When you start reading the Odyssey or the Iliad for the first time, you instantly notice how different everyone’s mindset is from everything we’re used to in the modern world.

In many ways, it feels like coming home. It’s a very healthy system for your sons, and for you as a man. Greek myths and Homer’s drama should be among the top sources of inspiration for raising your kids.

Let me explain what the Homeric Europe mindset is and why it is so special and important. Here’s how everyone in Greek epic legends views the world:

Honor and reputation

People care for their reputation and honor above anything else. This is because honor and reputation affect one’s rebirth and fate in future lives.

This is the deepest layer of any European Pagan religion that many modern pagans are oblivious to.

Nothing matters more than amassing honor and retaliating for the injustices done to you.

Heroism

Heroes are demigods.

They are the lifeblood of the Homeric European societies, and no merchant or craftsman can possibly outshine a hero.

There is no fear of death for a hero because he is reborn instantly.

Heroes break rules, and if they win they are forgiven. Even the Gods have to account for the will of heroes!

Proximity of the Gods

The Gods are everywhere. They take active part in events, they heed to prayers, appear to accept sacrifices, they pick favorites, – and even face the consequences of their own injustice.

Must be terrifying for a new god trying to amass power, but I digress…

Responsibility for everyone

Men, women, Gods, spirits, beasts – everyone faces consequences of their choices and actions.

Consequences come as revenge – the divine law of nature. Revenge is sacred, revenge is justified, understood, and never questioned. Retribution is the ultimate motivation, respected more than any other drive.

I’d go as far as to say that retribution is the fuel for rebirth as well – remember how Vidar and Vali, the Gods of revenge, are the ones that survive Ragnarök in the Northern tradition.

Retribution is more than just petty revenge, it’s the fabric that ties human life together.

Strength and willpower

Physical & spiritual strength as well as unshakeable will are the cornerstones of the Homeric Europe mindset.

Respect and boundaries

Your kin, your property, and your way of life are all sacred.

The world is divided along thousands of lines, and everyone has the right to enforce the boundaries.

Courage to deviate

A hero breaks the mundane, and that is respected too.

A hero will also break the rules and trick to win if he has to. Tricking your enemies means being smart. The Trojan Horse is the most famous deception of that time, and Odysseus is praised endlessly for coming up with it.

A hero will even confront the Gods and their will, thus rising to their level – but also risking it all.

You know the fun saying “Better ask for forgiveness than ask for permission”.

Well, in Homeric mindset, there’s even no need to ask for forgiveness if you win.

And if you lose… well, vae victis, but you’ve become closer to the Gods by trying.

The idea is to keep winning.

No reflections or moralizing

What needs to get done, gets done. No one questions whether defending all that’s yours, avenging for your kin, or securing your victory is good or moral.

No one is asking silly questions. The bog of endless philosophizing comes to Greece later with Plato, and it looks like the start of the decline of the European spirit.

“Are men good? Are the Gods good? Who gave birth to the Gods?”

The correct Homeric answer to these is “who cares”.

If you’re not winning, why do you care?

Compare that with today’s world where any activity gets immediately drowned in disempowering discussions.

Victory is the wisdom

I touched upon it here previously.

Athena is the wisdom of strategic war, the wisdom of victory. If you have won, you have been wise. If you are truly wise, you will win.

Philosophy can hardly fit into this system, because it is based on being wise for the sake of being wise.

In Homeric Europe there is no place for being wise without winning.

Fasting and feasting

The detailed descriptions of who eats what and how, all the feasts where guests are treated generously, the parts where people go to rest, how much they sleep – those are some of my favorite parts in Homer’s tales.

People eat enough and sleep enough. Important conversations and decisions are postponed until everyone is fed and rested enough.

I see a lot of meaning in the fact that these parts are repeated consistently and in detail every time.

This emphasises a healthy, mindful approach to food and rest, something we forget in our modern lives!

While this may seem superficial, you lose a lot of willpower and vitality to sleep deprivation. Just as you do when you only eat dead processed foods and never feel any hunger.

Intoxication with junk food and lack of sleep leads you to decisions and actions you would normally not do.

But it’s been so long since you felt truly normal that you think you feel normal all the time.

Homeric mindset today

The main benefit of adopting and showcasing at least some parts of the Homeric Europe mindset is that you live a fearless and active life.

Indecisiveness, weakness, and excessive reflection are plaguing modern men, and the whole system is designed to promote that.

There can never be too much adoration of strength, wit, and willpower, so make sure Homeric European tales and plots are the cornerstone of your kids’ upbringing.

Be the breath of fresh air for your kids and everyone around you!