A friend was to be respected at all costs, "the respect one held for a friend was considered equal to the reverence one showed for the gods. By the law of fifth century Athens, if one was wronged by an enemy, vengeance or revenge taken against them was one's right. In the same way, a good deed had to be repaid by an equally good deed or better one" (UM 2002). Furthermore, in the Greek heroic conduct there is "the importance of each character's phusis - his nature" (UM 2002). The significance of phusis is quite important because it is the source of his decision "which springs from the deepest layer of his individual nature" (UM 2002). And, the hero "who acts according the moral code of philia is staying true to his phusis, his inner nature- (UM 2002). The moral code of philia states that "a man is his own best friend and he owes philia to himself just as he does to others" (UM 2002). There appears to be an ambiguity, on the one hand, the hero must put other's first, and put himself first as well, on the other hand. Yet, what is important is that somewhere, in an obscure place the ideals are to be found, in each person's phusis, however, they are to be tested by life governed by philia. The conflict does not make living easy and serves personal development, at the same time promulgating conscious changes of character. .
However, this condition, where the hero and his heroic conduct change seems to be forsaken for the emphasis of heroic epic as a demonstration of physical strength and raw courage. .
Long after the splendor of Greek culture, the earliest heroic tradition in English literature evolved from the pagan tradition. The pagan tradition "stressed the necessity of endurance in the face of adversity and the importance of the deeds of courage performed by individual warriors in the world ruled by inexorable "Wyrd"" (Mazur and Bela 1997:2). The emphasis falls on stern endurance and raw courage in the face of crushing fate, hardly with any mentioning of where the ideals arise from.
