Peace and War
Throughout generations, humanity has evaluated and defined war and peace among our civilizations. The difference between these two subjects has been greatly reflected throughout many literatures and has been approached at many different outlooks. These separate perspectives are expressed through the writings of Homer and Lao Tzu. In The Iliad, Homer evaluates war and peace through his use of symbolism and emphasize on one’s own decision. Contrarily, In Tao Te Ching, Lao Tzu assesses war and peace through ones full understanding of when each is needed and how to approach them.
War and peace is conveyed in The Iliad by the character’s ability of choice between harmony and conflict. Homer, himself, is a prime example of his emphasize
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Symbolism adds greater impact and requires the reader to be more engaged. Homer’s use of imagery and symbols convey a stronger meaning in this epic’s theme of war and peace. In the story Achilles attains new armor and a glorious shield from the god Hephaestus. This shield is visually represented to the reader through its stunning detailed decor. The epic quotes, “And he forged on the shield two noble cities with mortal men. With weddings and wedding feasts in one and under glowing torches they brought forth the brides from the women’s chambers, marching through the streets while choir on choir the wedding song rose high and the young men dancing” (Book 18, 483). The epic continues, “But circling the other city camped a divided army gleaming in battle-gear, and two plans split their ranks: to plunder the city or share the riches with its people” (Book 18, 484). One city representing a side of joy and peace and other a side of war. This symbolism represented on the shield highlight the separation of peace and war and foreshadows Homer’s depiction of peace and war in The …show more content…
The Tao Te Ching sets a standard to live a moral, principled life. In its readings there are many different aspects on the way of life including the themes of peace and war. Tao Te Ching quotes, “Those who advise the ruler on the way, do not want the world subdues with weapons. Such deeds bring on retaliation. Thorn bushes grow where armies have camped. Battles are followed by years of famine. Therefore, good leaders reach solutions, and then stop” (30). Tao Te Ching continues, “Weapons are ominous tools. They are not the noble ruler’s tools. He only uses them when he can’t avoid it.”(31). These excerpts express how war brings no good, but only destruction. War is only needed to stop those who do not look for peace, but nothing more. A strong victorious leader is respectful when it comes to war. He understands what he needs and must take, but will not go beyond for more unneeded violence. Lao Tzu proclaims, “The good man wins a victory and then stops, he will not go on to acts of violence, winning, he boastepth not, he will not triumph; he shows no arrogance. He wins because he cannot choose; after victory he will not be overbearing” (The Sayings of Lao-Tzu). A great man wins with respect and integrity. He knows the boundaries of war and how far he can go. Lao Tzu evaluated peace and war through the comprehension of when each is required in a certain
Sun Tzu. The Art of War. Translated by Samuel B. Griffith. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1963.
Mo Tzu was a well-known Chinese writer, philosopher, military strategist, and the founder of Mohism, a school of thought that preached “universal love, or the love of all human beings” (Austin 253). In Against Offensive Warfare, one of three works written by Tzu in opposition to the civil wars taking place in China, he criticized man’s ability to praise offensive warfare and commend it as righteous, while condemning lesser acts of civil crime and violence and denouncing them as unrighteous. He argued that all acts of offensive warfare and aggression against a fellow human being should be considered unrighteous and that no distinction should be made between the two. As a military strategist, Mo Tzu was no stranger to the atrocities of military conflict and adhered to the belief that war should be avoided unless fought in self-defense. Mo Tzu believed that war was sinful and the immeasurable sacrifice both of lives and resources were a waste that would eventually destroy the world (Osborne). War is a horrible and perilous affair that shatters the lives of millions and rips apart the threads that knit our society together. It separates families and divides countries and leaves only death, disease, and destruction in its wake. While war is always terrible and should be avoided at all costs, sometimes war is necessary to restore order and freedom in a lost and broken world.
Throughout the Iliad the warriors' dream of peace is projected over and over again in elaborate similes developed against a background of violence and death. Homer is able to balance the celebration of war's tragic, heroic values with scenes of battle and those creative values of civilized life that war destroys. The shield of Achilles symbolically represents the two poles of human condition, war and peace, with their corresponding aspects of human nature, the destructive and creative, which are implicit in every situation and statement of the poem and are put before us in something approaching abstract form; its emblem is an image of human life as a whole.
