Throughout The Iliad, the heroic characters make decisions based on a
definite set of principles, which are referred to as the "code of
honor." The heroic code that Homer presents to the reader is an
underlying cause for many of the events that take place, but many of the
characters have different perceptions of how highly the code should be
regarded.
Hektor, the greatest of the Trojan warriors, begins the poem as the
model of a Homeric hero. His dedication and strict belief in the code of
honor is illustrated many times throughout the course of The Iliad. An
example of this is presented in book three of the poem, where Hektor
reprimands Paris for refusing to fight. He says to Paris, "Surely now
the flowing-haired Achains laugh at us, thinking you are our bravest
champion, only because your looks are handsome, but there is no strength
in your heart, or courage" (3:43). Hektor believes that it is against
the heroic code for a person to abstain from fighting when his fellow
men are in the battlefield. Hektor faces a moral dilemma when dealing
with Paris. By being Paris' brother, Hektor is supposed to protect and
honor his decisions, but he believes that Paris is wrong in his actions,
and feels it necessary to make that known to him.
Another place where we see Hektor's strict belief in the code of honor
is in the events that take place during his return home in the sixth
book. Hector returns to Troy in order to have the queen and the other
women make a sacrifice to Athena, hoping that she will help the Trojans
in the war. After arranging that act he visits Paris, with the intention
of convincing him to fight. Visibly upset, Hektor scolds Paris, telling
him that "The people are dying around the city and aroun...
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...g it, so as to keep off their people and horses, that we
may not be crushed under the attack of these proud Trojans," (7:341).
Nestor realizes that the Trojans have the upper hand, and does not want
the Greeks to lose without a putting up a respectable fight. He feels
that for the Greeks to turn around and leave would be a great dishonor,
and does everything in his power to keep them in the battle. Nestor's
advice, finally, challenges the Achaians to live up to the honorable
precedent set by the book's fallen heroes.
The characters in The Iliad base many of their actions on the code of
honor. The warriors believe that the most dishonorable thing someone can
do is refrain from fighting with his fellow soldiers, whereas Achilleus
disagrees. Although a "code of honor" is present in the Iliad, many of
the characters interpret and maintain it in different ways.
There are many controversies involving the Iliad, but the most important is about the characters in the Iliad demonstrating barbaric and civilized behavior. Questions about this and the answers can be found by looking at Hektor, Paris and Achilles. Hektor represents the civilized being, always looking for a peaceful resolution to a problem. Achilles refuses to fight and somewhat resembles Paris, the civilized coward. Paris would stay back and relax while the battle raged outside. Hektor was always out on the frontlines doing all he could to help his army. Achilles, angered by Agamemnon, betrays his own side and tells Zeus to bring a plague on the Achaeans, causing them to almost be wiped out. This was a barbarous act.
The notion of personal honor is prevalent throughout the Iliad. The honor of every person in Homeric culture was important, but to the hero, his honor was paramount. He could not endure insults, and he felt that he had to protect his reputation — even unto death. The hero 's duty was to fight, and the only way he had of gaining glory and immortality was through heroic action on the battlefield; thus, he continually prepared his life for the life-and-death risks of battle. The Homeric hero believed that men had to stand together in battle; men had to respect each other; and they had to refrain from excessive cruelty. This last condition was critically important for the Homeric hero. He loathed deliberate acts of cruelty and injustice. If he were ready to kill a victim, he believed that he should do it quickly; he was not to mutilate him, as Achilles does with Hektor 's body. By following this code, a hero gained a sense of dignity and a reputation for honor that would ensure his place in the social memory of his community.
The subject of Homer’s epic poem, the Iliad, is very clearly stated--it is “the rage of Peleus’ son Achilles.” The reader remains continually aware of the extent of Achilles’ rage, yet is never told the reason why Achilles remains angry and unreconciled. There is no definitive answer to this question. Achilles is not a static character. He is constantly changing; thus the question of why he remains angry solicits different answers at various stages throughout the poem. To find an answer, the reader must carefully examine Achilles’ ever-changing dilemma involving the concepts of mortality and honor. At its simplest, Achilles’ dilemma is that if he goes to war, he will die. But he will die with glory.
Homer’s moral exemplars in the heroic tragedy, The Iliad, can be analyzed to further understand warrior ethics. Agamemnon, a powerful warrior king, was proud and arrogant. These qualities made him an excellent warrior and the Greeks respected him. However, Agamemnon demonstrated excess pride and arrogance, as well as stubbornness. The Greeks believed that people must face their destiny with pride and nobility.
This epic poem by the ancient Greek poet Homer, recounts some of the significant events of the final weeks of the Trojan War and the Greek siege of the city of Troy. All of the places where Homer’s stories took place were in areas that had been significant in the Bronze Age of Ancient Greece. Excavations at Troy and Mycenae have revealed that affluent kingdoms did indeed exist there. The Iliad provides examples of the culture and traditions that took place in Ancient Greece. The warrior culture that is presented in The Iliad is based on honor and bravery, a good example of this is when Diomedes is trying to rally his fellow warriors in says, “I know only cowards depart from battle. A real warrior stands his ground. Whether he is hit or hits another.” This society was strongly against cowardice; bravery was the only option in these times. The Iliad preserves the Ancient Greek’s views on masculinity and what it meant to be a “real warrior” in their times. The evolution of what people consider honorable and brave is evident, for The Iliad has conserved past views that can be juxtaposed with more modern
The notion of honor is prevalent throughout the Iliad and Antigone. Both texts demonstrate that honor is essential to Greek heroes because honor is the foundation of the society and family. Homer and Sophocles clearly show that honor guides people’s actions and responses and decides the fate of themselves and others. Both authors also place emphasis on the importance of proper burial because it is a strong indication of honor to the deceased and the deceased’s family. As can be seen in the Iliad and Antigone, the aim of every Greek hero is to gain everlasting honor because it ensures his place in the social memory of his society resounding even after death.
