Quick answer: In the ancient world, honour was not a feeling or a title you gave yourself. It was won in battle and held in the eyes of others. Five stories show its faces: Hector's shame before his own people, the Spartan shield that guarded the man beside you, Horatius holding a bridge alone, Regulus keeping his oath to the death, and Achilles choosing undying glory. HONOR is the third word of our collection CVLTVS HONOR VIRTVS.
Hector: honour is what you owe those who watch you
In Book VI of Homer's Iliad, Hector's wife Andromache begs him to stay behind the walls of Troy. He refuses. In our rendering of the Greek: "I would feel deep shame before the men of Troy if I hung back from battle like a coward. I learned to fight among the foremost" (Iliad VI.441–446).
For Hector, honour was bound to the people who depended on him. Hanging back would betray them.
Sparta: with your shield, or on it
Plutarch records the words of a Spartan mother as she handed her son his shield: "Either this or upon this" (Sayings of Spartan Women, 241F). Come home carrying your shield, or be carried home on it.
A hoplite who ran would drop his heavy shield to move faster. But in the battle line the shield also covered the man beside him. To drop it was to save yourself at your brother's cost.
Horatius: one man at the bridge
Livy tells how the Etruscan army stormed toward Rome and the Roman soldiers fled (History of Rome II.10). Horatius Cocles ordered the Sublician bridge cut down behind him and held its far end almost alone. As the last timbers fell, he leapt into the Tiber in full armour and swam back to Rome.
Rome gave him a statue in the Comitium and as much land as he could plough around in a single day.
Regulus: honour is your word, kept to the end
Marcus Atilius Regulus, a Roman consul, was captured by Carthage. The Carthaginians sent him to Rome on his oath to return if a prisoner exchange failed. In the Senate he argued against the exchange. Then he went back to Carthage as he had sworn, knowing he would be put to death.
Cicero tells the story in De Officiis (III.99–100): Regulus "thought his oath must be sacredly kept". For Romans this was the hardest honour of all: faith kept even with an enemy.
Achilles: glory that never dies
In Book IX of the Iliad, Achilles explains the choice his divine mother set before him. He could go home and live a long life, forgotten. Or he could stay at Troy, die young, and win kleos aphthiton: glory that never dies (Iliad IX.413). He chose to stay.
The body falls. The name stands. Nearly three thousand years later, we still know his.
What these stories share
Shame before your own. A shield for the man beside you. A bridge held alone. An oath kept to the end. Honour is what keeps you in the line when you could run.
We carry it in one Latin motto: VIS ET HONOR. Strength and honour.
HONOR in CVLTVS HONOR VIRTVS
The collection's name is a sequence. CVLTVS is what you tend every day. VIRTVS is the courage that daily work builds. HONOR is what virtue earns, in front of others, under pressure.
The collection is designed by Raf The Might, artist for Slayer, Behemoth, Ozzy Osbourne and Lamb of God. The design is revealed on Friday 6 November. It launches at Iron Imperium Fest II on Saturday 14 November at The Dev, Camden, London. Entry is free.
Frequently asked questions
What did honour mean to ancient warriors? Honour was won through deeds in battle and recognised by others. It meant holding your place, protecting those beside you and keeping your word.
What does "with your shield or on it" mean? A Spartan mother's farewell recorded by Plutarch: come home victorious with your shield, or carried dead upon it. Never come home without it.
Who was Horatius at the bridge? A Roman soldier who, according to Livy, held the Sublician bridge against the Etruscan army while it was cut down behind him, then swam the Tiber in armour.
Why is Regulus a symbol of honour? Captured by Carthage and released on oath, he advised Rome to refuse the enemy's terms and then returned to Carthage to face death, keeping his word.
What does kleos aphthiton mean? Greek for "glory that never dies". Achilles uses the phrase in the Iliad (IX.413) for the fame he will win by dying young at Troy.
Sources
- Homer, Iliad VI.441–446 and IX.413
- Plutarch, Sayings of Spartan Women 241F: LacusCurtius
- Livy, History of Rome II.10 (Horatius Cocles): Livius.org
- Cicero, De Officiis III.99–100 (Regulus): LacusCurtius
