Greek Values In The Iliad

And the world will remember your name. But if you go to Troy, you will never come back... for your glory walks hand-in-hand with your doom. And I shall never see you again” (Troy). Said by Thetis, Achilles mother. Even though Achilles was warned by his mother that is he went to Troy he will be remembered, but he will die, he still held his own.

The Ancient Greeks value specific qualities in a person, however they did not value other. Ancient Greeks valued these qualities based on certain achievements or on a performances in war or even inside the city walls making substantial decisions. The Iliad is an epic novel by the Greek poet Homer. The Iliad is based off of the Trojan war between the Achaeans led by King Agamemnon and the Trojans led by King Priam of Troy. This novel focuses on the actions of several characters and how the disparate gods interfered with the war to help one or the other side have a chance to win.

Aeneas, captain of the Trojans tells one of his soldiers in battler “[n]o talk of turning for home! No talk of turning the tide” until their enemies are defeated.During his reprimand of Thersites, Odysseus admits that he does no know how long the war will last nor how it will end. To many readers, this war appearers trivial and insesent, but none of that matters to a Homeric hero. What matters to these men is honor and glory, both of which can be attained by following the martial

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.

If you look at a modern day hero such as a military general, much like Achilles, a military general refuses to give into the enemy. Both heroes will fight until they are the victor, defeat is not in their vocabulary. A military general as well does not handle the lose of men well at all. Casualties to their own men take a big affect on both a military general and Achilles it only drives them to fight

All of these qualities are important because, according to Aristotle, they are what makes a tragic hero. 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).

Two examples are on page 24 and page 103. On page 24, Odysseus protests the chieftains to continue to fight the war and that it would be a shameful thing to leave the war. But Thersites protests Odysseus, who is the Greek war leader. So, Odysseus beats Thersites with a scepter. This shows Odysseus is honorable because even though it may seem abuse, it was the right thing to do.

This conversation goes on for a while before they realize everyone has a different opinion. Misopeliades tell the men that he thinks it’s a bad idea for Achilles to go and fight in war because he never does anything right. Misopeliades feels Achilles will only make things worse than what they are already. Misopeliades thinks he is only thinking of going to the war because he wants to be seen as respected by his people. The whole war wouldn’t be as bad if Achilles didn’t become so enraged over such a little situation.

Agamemnon knew that if they beat Troy, then he would control a major passage of trade which would make him the undisputed ruler of all of Greece. But, while all the kings gathered in Greece, the gods would not send a fair wind for the ships to sail. Agamemnon said, “Give me a fair wind and a hope of glory if it will cost me my kingdom and my life.” He is then told by the Greek prophet, Calchas, that the king would have to sacrifice his daughter, Iphigenia at the temple of Artemis in order to sail. Agamemnon was shocked, and refrained from doing anything. Yet, when the days grew long and the kings began to blame Agamemnon, he feared the kings would leave.

Some may argue that Odysseus is not a hero because of the assistance he receives from the godsBecause of the assistance he receives from the gods, some may argue that Odysseus is not truly a hero. In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus is still a hero even with the god 's help because he battles the Cyclops on his own, is respected and followed