In the "Iliad", Homer portrays the excellence of the physicality and courage of the Greeks and Trojans. In "The Odyssey", Homer accentuates the excellence of the mind, or wit, that was also necessary for winning. Arete is a concomitant of what it meant to be a hero and a component of warfare that was necessary in order to succeed. It is the ability to ""make his hands keep his head" against enemies, monsters, and dangers of all kinds, and to come out victorious."