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Homer's contribution to greek literature
Similes and metaphors
Homer's contribution to greek literature
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In “The Iliad Book Six,” Homer utilizes an epic simile about a horse to describe how Paris emerged from “the high rock of Pergamum.” The simile reads:
Picture a horse that has fed on barley in his stall
Breaking his halter and galloping across the plain,
Making for his accustomed swim in the river,
A glorious animal, head held high, mane streaming
Like wind on his shoulders. Sure of his splendor
He prances by the horse-runs and the mares in pasture.
This simile paints a picture of a horse with his head held high gracefully running free by the other mares as if he is superior to them because in some respects, he is. That was tied into the story with the following lines:
That was how Paris, son of Priam, came down
From the high rock of
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The detail about the horse being fed barley was to show that the horse was beloved and pampered just as Paris was. Additionally, the horse’s stall is similar to Paris’s high halls. Both the horse and Paris are well taken care of. Also, the word “stall” could also mean that Paris was stalling to fight by examining his weapons and sitting inside his house. Earlier in the text, Hector enters the city’s high rock to find Paris “fondling his curved bow, his fine shield, and breastplate.” When Hector tries to shame him, Paris claims “I only wanted to recover from my pain.” This shows that he was stalling to go back out to the battleground and fight for Helen even though the rest of the Trojans were fighting the war for him. Furthermore, “Breaking his halter and galloping across the plain, making for his accustomed swim in the river” describes “how Paris, son of Priam, came down from the high rock of Pergamum.” According to the simile, Paris broke free of the high halls where he spends most of his time cooped up and rushed through the city while making his way through the river of troops who he thought envied him. However, he also broke out of his comfort zone to …show more content…
Additionally, Homer used the words “came down” in the literal description to paint a picture of Paris descending to the level of the common folk fighting the war instead of being pampered in his house as well as physically going down from the high rock to the city. To describe the literal moment “Gleaming like amber, and laughing in his armor,” Homer uses the lines from the simile that state, “A glorious animal, head held high, mane streaming like wind on his shoulders. Sure of his splendor.” Homer emphasized the confidence of the horse as it relates to Paris through the phrase “head held high.” It stands out because it is alliteration that Homer used to draw the reader's attention to how sure of himself Paris was and even implying overconfidence or hubris. Paris was “sure of his splendor” even though he was not a good fighter and was bound to lose. Finally, the line, “He prances by the horse-runs and the mares in pasture” goes hand in hand with “And his feet were fast” from the literal description. The word “prances” in the simile is associated with a graceful, poised trot. “And his
...ring for him he has to find something to care for and by talking to the horse he is, in a nutshell, caring for it. So, as the reader can see, desire is a recurring theme that permeates the novel.
The Odyssey of Homer was written during Homer’s lifetime during the eighth century BC. The Odyssey is classified as an epic and without a doubt is because it focuses on the main concerns of the genre. The creative form I chose to discuss that is constantly engaged by the Greeks was imagery within tragedy and the epic they have demonstrated their mastery of the device. Imagery within tragedy adds a necessary and otherwise unattainable sub-story to the epic. In this essay, three examples of the imagery of this epic will be examined and contrasted between an online scholar video of the Odyssey retold.
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.
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
Paris is portrayed in this passage as being a walking contradiction. He appears to be a hero, but is one of the causes of the war because he kidnapped Helen for his own selfish interests. Homer uses the contradictions in Paris’ behavior to suggest the ironic contrasts in his character. For example, in line 40, after seeing his formidable opponent Atrides, he “dissolve[s] again in the proud Trojan lines, dreading Atrides—magnificent, brave Paris.” At first glance, he appears very afraid, hardly the hero he is supposed to be. He “dissolves,” as Homer describes it, a verb choice which implies fragmentation of attitude or feeling. It is as if his famed hero’s will were itself disintegrating on the battlefield. Homer uses the epithet “proud” to modify the Trojan lines, an adjective that intensifies the effect of Paris’ action of retreating by mentioning its opposite. Homer further reviles Paris by calling him, ironically, “magnificent” and “brave,” thereby heightening the indignity of his cowardly retreat.
Homer’s The Iliad chronicles Achilles’ life during a small section of the Trojan war. In Book 16, “Patroclus Fights and Dies,” Homer uses the phrase “O my rider” to highlight the path Achilles’ good friend and comrade, Patroclus, takes that leads towards his death. In addition, this, and the use of second person are used to draw readers into the action in the chapter.
