Homer is a classic author known for both The Iliad and The Odyssey. The texts present themes that I claim can be seemingly universal in understanding. I wished to test this out by relaying a scene of The Iliad to a few family and friends. I hypothesized that they will be able to relate and understand the motivations of the characters that are portrayed in the epic. However, I believed that some questions regarding the culture of the characters will arise. I will explore this concept by first giving more background on The Iliad, specifically the passage I shared, and then explain the process in which I went about gathering responses, and then relay the reactions. I used the reactions gathered to try to predict my birth culture’s reaction to …show more content…
I had predicted that they might have questions regarding the culture, or surrounding the idea that Andromache would become a slave if Troy fell. After asking the participants for questions, I then had them convey to me their interpretations of the scene. I then went on to explain my interpretation to open further discussion. Now that I have explained the process I went into; I will relay what I experienced when sharing The Iliad with my birth …show more content…
As Americans, they would understand the militaristic culture presented in The Iliad. They would not understand the idea of elite going to the front lines however. One participant noted that it made no sense for the elite to fight in the front lines because if they are serving their country why put the lives of those who lead us as a nation in danger. Another argument would be that the people in the back like the generals earned being away from the front line. This is just a different way of viewing the wealthy and affluential’s role and responsibility regarding the lives of the people and the military. The overall importance of understanding the motivations in The Iliad and trying to have them understood across different cultures is to better understand our own motivations when it comes to going to war. It is also interesting to share the stories of The Iliad to see what can be universally understood without any context and what still needs context to be understood. I also find it interesting to learn of people’s pre-conceived notions about the book and how their perceptions change after further discussing certain scenes, like the scene with Andromache and
The cyclical nature of Homer’s The Iliad not only implies repetition in plot developments, but thematic resonance as well. Throughout the play, it appears as though the various battles are very similar in causation and motivation. Although the Achaeans and the Trojans are rivals in the war, their reasons for fighting are almost identical. Despite the incredible losses on both sides, the armies still stay in battle for the same incentives; it seems they believe that fighting for honour, love, and beauty is worth the lives they have lost and will continue to lose. The war is constantly on the verge of becoming meaningless but they stay for these reasons. The poem establishes meaning through reoccurring scenarios. The Iliad serves to suggest that there are some causes that justify dying, and that we may be
The Iliad is a story of a war waged thousands of years ago, yet it is still remembered today. It is a tragedy and an epic, a window to the world of Ancient Greece through a man who experienced that world and their legends first hand. Although it sometimes contains too much detail to comprehend or absorb in one or two readings, it brings across its themes and topics very strongly. Homer’s The Iliad is truly a masterpiece on many levels.
Thucydides and Homer, though they lived a relatively short 300 years apart, wrote about very different Greek cultures. While the Greeks who Homer wrote about in The Iliad were, in many respects, dissimilar to the Greeks in Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War, this stands in marked contrast to the profound similarities that exist between contemporary cultures and those that Thucydides wrote of. There are, however, similarities between modern cultures and those in Homer’s writing, as well as differences between modern ones and those in Thucydides’ writing. Thucydides’ history is, therefore, a relational bridge between the cultures of ancient Greece and modern ones.
It is important to note that the Iliad is originally a poem told by many bards and storytellers; by using similes, Homer compliments the spoken word of the Iliad with a visual component. In certain scenes, Homer utilizes similes in the Greeks’ favor, elevating their battle prowess in comparison to the Trojans. Presented to a primarily Greek audience, Homer’s particularity in bolstering the Greek army plays to the bias of the audience––augmenting the atmosphere of the crowd. The implementation of similes throughout the epic is vital to the poem as it provides the Greek audience with a brief respite from the practically nonstop gore of
The honor and glory of an individual was gained through the respect and influence he commanded as well. Honor and glory were important to the ancient Greeks because their social status was not fixed. The positions of power in the Illiad were not easily inherited, most gained their social position through honorable and respected actions. This mobility in Greeks culture inspired a cooperative attitude between their local leaders and their followers. The leaders of the Greeks required voluntary cooperation of the people below them, and they only achieved that with respect and honor. For example, This quality allowed Achilles to disobey Agamemnon and refuse to fight when Agamemnon dishonors him by taking his prize. Many of the strategic decisions that were made for the army throughout the Iliad were reviewed by a group of respected fighters and elders, even though Agamemnon was considered one of the main leaders.
While reading the Iliad, there were several instances, I noticed, in which Homer, the author, chose to word certain ideas and events in a very specific way. Throughout the poem, my belief that this way of storytelling was not just coincidental only grew stronger. Homer was trying to tell us something. War is not something to be glorified and should not be approved of by anyone.
