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The character of Achilles
The character of Achilles
Role of women in ancient greek
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One man a monstrous dictator who oppresses his people, the other a coward responsible for starting one of the most historical of wars, the two have many differences and few similarities but how these two most historical figures compare may surprise you. One man a heartless monster, the other a hopeless romantic responsible for stealing a man’s wife and starting one of the bloodiest wars in history.
Paris is the son of Priam and Hecuba king and queen of Troy. In Homer’s Iliad Paris is described as a cowardly prince with no talent in sword play. Paris is single handedly responsible for starting the Trojan War. Paris fell in love with Menelaus’ wife Helen, who he steals and brings back to Troy giving Greece the perfect excuse to declare war.
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Paris is easily defeated by Menelaus, but he wanted more; Menelaus wanted to kill Paris to boost the morale of his men for their secret plan to attack the city of troy. Paris shaking with fear from his defeat was sent crawling back to the feet of his brother Hector, a much worthier warrior than his coward of a brother. Menelaus then attempts to strike the final blow while Paris begged at his brother’s feet, Hector then stabs Menelaus saying the battle is over, Agamemnon brother of Menelaus and ruler of Greece vows revenge promising to burn the walls of Troy to the ground. The battles still raged on, many warriors had fallen, including the cousin of Achilles; rumored to be the greatest warrior of all a demigod favored by gods and goddess alike. Achilles challenges Hector to a dual to avenge his cousin’s death by Hectors hand and kills him dragging his body around his beloved great walled city of Troy. Paris horrified by this swears to Achilles his revenge, with Hector gone the city of Troy was a “sitting duck” its only defense; high walls un-scalable by any man. The Greeks devised a plan to enter the great walled city by constructed a large wooden horse “an offering to the gods” out of salvaged ship refuge. Paris persistently urged his father to scorch the relic as he feared it was a …show more content…
Now inside the city of Troy the Greeks wait for the perfect time to strike, upon night fall the Greeks silently climb out of their vessel of trickery and began slaying every citizen of Troy, setting fire to their homes and shops, tossing babies and children from the once great walls that now confined them to death. Paris seeing his city and its entire people in peril grabs his tightly strung bow tightens his royal grieves and armor and races to put a stop to Achilles whom he believes is responsible. However, Achilles wants no part of the war having avenged his cousins death and begins
Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler, these two men have forever changed the history of the world. Josef Stalin or Uncle Joe Stalin as his country knew him, was seen to the Russian people as a savior and a heroic leader. Adolf Hitler was known as the `Father of the Final Solution', which killed nearly six million of the sick, gypsies, Jews, homosexuals, and handicapped. Stalin and Hitler were both evil men who gained their power by manipulating others to get what they wanted. Both men were cold and calculating when it came to getting what they wanted. These two men had no respect for human life and did not have a problem killing people who stood in their way. They promised the people of their country a new world with a bright future; however, these faithful people never saw a bright future.
During the time that led up to World War II there was two national leaders who rose to power. They caused misery and death to millions of people while under their rule. These two well-known national leaders were Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin. They were two of the most murderous leaders the world has ever seen, and were surprisingly similar in many ways. These two widely known national leaders had many similarities such as both of them killed millions of innocent people, both rose in power due to favorable conditions, and both were very skilled users in propaganda.
Menelaus was about to kill Paris when Aphrodite takes Paris away from the scene. Aphrodite brings Helen, the adducted wife of Menelaus along too. Aphrodite says to Helen “"Haste, happy nymph! for thee thy Paris calls, Safe from the fight, in yonder lofty walls, Fair as a god; with odours round him spread, He lies, and waits thee on the well-known bed; Not like a warrior parted from the foe, But some gay dancer in the public show." (pg 103) This quote is interesting because Helen was upset with Paris for the conflict he has caused. But with a bit of persuasion from Aphrodite, she is willing to “lie on the well-known bed”. It’s strange how the gods can manipulate other characters like puppets. Another example of the additude that the gods have is when the gods have a council to discouse the Trojan war. Zeus says " My schemes, my labours, and my hopes be vain? Have I, for this, shook Ilion with alarms, Assembled nations, set two worlds in arms? To spread the war, I flew from shore to shore.”(113) This quote shows how Zeus felt about what has happened in the human war. He thinks of himself as the creator of the war and takes ownership of what has happened. He then argues that Menelaus has won the
From the beginning of time to the darkest days in history, people have managed to see light. Within these dark times, a great deal of violence was cast upon the world, but light and peace always prevailed. If it were not for these two leaders, history would have been completely different. Even though both had very different political views, Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin will all forever be known as two of the most feared totalitarian leaders in history.
The Iliad tells the story of the final weeks of the last year of the Trojan War, after nine long years of fighting between the Trojans and Achaeans (Greeks). The fighting first started with Paris of Troy taking Helen, the most beautiful women in the world, back to Troy and away from her husband King Menelaus of Sparta. Outraged, King Menelaus gathered the kings and armies of Greece, and set sail towards Troy, to wage war and take back Helen. Although the Greeks had brought massive forc...
