Characteristics Of Greek Values In The Iliad

Achilles is so enraged that he does not care for glory or honor instead it is all about revenge. He goes to try and destroys everything in his path and kills Hector. Hector asks him for a proper burial, but Achilles does not care and instead drags him through the dust. Achilles finally relents, when Priam asks for Hector’s body. Achilles reenters society with Priam by giving hospitality to Priam.

Eventually Patroclus gets killed. Achilles is humiliated and regrets his actions. He vows to avenge Patroclus’ death. His humility causes him to fight to redeem himself, he returns back to the path of being a hero. These examples are only a few of the many that are in the Iliad, but they explain exactly what hubris

He wants to be remembered for doing unthinkable things, killing the impossible. The gods are seen as such a high power by the Greeks and to give guidance by one is a huge accomplishment. Yet Odysseus still thinks only of fame. Even the goddess realizes this, Odysseus can not even listen to the gods when they tell him to be careful, he is too overcome with greed and fame to care about his own life. Odysseus shows yet another time throughout his journey that he is willing to risk his life and the life of others to be remembered.

There are a lot of leaders in Greek mythology that use deceit and dishonesty to accomplish their own goals. One example of this is the Greek hero Odysseus from The Odyssey by Homer. Throughout the story Odysseus uses a lot of clever and deceitful tactics to get his men and himself out trouble. Odysseus’s deceit and dishonesty may help Odysseus, but it causes in the end causes for Odysseus to lose his leadership, loyalty skills and a less desirable outcome.

The Iliad, written by Homer, is an ancient Greek epic about the Trojan War, which the divine certainly influences. Unlike how most gods might act or behave in books nowadays, the gods in the Iliad share some uncommon traits. For example helping their favorite morals, the idea of justice and harmony is surely excluded in the portrayal of Greek gods. The divine in the Iliad are characterized as very emotional and somewhat manipulative. Regardless of what occurs, it 's all the doing of the gods.

Apollo, son of Zeus and Leto, is often called, “the most Greek of all the god” (29) for his beautiful physique and music. Hercules is too the Greek’s hero, because he represents the “classic hero”, with lots of strength, courage and emotion. What isolates Hercules from other Greek heroes is his compulsion to mend what he think to be his mistakes, though are not always his. Since the gods rarely receive punishment for their mistakes, Hercules must suffer at the expense of Hera, though it was her jealousy that truly killed his family. However, Hercules feels it his doing, so he quickly attempts to cleanse himself of his actions, by killing himself; “Shall I spare my own life then?”

In ancient Greek culture, it seems the gods control the fate of men. Homer clearly states in the Odyssey that Poseidon, god of the sea, was angry at Odysseus but “won’t quite kill Odysseus--/ drives him far off course from native land” (1.89-90). This shows us that the gods’ opinions and feelings can affect a man’s fate. Even though Poseidon’s actions seem unfair,

The Peloponnesian War The Peloponnesian war like most wars started because one nation was scared that another nation was getting too powerful. In this situation those two nations or city-states were Athens and Sparta. Both of these city-states were once very good friends, they had actually fought side by side during the War between Greece and Persia. Most of what we know about this war comes from Thucydides, who was around when the war was happening.

Although some may argue otherwise, Creon is the best fitting tragic hero of the story Antigone. In Greek tragedy, a character usually possesses a hamartia, or tragic flaw, this flaw evokes emotions such as pity and fear into the audience. Creon’s hamartia is arrogance, throughout the story is uses his power to make him seem above others. When Teiresias comes to warn Creon of the gods wrath, they get into an argument with Creon saying “Dost know at whom thou glancest, me thy lord?”(54).

Homer underlines that this behavior is foul, for Achilles allows his soldiers to wound the body and then bounds Hector’s feet to his chariot in order to harm the body. Although Hector asked him to give his body to his family, Achilles ignores the last will of the dying Trojan hero because he is still obsessed with his revenge. One should remember that the Greeks believed it was the issue of primary importance to bury a person’s body in a decent way so that their spirit would find the sanctuary. In other words, Achilles takes revenge in the most horrible way

For Spartans, cowardice was a weakness, something to be scorned on. To flee from battle was cowardice. Add this to the fact that Spartans were trained for war. Their ideals of discipline, bravery, and honor were more important than death. To die a

Mercutio’s ignorant decision to duel Tybalt led him to his own death and grief of friends and family. Mercutio was not aware of the consequences he would be facing because of his own decision. He announces in the text, “Ask for/me to-morrow, and you shall find me a grave man. I/am peppered, I warrant, for this world. A plague o '/both

Beowulf said, “I am old, now/ But I will fight again, seek fame still…(608-609).” Beowulf expresses his need for the spotlight. Being an Anglo- Saxon, he has the urge to gain glory anyway possible. He will do whatever it takes to make himself look good.

In the Iliad on page 81, lines 205-208 it states, “Think a bit, though: this may be a thing the gods in anger hold against you on that day when Paris and Apollo destroy you at the gates, great as you are.” In those lines it tells that Achilles knew that going to fight, he would most likely die. Being an epic hero means sacrifices. Achilles made a huge scarifies by going into a battle knowing he may not come out alive but still going. While Beowulf and Achilles were alike, they also had differences.

Rather than stand and fight against Menelaus, he runs and buries himself in the Trojan army. The nobility that he has is overcome by his fear of death from Menelaus and his emotional response to run overtakes him. Hector similarly faces a similar moment of cowardliness. In Book Twenty-Two, Hector faces off with Achilles and sees him approaching closer: “Hector looked up, saw him, started to tremble, nerve gone, he could hold his ground no longer, he left the gates behind and away he fled in fear” (22.162-165). This is in stark contrast to his earlier remarks in Book Eighteen when he said, “I for one, I’ll never run from his grim assault, I’ll stand up to the man” (18.357-358).