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Homer life and works essay
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Homer’s Iliad: The Power of Man Homer’s Iliad is one of the oldest surviving Greek works. The story allows readers to see into the minds of a civilization that lived over two thousand years ago. The conflict in Homer’s Iliad between the power of a warrior and political power creates the basis of the story and shows how Greek society was evolving from a tribal society, power to the strongest fighter, into a more civilized society, power to the highest political office. By analyzing what warrior power is as portrayed by Achilles, then the power Agamemnon holds through his political station, and comparing the two ideals against each other, it is possible to see exactly how Homer developed both of these characters as a reflection of the changing Greek culture. Homer uses Achilles primarily to show how being a great warrior and leader in Greek culture leads to high social respect and power. The subtle message of power through warriorship is shown by Homer in his writing. Homer only focuses on the great warriors. He ignores all of the minor warriors in a way that reflects the Greek belief in Elitism, the belief that only the greatest warriors mattered. When a common man is finally shown in the story he is depicted as almost less than a man. He is ugly and mistreated by those above him because he does not matter. In combination with the Greek belief in arete or excellence, it is clear that a strong warrior who fought well would gain social standing and power. Agamemnon does have power through being a warrior but his true power comes from his political ranking. It is important to understand that Achilles derived everything he was from being a warrior. The honor and respect that was given to him by those around him was a direct result of... ... middle of paper ... ...ks for ways to increase his power even at great cost. This portrayal represents the Greeks fear of dictators who would take advantage of the Greek people for their own well-being. The conflict between Agamemnon and Achilles is a reflection of the evolving Greek culture and the question of which should be held in higher regard. Ultimately Achilles seems to yield to Agamemnon who has the power of authority. Homer’s conclusion of the story shows that ultimately Greek society would surrender to the power of politics and authority instead of the power of the strongest warrior. This decision ultimately benefits the Greeks because it allows their civilization to grow and continue to advance instead of freezing in a type of feudal system. Ultimately Homer’s Iliad provides interesting insight into Greek beliefs and civilization as they transitioned into more advanced states.
He portraits Achilles as a mystical hero, a brave militant, with honorable qualities. To many this will be a great characteristic of a noble man, but his anger and pride becomes his downfault. Home starts the poem with, “Goddess, sing me the anger, of Achilles, Peleus’ son, that fatal anger that brought countless sorrows on the Greeks, and sent many valiant souls of warriors down to Hades, leaving their bodies as spoil for dogs and carrion birds: for thus was the will of Zeus brought to fulfilment. Sing of it from the moment when Agamemnon, Atreus’ son, that king of men, parted in wrath from noble Achilles (Homer Bk1).” An anger that took the life of many soldiers because of Achilles selfishness. Glen W. Most, explains that, “Homer does indeed tell of Achilles’ wrath – but he recounts not only, first, his wrath against Agamemnon, “which laid countless woes upon the Achaeans,” but also, second, his wrath against Hector after Hector has slain Patroclus (Most 50).” These examples of anger have not chance throughout generations. Anger, violence and war has always been a common felling, that it is a part of all men and these feelings can be seen from the poem of Home to World War 1 and from dictators planning war against another country to bullies harassing a childhood
Honor is something men and women have fought for century after century. Even now, thousands of American and British men are fighting in Iraq, near to where the Trojan War was to have taken place. These men fight for the greater good. They fight for those in Iraq who are unable to fight for or otherwise defend themselves. They fight for honor. The characters in the Iliad are motivated by their own form of honor, or arete, known similarly as the Homeric Code. And it is because of this code that the Trojan War began. The characters in this story are shown to possess arete, but some have different ideas as to how vastly and to what rate it should be respected. And because of this, many a man’s honor is disturbed.
Although the Homeric society had Gods to lead its character, still emotion was able to overtake logic and calculated moves in war. Achilles was warned that “[He is] destined for both an early death and misery beyond compare” (Il. 1.438-439) yet, he continues to fight for tîmê and kleos. The pride that comes from success on the battlefield is worth much more than being in safe. Half man, half god, Achilles innately had a more complete scope of the world after his actions. Even though
The views and beliefs of societies are often portrayed in the literature, art, and cinema of a certain era. The epic poems, The Iliad and Odyssey, give scholars and historians an idea how the Ancient Greek lived their everyday lives. By reading the two "novels," the reader is able to experience the three thousand years old society of Homer. The various similarities between our society and the societies depicted in the Iliad and the Odyssey are surprising profuse. To name a few: the superfluous violence in Iliad and Odyssey, the characterization of Odysseus, the obscure use of narcotics, the similarities between Catholicism and certain stories of the Odyssey, and the role of pets and animals. Despite the numerous similarities, there are some distinct differences. The specific differences between our society and that of Ancient Greece is the role of women in ancient Greece, polytheism, the and the importance of hospitality.
The first requirement of Aristotle's tragic hero is that they are more admirable than the average character. Achilles meets this requirement because of his ability on the battlefield. In The Iliad, the background to the story is the war between the Greeks and the Trojans. This background is not only the basis for the story overall, but is also the basis for Achilles' own story. This begins when Achilles refuses to join the battle because he is insulted by Agamemnon. This decision results in the action that drives the remainder of the story. Later in the story when Achilles becomes angered and goes to the other extreme, launching into battle and killing ferociously. The significance of this is that it places battle as central to both Achilles' story and to what is important in the setting of the story. Importantly, the aspect that makes Achilles greater than most is his ability o...
Within the first book of the poem, we read that Achilles is considered by many to be "god-like". (King Agamemnon, Book 1, line 154) When so...
