Abstract
The paper surveys some aspects of happiness in the Iliad and the Odyssey. Some introductory words on “what people wish for” and on the reunion of the spouses in the Odyssey are followed by a brief survey of the Homeric vocabulary of “happiness” in its subjective and objective aspect, the contrast between immortals and mortals and the insecurity of human happiness are stressed. What human happiness is can be learnt e contrario in the bereavement suffered by the warriors far from home and the loss suffered by parents. Peace, the world of the similes, and especially life in Scheria serve as pointers to the good life. The divinely given distribution of good and evil is at one point important in the Iliad, while the Odyssey, man carries greater responsibility for how he fares. The gaining of heroic glory can be seen as a form of happiness, and it also mitigates the fundamental evil of death.
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