Being that she is the goddess of love, Helen believes she might have planned out for all this to happen. Now as we see but Helen does not know yet that Ahphrodite is the official cause of all this caus. Early on in the beginning, a series of some events occur that happen, may have been a serious issue, but weren’t quite realized while they decided to plot out this rocky idea. So focused on love, Paris has now fulfilled his prophesy of being the downfall of Troy.
In the beginning of the two men’s lives, Achilles, and Paris, they both were abandoned. “Paris or Alexander, in Greek mythology, son of Priam and Hecuba and brother of Hector” ("Paris, In Greek Mythology." 1), was just a been when Paris’s family got a prophecy saying that Paris will destroy Troy. He was
The story of the Trojan War as played out in the Iliad is perhaps most gripping for the focus on the role of the individual; the soul is struck by the very concept of a decade-long war and a city-state razed to the ground for one man’s crime and one woman’s beauty. As such, the dynamic between Helen, Paris, and the Trojan people they have doomed is a fascinating one. For while Prince Paris is hated by all of Troy, his right to keep Helen is challenged by none. This is seen mostly clearly in Book III, after Paris has been spirited away to safety by the goddess Aphrodite; the book ends with Trojans and Greeks alike united in scorn for Paris and his consort. In Book VII, however, at the war council of the Trojans, when a defiant Paris refuses to yield his prize, no man questions his right to do so. This puzzling contrast, between the anger of the many against the crimes of the one and the rights of the one against the will of the many, presents insight into key themes of Homer’s epic. The passages in Books III and VII highlight the unique way in which the Iliad focuses on property rights as perhaps the highest expression of individual self-worth, the violation of which demands complete redress.
Pyrrhus who plays a deeper and personal meaning into the story has his fathered killed by Paris and seeks to avenge him by slaying someone just as dear to Paris, his own father Priam. However with the great walls of Troy blocking his advance there is little he could do, but madness drives him and they build a great “Trojan” horse as a transport to fool the superstitious Trojans. To make it believable they even stage like they abandoned the siege by having all of their ships sail away from the island off on the far end to avoid attention, and leaving the horse there as if it were a gift from the gods. The Trojans seeing this as a great victory happily took the horse into Troy and threw a great feast, and drunk themselves to sleep. Then in th...
This is the first, and only, breach of xenia in all of the Iliad, with good cause. Paris was Menelaus’ guest, but chose to steal Menelaus’ wife and much of his riches instead of honoring xenia as he should have. Paris’ transgression against xenia is what initially agitated Menelaus’. Although this act is not explicitly pictured in the Iliad, the Trojan War is essentially the fallout of Paris’ breach of xenia and without his infraction, many lives would have been spared. It is also worth noting that many, many kings and warlords mobilized a very large part of their power in the pursuit of one man’s wife, which speaks to the prestige of xenia and how much the Danaans valued
The Iliad focuses its narrative on the glories of heroes in the Trojan War, particular Achilles and Hector. Although both are heroes for their side, they have complex personalities that explain their actions. Indeed, as one reads through the poem, it seems that they have nothing in common. They do not share motives for fighting, similar views concerning the immortals, or perspective concerning relationships of those around them, yet they are united by characteristics that constitute a hero as we understand one. Despite their differences, Achilles and Hector both place value on bravery, fight on behalf of others, and see the humanity in those they are fighting with and against.
In the book the Iliad, The Odyssey, and Works and days, there are many things that can be similar when talking about Greek heroes and the world of Greek poetry. The stories and topics are describing similar events during this time of the eighth and seventh century B.C. In the end, however, they do have some differences in some parts when describing or explaining certain situations and ideas. The world of Greek heroes is written like a story; or Epic Poetry. That is what The Iliad and The Odyssey are; Epic Poetries. They are telling a story of a great hero and their adventures. On the other hand, the more realistic Greek World that is being described in Works and days is a Didactic poem, which tells more of a moral or message to the reader.
Book Six of The Iliad depicts one of the most interesting conflicts depicted by Homer in this poem, one that occurs between both Hector and Paris in a passage approximately between 380 through 410. Through the context and language Homer uses to illustrate this conflict also explores certain characteristics of these two Trojans. This characterization of Hector and Paris is important as it scrutinizes the brotherly relationship that exists between these characters, offering insight into their personalities and characteristics. The language that Homer uses to describe the conflict in this particular passage establishes the relationship and characteristics of Hector and Paris through the conflict, highlighting the fundamental aspects and values
The suspected start of the war- over the abduction of Helen, Queen of Sparta- was caused entirely by a godly conflict over who was the most beautiful- Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. Paris, son of King Priam of Troy, was selected to judge. He chose Aphro...
The Iliad tells the story of the Trojan War, which lasted 10 years. The Grecians eventually won the war, but the outcome could have very easily shifted due to a quarrel between King Agamemnon and Achilles. Pride and anger is what the two men were fighting about. This story is a very good example of how those two simple emotions can lead to tragedy.