The Iliad is a classic epic poem written by Homer about the Trojan War and the rage of an Achaean warrior, Achilles. The book introduces the reader to the war and the personal battle between Achilles and King Agamemnon; because of this argument between these two major characters, Homer introduces the role of the gods when Achilles asks his mother, Thetis, to go to Zeus and beg for his interference on Achilles’ behalf. The major role the gods play in the Iliad is their interference in the Trojan War as immortal versus immortal and mortal versus immortal.
The 'Iliad'; by Homer is a book that deals with many emotional issues. I am going to talk about a few emotional parts of the Iliad and compare them to the emotional life of today. I have chosen a section of the book and will talk about the emotions that come up there. The section that I have chosen to talk about is in book 18 when Achilles is very angry and very sad about Patroclus death. After that he wants revenge by killing hector.
The first reason Achilles is an epic hero is because he embodied the characteristics of the ideal Greek citizen at the time Homer wrote; he is in a position of power and regards honor highly. “O my mother! I was born to die young, it is true, but honour I was to have from Zeus, Olympian, thunderer on high! And now he has not given me one little bit! Yes, my lord king Agamemnon has insulted me! He has taken my prize and keeps it, he has robbed me myself” (page 17), Achilles cried to his mother. Agamemnon stole Achilles’ prize, Briseis, so Achilles is begging his mother, the sea nymph Thetis, to help him regain his honor. In Greece, honor was crucial and by taking Achilles’ prize, Agamemnon has stripped him not only of his hard-won prize but of his honor as well. Such a double loss would have been catastrophic for a Greek citizen. Classicist Ian Johnston highlights the significance of his loss, suggesting that “the greatest harm that can occur to a particular warrior is shame, the community’s public recognition that he has let the group down or failed to live up to its shared rules.”Being shamed, in this case, by Agamemnon, would cause the Achaeans to lose respect for Achilles, and as one of their leaders, this would be a tragedy for him. Achilles’ desire to regain his honor sho...
Homer's Iliad is commonly understood as an epic about the Trojan War, but its meaning goes deeper than that. The Iliad is not only a story of the evolution of Achilleus' persona, but at times it is an anti-war epic as well. The final book proposes many questions to the reader. Why not end with the killing of Hektor? Most stories of war conclude with the triumphant victory of good over evil, but in the Iliad, the final thoughts are inclined to the mourning of the defeated Hektor, which accentuates the fact that good has not triumphed over evil, but simply Achilleus triumphed over Hektor. Ending with the mourning of Hektor also brings to center stage for the first time the human side of war and the harsh aftermath of it. We see that war not only brings great glory, but also much suffering and anguish. Homer puts his anti-war views on display.
What is a hero, and what is a true hero? In the Greek society, as perceived in Homer’s Iliad, to be a hero is to be “publicly recognized for one's valour on the battlefield” and to have a prize with it (Sale). In other words, a hero is someone who fights for his own fame and glory. However, the modern perception of a hero is quite different. A hero is someone who do not endeavor to become a hero, but someone who act in admirable ways, often for the better of everyone else. The modern concept of heroism is what defines a true hero. Achilles is a hero in the Iliad, because of the Greek’s perception of heroism. However, Achilles is not a true hero; Hector is the true hero in the Iliad.
Homer makes it clear that Achilles is a man mainly driven by his hunger for glory. Achilles has all the traits of a superhuman from his strength to his incredible ability to fight on the battlefield. Even with these great abilities, it is hard for many readers to perceive him as a hero because of the way he acts. Homer takes this brief time period out of this whole ten-year war just to demonstrate how Achilles cannot control himself when he goes into a rage. In todays world Achilles would not last long as a soldier in any army because he would be court marshaled for insubordination. Achilles ye...
Divine Intervention is a “direct and obvious intervention by a god or goddess in the affairs of humans”. In various myths such as the Iliad, the Epic of Gilgamesh, and Herakles, divine intervention was called upon in order to restrain a hero’s destructive or too powerful forces. Although the divine intervention was used to impair different heroes, the purpose to constrain was the same in all the narratives.
Thucydides believes that since he had the strongest navy, Agamemnon “assembled his forces more on the basis of fear than good will” (Thucydides 1.9). By assembling troops based on fear, Agamemnon re-establishes and reinforces himself as the leader of the Greek forces and justifies his position to make examples of warriors like Achilles who try to undermine his authority. However, Agamemnon does not hold his righteous attitude throughout the entirety of the Iliad as he begs for Achilles to return to battle and incites him with gold to fill his ships, twenty Trojan women, and his own daughter’s hand in marriage (Iliad 9.280). Agamemnon’s plea to Achilles reveals a weaker side of Agamemnon, and not the warlord who fuels his power with fear as Thucydides suggests. Agamemnon does not even go to beg to Achilles himself as he sends Odysseus, Phoenix, and Ajax on his behalf to coax Achilles back into battle. Achilles insults Agamemnon by noting that he sent representatives since “he doesn’t dare show his dogface [on Achilles’ ships]” (Iliad
The two leader’s characteristics unfold where it seems as though Agamemnon cares more about power and wants something that was supposed to be given to him whereas Achilles is way more likely to choose honour over anything because at the end of the Iliad Achilles did not take the death of his dear friend Patroclus and he was not happy when his friend passed away and found out who did it. Agamemnon views his honour is greater than any army, but Achilles states “wrapped in shamelessness, with your mind forever on profit” (Homer, Iliad 1.149) proving how Agamemnon seems to always think about himself before others . The only aspect that these two leaders agree on is that honour can be received through women. They believe honour can be received through women because it is a sign of power and status. Agamemnon goes out of his way to ask for Brisesis because the lady that he received in war Chryseis was taken away. Honour was a very important factor for both of these men as they made sure that their one source of honour through a maiden was not