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
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
Homer progressively subjects his characters to a choice between loved ones, and war quest with heroic personalities is invariably choosing the latter. The gravity of decisions made in the text emphasizes more on knowing about fate ahead of time. Characters prize ancient Greek martial values such as honor, nobility, bravery, and glory with the will to sacrifice chances of long life for the loved ones. In portraying an ideal epic world, the text recognizes about the creation of mortals and the glory of man that does not live in constructions.
"The Internet Classics Archive | The Art of War by Sun Tzu." The Internet Classics Archive | The Art of War by Sun Tzu. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Mar. 2014. .
Homer's two central heroes, Odysseus and Achilles, are in many ways differing manifestations of the same themes. While Achilles' character is almost utterly consistent in his rage, pride, and near divinity, Odysseus' character is difficult to pin down to a single moral; though perhaps more human than Achilles, he remains more difficult to understand. Nevertheless, both heroes are defined not by their appearances, nor by the impressions they leave upon the minds of those around them, nor even so much by the words they speak, but almost entirely by their actions. Action is what drives the plot of both the Iliad and the Odyssey, and action is what holds the characters together. In this respect, the theme of humanity is revealed in both Odysseus and Achilles: man is a combination of his will, his actions, and his relationship to the divine. This blend allows Homer to divulge all that is human in his characters, and all that is a vehicle for the idyllic aspects of ancient Greek society. Accordingly, the apparent inconsistencies in the characterization of Odysseus can be accounted for by his spiritual distance from the god-like Achilles; Achilles is more coherent because he is the son of a god. This is not to say that Achilles is not at times petty or unimaginative, but that his standards of action are merely more continuous through time. Nevertheless, both of Homer's heroes embody important and admirable facets of ancient Greek culture, though they fracture in the ways they are represented.
Homer and Hesiod were well-known epic poets that gave contribution to their culture by writing poetry on the different aspects and views of the Greek world. Homer’s long narrative poems dealt a lot with heroes at war, gods and goddesses involved with humans while Hesiod’s poetry is shorter, having little to do with heroes, and presents the importance of work and morality. Although the two poets have their own unique writing style, there are many differences and similarities in The Odyssey, Works and Days, and Iliad about beliefs in religion, description of women, and function of war.
The Iliad, which is an epic poem written about the Trojan War, was the first thing written in the European tradition. Astonishingly, its quality and appeal have yet to be surpassed. This is a result of Homer's use of idealistic themes, many of which show up in many modern novels. One of the most dominant themes present in The Iliad is the pursuit of honor and glory. Even though the Achaeans and Trojans are in a violent battle with one another, both display a similar attitude: the acquisition of glory is more important than life itself.
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.
War is a howling, roaring creature, using its power to ignite destructive and fatal consequences among the masses. Conflicts have risen between nations yet no one seems to understand what breeds the conflict. While destruction may be the end, deception is its mean. War ...
Homer is credited for writing epics that generate source materials for the modern world. The Iliad and the Odyssey by Homer are captivating stories with fascinating heroic characters. The Homer stories share with classical mythology typical recurrent motifs. The two Homer epic poems focus on the Trojan War, and its result. The epic poems contain the Greek mythology featuring the Greek gods, goddesses, mythological creatures, and the Greek heroes, and heroines. In addition, the principal motifs typical of classical mythological hero stories are; the dominance of fate, evil fighting against the gods, and death. In both the classic mythology, and he modern fiction hero stories, the heroes always have a helper in their expedition, but ultimately, they have to stand alone, face the darkness, and conquer it in order to become victorious.
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.
War has been around for centuries. From the time modern civilizations began, war has played an integral part in human history. It shaped the world into the modern world we live in. War has been said to be a great motivator, for example, the Great Wall of China was built to fend off the attackers from the north. However, the negative aspects of war far outweighs any positive effects it might have. The destruction of civilizations, cities and countries, mass killings of men, woman and children alike, the disastrous effect it has on economy and the after effects of war can last for centuries.