Kleos (Greek: κλέος) is the Greek word that is usually translated as "renown", "glory" or "fame". It relates to the word (κλέω) "to celebrate, to praise" and implies "what others hear about one". Greek heroes got kleos through to accomplish great feats of combat or, often, through their own death.
The Kleos is always transferred from father to son. This one is responsible for the use of the glory of the father and, in turn, of the construction of his on the inherited fame. This is why Penelope postpones the engagement with her suitors for so long.
The theme of the Kleos is recurrent in Homeric texts. A clear example of this is given in Odyssey. Telemachus worries that his father, Ulysses, has died at sea and not the battlefield, since that way his Kleos would be liquefied. In Iliad, on the other hand, tells how the various heroes win Kleos on the battlefield.
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