『일리아스』에서의 칼로스(Kalos)

Abstract

According to Chantraine’s research, Greek word kalos translated as beautiful originally refers to external physical appearance. It means ‘good appearance’(eueidēs, agathon eidos) or ‘nice to look’, especially ‘attractive’ in relation to love and sexuality. In Homer’s Iliad the very first Greek epic, most of all the instances of kalos explicitly refers to physical beauty in an external objective sense. Therefore it is concluded that the concept of kalos in Homer’s Iliad has aesthetical signification in it’s etymological sense, for asithētikos means ‘related to the sense (aisthēsis)’. W. Donlan concluded from these instances that through the archaic period kalos refers to physical beauty only and that from Homer to Pindar kalos gives no indication of having developed social or ethical connotations. But 10 instances at least give an indication of a developing sense. They are related to action, attitude and psychology or mentality. In some cases, they seem to have even a moral and ethical connotation; there is an observable extension of meaning. But this extension is quite different from platonic ascension from sensible beauty to the moral beauty and ultimately to the beauty itself, id est the Idea of Beauty, because all the instances of kalos in Iliad can be understood as or reduced to the kalos’ original meaning ‘visual and sensible attraction’.