Change, in The Iliad, appears in many forms, but most originate from the actions of others. It is human nature for men to follow their will almost without any regard for those around them. This unwavering willpower brings change upon the weaker wills of other men. Faced with change, the weaker man’s path is altered either slightly or drastically. From this alteration, man is given choices or must make it himself. Through these experiences, they become more aware or more confused with what goes on around them. Regardless of whether they deal with it or not, they accept that change is inevitable and will continue forward. Knowing their lives are comparatively ephemeral to the immortals, they have the tendency of seizing the day. It almost sounds humbling when they say, “no man can turn aside nor escape…let us go on and win glory
The similes present in The Aeneid are used to better relate a familiar situation to the audience to explain an unfamiliar one. By doing so, Virgil is able to subtly hint at the inner beast of Rome that has been tamed by civilization. In The Aeneid, natural imagery being tamed by civilization, through usage of similes, illustrates the supremacy of Rome. This is done by utilizing similes of predators vs. prey, and other natural elements to represent human emotions and their corresponding actions.
In The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood, the maid’s chorus lines interrupts Penelope’s reminisces with a “behind the scene” view of what is happening in The Odyssey, in which the maids finally have a chance to tell their story. They put a dark spin of what is considered an amusing epic poem, in which they lamented about their unfair deaths, Penelope’s betrayal, and Odysseus’s cruelty. Among the choruses, “A Rope Jumping Rhyme” is important since it’s the first time we see a different perspective of what we once believed in The Odyssey. Here, a more realistic version of the truth is exposed through the structure of the rhyme, the maid’s accusations, and Odyssey’s actions.
Simone Weil’s essay “The Iliad: or Poem of Force” places importance on human interaction, the grounding, empathic, human relations which are rare, fleeting, and necessary. She claims Force to be a governing factor in all human interaction, and the ‘thingness’, which force prescribes to humans, as a dangerous, uncontrollable factor of human existence. In order to overcome force, one must direct all their attention towards recognizing others suffering. In her other essay, “Attention and Will,” Weil discusses religious attention as the most important. She claims that one must practice a passive attention to God in order to reach a divinity beyond reality itself which holds truth.
Virgil’s Aeneid, tells the story of the founding of Rome. It follows the last of the Trojan’s who escaped the fate of Troy. Troy eventually falls following Homer’s The Iliad, and Virgil continues the story of their people. The Trojans are not, however, the only similarity between the two books. Virgil employs many of the same image patterns that Homer uses in The Iliad. The symbolism of fire, shields, and gates are used in both epic poems.
The Iliad by Homer is an epic poem separated in different books or chapters that shows a fictionalized account of the Trojan War. Book 6: Hector Returns to Troy is the specific portion of the poem that is being covered in this essay. Hector from the Iliad shows a very clear aspect of his personality, a strong sense of loyalty and tenderness for his loved ones and also his people by being on the front lines during the war and showing his people he is willing to fight with them and essentially sacrificing himself for his family. Hector even knows his forgiveness towards his brother, Paris even though Paris is the main reason the Trojan War is in existence.
Simone Weil, a French writer, explores the depth and motive of why and how we do the things we do. In this critical review, Weil elucidates the role of force in the Iliad. It is exceptionally difficult to put into words the meaning that Weil gives force. When she defines it, she states, “it is that x that turns anybody who is subjected to it into a thing” (331). When I first read this, I did not comprehend what she meant by it. As Weil refers to force, she uses in the context of war and the taking of lives in the Iliad. This force takes away all natural abilities.
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.
One of the most compelling topics The Iliad raises is that of the intricate affiliations between fate, man and the gods. Many events related by Homer in his epic poem exhibit how these three connections interweave and eventually determine the very lives of the men and women involved in the war. Homer leaves these complex relationships slightly unclear throughout the epic, never spelling out the exact bonds connecting men's fate to the gods and what can be considered the power of fate. The motivation for the ambiguousness present in The Iliad is not easily understood, but it is a question that enriches and helps weave an even greater significance of the results into Homer's masterpiece. I feel that the interaction between man, god, and fate can be shown to be one great fluidity that ultimately leaves life mysterious, giving much more depth and complexity to the bonds between the three.