The phrase is derived from the sixth book of
Homer's
Iliad, in which it is used in a speech
Glaucus delivers to
Diomedes. During a battle between the
Greeks and
Trojans, Diomedes is impressed by the bravery of a mysterious young man and demands to know his identity. Glaucus replies: "Hippolochus begat me. I claim to be his son, and he sent me to
Troy with strict instructions:
Ever to excel, to do better than others, and to bring glory to your forebears, who indeed were very great ... This is my ancestry; this is the blood I am proud to inherit." ==Usage as a motto==