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Homer's iliad and odyssey religion
Homer's iliad and odyssey religion
Role of religion in the iliad
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Homers “Iliad is a war poem thoroughly permeated with religious elements, from sacred institutions to divinely decreed fate to heightened experiences of battle figured as divine engagements.”(Kitts 231). The Iliad has been historically remembered over past centuries and has influenced the religious viewpoints of many. It’s important to know “that Homer was aware of past religious tradition and secondly that the majority of the members of his Olympian family possessed familiar cult names.”(Dietrich 137). This shows that ideas within the Iliad are greatly tied to beliefs of religion, beliefs that were passed down between centuries. Now “[f]rom an internal perspective, the Iliad is overwhelmingly religious. It is constructed around institutions supported by gods, the actions, personalities, and …show more content…
The fate several mortals face within the Iliad comes from the decision of the gods of Olympus. The final decision of many mortals always lies with Zeus. Even though discussions take place with all the gods deciding the outcomes of mortal’s lives, Zeus must always have the final say. It’s greatly seen throughout the Iliad that the “the constraints of fate and the unsurpassable will of Zeus pervade nearly every critical juncture of the action.” (Kitts 227). We see Zeus as a powerful immortal being in the Iliad when the god Hephaestus begs his mother Lady Hera not to further anger Zeus. Hephaestus explains to his mother that “[t]he Olympian can be rough. Once before when I tried to rescue you [h]e flipped me by foot off our balcony. I fell all day and came down when the sun did [o]n the island of Lemnos scarcely alive.” (Iliad, I, 619-625). Through this unimaginable power, Zeus is able to have control over all mortals and install fear into his fellow immortals. It has been demonstrated through the Iliad that the powerful Zeus and his immortals corrupt the notion of human free will and turn it into an
There are many lessons that can be learned from reading Homer's The Iliad. One of which is understanding the stages of grief. One can literally watch Achilles go through all five stages when he morns the death of his comrade Patroclus. Achilles moves through Denial and Isolation, Depression, Anger, Bargaining and Acceptance in the short time after his close friends death.
At first glance, The Iliad and The Tales of the Heike may appear to be vastly different. What could they possibly have in common? After all, one is Greek and the other Japanese which makes them extremely dissimilar to begin with due to the differences in culture, cuisine, and language. Regardless, there are still a surprising amount of parallels that can be drawn between the two texts. These features include that they share a lesson, the similarities of the characters, and that both contain an epic battle between groups of warriors.
Situational depression is common among teenagers, very few are diagnose with clinical depression. Situational depression is exactly how it sounds, the person is unhappy with there surroundings which can sometimes lead to depression. Then there is clinical depression where the chemical, neurotransmitter, in the brain is imbalanced and if not treated correctly could lead to suicide and away to avoid that is to talk to a psychiatrist and get some medicine. Some school have there students read the famous poem, The Iliad by Homer. The Iliad is most commonly sorted into a war and mythology genre. It can be taken as a way to deal with grief. Has anyone ever looked deeper into the moral of the story and seen an analogy for teenagers and adult gong
Man's bind with fate is not straight-forward according to Homer. Though destiny is never overridden in the poem, it is tempted many times, either by the gods wishing to intervene on behalf of their favorite mortals, or by man himself. Zeus contemplates tempting fate when the predestined death of his son Sarpedon arrives at the hands of Patroclus. Zeus mourns the "cruel fate" and laments, "My heart is torn in two....Shall I pluck him up, now, while he is still alive...? Or beat him down at Patroclus' hands at last?" (bk.16, ln.514-21). Because of the protestations of Hera, Zeus bows to the...
The battle between a film, and a story will forever be discussed through society. Does Hollywood create a better story line full of drama and action? Or did the author create a great enough story for a movie on their own. One example of this issue shows when comparing The Iliad written by Homer, and the 2004 film Troy. Although the movie strays from the ancient story, it is up to the audience to decide which they prefer more.