The Iliad, translated by Robert Fagles, is the bloody story of the clash between the Trojans and the Achaeans. The epic poem narrates the brutal war as a test of heroism and manliness. Pride and misunderstanding are woven into the battle like the threads of a macabre tapestry. In the story of the Iliad, it seems that human beings are cruelly slaughtered for the sake of gore and glory. Fagles describes the senseless slaughter after a long battle in book four, line 629, “That day ranks of Trojans, ranks of Achaeans fighters sprawled there side by side, facedown in the dust.” Both the Achaeans and the Trojans suffered immensely. Could there be found, in the midst of such carnage, an integral key to the meaning of the Iliad? Some of the most brutal and heart wrenching scenes of Homer’s epic poem are essential to understand the darker side of human nature and Greek culture. In the Iliad, Poseidon chastises crying boys, an example of the
The brutal war between the Achaean and Trojan armies and the consequences of these battles are vividly depicted by Homer in The Iliad. Although the author crafted this story during a period of complex civilization, Homer’s descriptions give insight into just how primitive the people of his time still remained. Fire, one of society’s earliest tools, is an image that is used to portray the perpetual rage of various characters that drives the action of the story forward. Besides the metaphorical use of fire, it is also appears materially, and its frequent appearance throughout the story communicates the underlying concern with control and power that Homerian characters struggle to claim for themselves and their people.
Greek mythology deals significantly with culture and its factors, as they describe the societies and the people inhabiting it by depicting their everyday life and the state of their land. Both Hephaestus, in Homer’s Iliad, and Odysseus, in Homer’s The Odyssey, set out to portray the cultures that they saw, yet the cultures and societies varied greatly, from Hephaestus illustrating the highly developed societies of the Greek and their culture; while on the other hand, Odysseus seems baffled by how underdeveloped the Cyclopes land and culture is. Hephaestus and Odysseus seem to have the same understanding what is normal of a culture, society, and their factors; however, there are noteworthy variations between their accounts.
Since the beginning of time there have always been great heroes in many different societies throughout the world. Heroes have many great qualities and characteristics about them that make the hero unique. Heroes stand out in society though there actions, abilities, and intellectual superiority. In literature, many characters possess these great skills. Many characters in stories want glory, fame, and ultimately to be remembered. These characters are attention grabbers to a reader. It makes the reader curious and wondering whether that character will succeed or fail. In the Iliad, such characters are seen in the story as the heroes or men of action. The Iliad is a work of literature about the war between the
Many diverse cultures are found in every corner of the world. Every culture is defined by its traditions and values. The film “The Odyssey,” depicts the culture of the ancient Greeks where it illustrates the life of a man, Odysseus, who has gone on a journey just to get back to his kingdom. Many values and traditions could be identified through the path of the journey. Some elements that are found important to the Greeks are the music, the religion, and the duty to the kingdom.
The work of Homer was very important to the Greek Civilization; it gave the Greek a structure of personality to follow. It is assure that The Iliad’s roots reach far back before Homer’s time. Homer focused several characteristics of how their ancestors behaved and such behavior was to be passed on to the new generations. In The Iliad, Homer emphasized the role of the gods in the daily events, and how every happening was based of the desires of the gods. Homer also focused on the warrior characteristics, not just of the Argives, but also of the Trojans and how they were ought to be brave, courageous and show fearlessness in the face of the enemy.
For many people nowadays, life in ancient civilizations could be described in just three words— violent, unfair, and intriguing. Constant wars, brutal betrayals, and the never-ending drama surrounding the throne, still remain a crucial part of the ancient history as it is known today. Myths, fables, and other works of literature have been passed on through many generations; and while certain changes and additions to these works have occurred during these years, the messages remain largely unchanged. One of the greatest works of literature of all time remain to be Homer’s Iliad. This ancient Greek epic integrates all the aspects of the Greek society and its moral values into the vivid and intriguing plot. When reading the Iliad closely and focusing
In the first stanza of Homer’s The Odyssey we travel back to the old world of ancient Greece. Although the era of ancient Greece is no longer alive, we are still able to access their lost world though the surviving literature which stands today. From the tale of Odysseus, king of Ithaca, we can uncover aspects of their social and religious values. Within only the first stanza, we can determine Homer’s world was warrior oriented, but also sought intelligence in leaders. Though Odysseus’s dialog, we discover religious practices in appeasing the gods. In only a few lines we see what his society considered to be the highest form of praise. Through the poem Homer has left us, we can hear the forgotten song of ancient Greece.
The Iliad is still a relevant piece of literature because the themes of the Iliad can still be applied to our current lives, therefore readers can learn valuable lessons from the choices or mistakes of the characters. Much of the the Iliad involves Trojans and Greeks fighting a war over a dispute that originated between Paris and Menelaus. For most of the fighters, the dispute was impersonal, however they fought because they had previously sworn an oath to go into battle for their leaders, if war should happen. This is relevant to today’s time because when conflicts between nations occur people are called to fight a war for their country out of loyalty, although the conflicts do not personally involve them. The Iliad exemplifies how deep loyalty