The world that Homer shows in the Iliad is a violent one, where war is not only a means of gaining wealth, but also the arena in which a man demonstrates his worth. The Greek army gathered in front of the walls of Troy exhibits the weaknesses and strengths of the Homeric world. Greece is not one nation, and the army of Greeks mirrors this. It is a collection of small city-states with a common culture and a common language, capable of coming together for a great enterprise, but also capable of being driven apart by petty squabbling. The common culture is based on acceptance of characteristics seen as virtuous: xeineia, or hospitality; agathos, the successful warrior; oikos, which means from noble birth; keleos, glory; pine, honor, which is a central motif throughout the Iliad; and finally, the ultimate virtue of arête, which stands for goodness or excellence and encompasses the other virtues. For Homer, a good man must be of noble family, strong, brave in battle, and wealthy. Earthly possessions show that a man has initiative and has the esteem of others. But the most important qualification to be considered a good man is honor, because honor is gained, not born into.
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.
For some of the characters in the Iliad, nothing is worth fighting for if there was no honor to be achieved; if there was no Heroic Code. Though the Heroic Code was greatly followed in Homer’s time, honor nowadays, is a rare thing to see.
Throughout the Iliad, heroic characters make decisions based on a specific set of principles, which are referred to as the “code of honor.” The heroic code that Homer presents to readers is easy to recognize because the heroic code is the cause for many of the events that take place, but many of the characters have different perceptions of how highly the code should be regarded. Hector, the greatest of the Trojan warriors, begins the poem as a model for a hero. His dedication and firm belief in the code of honor is described many times throughout the course of the Iliad. As a reward for heroic traits in battle, prizes were sometimes awarded to victors of war. In Book 1 Achilles receives Chryseis as a prize and a symbol of honor. Heroism had its rewards and its setbacks which ultimately was the backbone of the Illiad in the case of Achilles prize. Hector, arguably the greatest Trojan warrior or even the bravest of the Homeric heroes is very fierce and fights for what he believes is his destiny. In book VI Hector expresses his bravery when Andromache pleads with Hector not to fight when Hector says, “But I would die of shame to face the men of Troy and the Trojan woman trailing their long robes if I would shrink from battle now, a coward. Nor does the sprit urge me on that way. I’ve learned it all too well. To stand up bravely, always to fight in the front ranks of Trojan soldiers, winning my father great glory, glory for myself” (VI, 387).
The Iliad is not only a story of war, but a story of relationships and family connections through respect and honor. Sons don’t seem to question their duties to their family. They go to battle and fight until the end, maybe even until their death. They do not search for love from their fathers, but for the respect and desire to follow just as their fathers did, to be dignified warriors and proud of their ancestral accomplishments.
In the introduction of the Essential Illiad given by Sheila Murnaghan, Achilles is labeled as “the greatest of the Greek heroes”. In classic mythology a hero is a person of great strength and courage celebrated for bold exploits and is often the offspring of a mortal and a god. Achilles was the greatest fighter among the Greeks or Trojans and feared no man in battle. He was also the offspring of a mortal and a god so by classic mythology definition, Achilles was indeed a hero. A hero is defined by the present day Websters Dictionary as: “one who inspires through manners and actions; an individual who leads through personal example and accomplishments requiring bravery, skill, determination, and other admirable qualities.” Achilles, in no manner, fits this definition. By contemporary standards, he is instead a pathetic villain. Aside from being a kidnapper, rapist and murderer, Achilles proves to be emotionally weak, selfish, and malicious. Many times throughout the Illiad, Achilles is also referred to as “godlike”. The gods of Greek mythology were subject to the same emotions and character flaws as humans, and though privileged to some foresight, the gods had similar mental capacities as humans. What really set the gods apart were their powers (controlling the elements, changing their appearance, etc.), great strength, and immortality. Because of his great strength and apparent invincibility, it is easy to see why Achilles would...
The price that heroes pay for the glory they obtain is something readily forgotten if one does not read The Iliad in the context of the times. In the time of the Iliad, glory and honor was even more important than it was now. One can get easily get lost in the descriptive nature of the epic poem, which gives reason to a belief that the Iliad is simply a glorification of combat, however, this is not the case. The Iliad is based on much deeper principles than combat, it glorifies the search for honor and the sacrifices that great men will take to achieve this honor. If Achilleus had not rejoined his comrades, taking pity on them, he would never be remembered even if he still had great prowess in battle, because he did not use it to help help his friends.
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.
In Homer’s The Iliad he tells of the battles and events during the time of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles. This was just a small portion of the Trojan War that had lasted ten years. The Iliad shares the ideas of the glory of war, military values over family life, and the impermanence of human life and its creation. One thing that Homer does is characterize the two different warriors Achilles and Hector. These two great warriors both show different kinds of traits that shape the character they become throughout the The Iliad. Achilles is the main hero in The Iliad, but Homer subliminally tries to persuade the reader that Hector is the true hero in this story.