However, because they sometimes know what fate has ordained, the gods have the ability to manipulate it, or use it for their own purposes. For example, Athena (as instructed by Hera) does not want Achilles to kill Agamemnon (1.220-230). Instead, she gives him instructions to back out of the war, tantalizing him with the promise of even greater riches (1.242-252). As Margo Kitts says in What’s Religious about the Iliad, “We, the audience, know the cruelty in her promise of three times the riches to come, given the sacrifice of Patroklos which ultimately will impel Achilles to fight, win those riches, and then face death” (228). Athena gets what she wants (Agamemnon alive and the fall of the Trojans at the hand of Achilles ), but the humans pay the price. However, even though the gods may be able to make use of fate to meet their desires, they cannot overrule it. This is clear when Zeus watches Sarpedon die, because it is fated to happen. Although he would prefer to save his son, in order to “avoid disturbing fate and unleashing a clash of meddling parent-gods, [Zeus] must settle for spiriting away the corpse and weeping down divine tears of blood” (Kitts 227). These limitations are similar to those that keep humans from changing fate. While mortal man may know what fate has ordained (through prophecy or revelation, perhaps), he cannot change it. He may, however, use it to his advantage. For
Homer clearly and precisely depicts the religion and the ethics of the Achian and Trojan societies in The Iliad. During the time of the Trojan war, religion played an important role in the societies. Sacrifice, prayer, and rituals were all equally significant, and the superiority of the gods and the fates above humans was a standard of society. The gods were sacred deities to whom one had to bestow honor and respect. Within the society, honor, glory, and fame were desperately sought by warriors striving to achieve enduring notoriety. One's word represented a considerable commitment to be acted upon. Religion and ethics are prominently displayed in the characters throughout The Iliad due to their importance in Greek and Trojan society.
Anger, the emotional response related to one’s psychological interpretation of having been threatened. Bloodlust is the uncontrollable desire to kill or maim others. The loss of self-control is the failure to keep one’s emotions, behavior, and desire in order. Revenge is a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. All these are characteristic themes that can be found all throughout the Iliad. They are all wrapped up into one aspect that every character in the epic poem The Iliad prizes, Honor. Honor is the driving force behind the Trojan War, because Menelaus’ wife, Helen, was stolen by the Trojan Prince, Paris. Since Menelaus’ honor was violated by this act of treason, it must be restored
Humans, and sometimes immortals, blame gods for the ill fate of men until kleos is introduced to be a factor in the direction of fate, which leads to the realization by some that the individual’s intentions cause fate when given the ability to make their own choices.
Homer’s The Iliad, heroism and glorification of war with masculine ideals for both the Achaians and the Trojans.
The Iliad is probably one of the most famous stories of all time, this means that when going in to reading it I was expecting a lot. It honestly didn't live up to my expectations, it doesn't even include the conclusion of the Trojan War, or Achilles death. However it does resolve all of the conflicts contained within it, it doesn't give you the two most famous conclusions in history. It brings Achilles back into the battle and eliminates the bad blood between him and King Agamemnon. It doesn't end up being the story of the Trojan War and the death of Achilles, it shows you his faults and what he truly was.
The nature of fate in The Aeneid, an epic poem by Virgil, operates in two ways. One way it operates is as a governor, the other is as a motivator. Fate acts as a governor or ruler when it is prophesied to tell people what the end result of a situation will be no matter the actions of the individuals involved. We see fate behave like this when Aeneas is prophesied to sail to Italy and found a new city for the displaced Trojans. Aeneas’ fate was crafted by a god, implying that the gods were the masters of fate. However, later on in the story the reader will find that the gods cannot change someone’s fate, though they can make it harder for an individual to complete their destined task. This makes fate separate from the gods will. Fate
As the reader goes through the many books in the Iliad, he or she may notice the battle of immortal versus immortal on Mount Olympus. The gods are introduced in this book as major characters that have taken a side on either Team Trojans or Team Achaeans. Aphrodite, Apollo, and Ares are the main gods on Team Trojans, while Hera and Athena fight for Team Achaeans. Zeus is supposedly neutral, but in book one Thetis approaches Zeus saying, “honor my son Achilles!-doomed to live the shortest life of any man on earth […] grant the Trojans victory […] till the Achaean armies pay my dea...
The Iliad sets the tone of this epic story by beginning with fighting that magnifies throughout the entire text. King Agamemnon has kidnapped Chryses’ daughter and refuses to give her back even after Chryses has begged him. Agamemnon, rudely, responds to his request calling him “old sir,” telling Chryses if he does not leave, he will make his daughter work until she is old and tired. After hearing this, Chryses leaves afraid for his and his daughter’s life. Chryses prays to the god Apollo that he would punish the Achaians for the pain they have caused him. Apollo agrees and hurls his silver arrow down to reprimand and kill the people continuously for nine days. On the tenth day, Achilleus and the Achaians have grown tired of this plague and
The god and goddess is important because they play an important role in the Iliad. Gods and goddesses are significant in the Iliad because they were a part of the culture and daily lives of the Greek people. Many of the characters in the Iliad are gods, goddesses, and the children of gods. Many are the children of gods and humans. The Greek cultures worship these gods and daily lives are built around the code of morality they dictate. The gods were worshiped and also sacrificed too. They have a higher power than majority of anyone especially the goddess they have a lot of power. Many Greeks thought their life was for the gods and goddess. They constantly prayed to them and honored them, in fear of something