Kleos
/ˈkliː.ɒs/noun
In ancient Greek culture, fame or glory won through heroic deeds and preserved through song or memory.
Did you know?For Homeric heroes, kleos was a form of immortality: even without returning home, a warrior could live forever through epic poetry and collective memory.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*ḱlew-
“To hear; to be heard”
Mycenaean Greek, 2nd millennium BCE
Mycenaean Greek
𐀒𐀩𐀄 (ke-re-si-jo-we-ke)
“A debated form possibly connected with later Greek kleos; the evidence is incomplete”
Archaic Greek, c. 8th century BCE
Ancient Greek
κλέος (kléos)
“Fame, renown, especially the glory spoken or sung about a hero”
Classical Greek, 5th–4th centuries BCE
Ancient Greek
κλέος
“Reputation or lasting glory preserved in public memory”
19th–20th centuries
English
kleos
“A scholarly English borrowing used in discussions of Greek epic, heroic honor, and immortal fame”
Modern English
English
kleos
“Enduring heroic renown or legacy, especially as celebrated in story or poetry”