Aegisthus, Clytemestra’s lover and Agamemnon’s killer, is the negative model: he indeed chose what he wanted, but then he becomes the model of hybris. Agamemnon is the commander-in-chief of the Achaeans. But in the events of the war, he reveals all his errors of inadequate will. Achilles, the strongest warrior of the Trojan War, chooses between life and death and then regrets his choice when it is too late. Odysseus, the hero of metis, is perhaps the only one who knows how to choose the paths of the will. Certainly, with many risks and su ering. But this is the virtue of tlemosyne.

La concezione di ‘volontà’ nel mondo dell’epica greca arcaica. Al riguardo è in evidenza la τλημοσύνη, vale a dire la capacità non solo di ‘scegliere’, ma soprattutto di mantener salda la scelta effettuata e di resistere di fronte alle avversità, quand’anche fosse il destino a disporle. Ci vuole intelligenza in ciò (lo attesta Ulisse) e occorre evitare di cadere nell’eccesso di ὕβρις. È un percorso che conduce a prefigurare la volontà dell’eroe in un modo che sembra anticipare la visione stoica della vita umana.