We always ask why do writers draw on a story from twelfth through the eighth century B.C. The Illiad for example is not a story about the Trojan War; it’s about the wrath of Achilles. This story “dominated by the theft of two women has come to epitomize ideals of heroism and loyalty, sacrifice and loss,” (41). This is why a story about a community of poor fishermen in the Caribbean can be connected to myths such as The Illiad. Derek Walcott has his heroes perform actions that symbolize events in Homer. “Homer gives us four great struggles of the human being: with nature, with the divine, with other humans, and with ourselves,” (42). Also, Oedipus shows up in many different variations. There tons of stories about family triangle, being blinded, and dysfunctional families. In order to be able to better analyze literature, we need to remember that myths are stories, that take the shape of stories that are deeply ingrained in our group memory, that shape our culture and our in turn shaped by it, that constitutes a way of seeing by which we read the world and ultimately
In the Iliad, the character of Achilles has numerous character flaws that cause him to have blinded judgement towards his actions as well as shutting out everyone around within the epic poem. Achilles’ rage keeps him from being the hero that we were supposed to see him as. Achilles’ anger has lead to him committing cruel behavior; a large majority of the horrific violence within Homer’s story, comes from Achilles’ relentless rage. But is his rage truly without proper cause and justification? King Agamemnon forced Achilles’ to hand over his beloved Briseis to him, which caused Achilles to withdraw his men from the Achaean army. Achilles’ closest
It is so deeply rooted that it encompasses Achilles, becoming a characteristic of this great warrior, influencing his actions and chooses throughout the story, such as leaving the fighting and considering the idea to return to Pythia. The depth of Achilles rage and hatred is demonstrated through in his response to Agamemnon, concerning the gifts he offered as compensation for his wrongs, saying that “not if his gifts outnumbered all the grains of sand and dust in the earth, no not even then could Agamemnon bring my fighting spirit round” (9.470-472). The true rage of Achilles is extremely important to the entire story of The Iliad, as from Book One through Book Nine Achilles allows this rage to control his actions, causing him to Achilles remains absent from the fighting as well as causing him to pray to Zeus that Trojans may receive the upper hand in the fighting so that the Greeks may suffer for Agamemnon’s actions. Therefore, this profound rage is an extremely important aspect of The Iliad, as it ultimately effects not only Achilles actions but also course of the
Greek mythology can be viewed as a mirror to the ancient Greek civilization. Ancient Greek myths and legends often reflected how the Greeks saw themselves. Myths were used by Greeks to make justifications of every existing aspect of earth as well as their own society. In myths, Greek gods & heroes often represented key aspects of the human civilization. From Greek mythology, we can learn about the favorable characteristics of humans, such as their behavior and valuable skills that were approved of by the ancient Greek society. We can also learn about what was viewed as immoral or of little value. In addition, reviewing the Greek myths allows us to determine that the Greek society was generally a patriarchal society and agricultural and war were strong elements that shaped the ancient Greek society.
Since the beginning of time man has waged war with catastrophic outcomes for many reasons. The Trojan war was the brutal fight for Helen, the fairest woman of the known world. Was it the revenge seeked by Gods and mortals? Or was it the justice seeked by Gods and mortals? Gods and mortals fought a brutal war for what they thought was right and to get back at past evils. The actions inspired by vengeance and justice in Homer’s Iliad shows how detrimental the effects can be on others.
Written by Homer, The Iliad, portrays the life of Achilles, and how the Greek Hero allowed anger to overwhelm his decision making. Complications arise when anger leads to hate, pride, or suffering, and Achilles life illustrates the results of anger. Throughout the book anger slowly consumes Achilles and significantly changes results of the Trojan War. Causing him to act foolishly, Achilles’ anger brought harm upon many Greek people. Also, The Iliad teaches that anger caused a downfall to Achilles’ life. Achilles anger throughout Homer’s masterpiece results in the unnecessary deaths of many warriors, a shameful reputation, and a disastrous downfall.
In Homer’s The Iliad, epic hero Achilles serves as an example of how rage, when unchecked, leads to disastrous repercussions. Achilles, though nearly superhuman in his physical abilities, struggles repeatedly to contain his anger. Throughout The Iliad, as Achilles’ fury compounds, the consequences of his actions become catastrophic, eventually leading to the death of his best friend, Patroclus. Although Achilles ultimately chooses to avenge Patroclus’ death and achieve his own kleos, or honor, his rage-driven actions lead to the death of many Achaean soldiers, and change the course of his fate.
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. The Iliad also spotlights the individual qualities of a Greek hero or non-hero. Numerous characters in the Iliad demonstrated exceptional qualities of a Greek person that was valued, such as bravery and helpfulness and that was disproved of like selfishness.
In the epic poem, the Iliad written by Homer, several characters taking part in the warfare between the Achaeans and the Trojans are portrayed as embodying the heroic code of courage, physical strength, leadership, arete of value of honour, and the acceptance of fate. The heroic code is illustrated by the actions of the Trojan prince, Hector and the Achaeans strongest warrior, Achilles. Both of these characters display the Greek’s image of a hero, and can also let the reader discern what the society admires, looks up to and aspires to in its heroes. There are also characters who fail to be heroic, such as the Trojan “vivid and beautiful” prince, Paris. These characters in the Iliad illustrate the qualities that Ancient Greek society values.
The two main oldest epic tales in the world, ‘Epic of the Gilgamesh’ and Homer’s ‘Iliad’ deals with many significant issues that pose a meaning in the life of an individual and communities. The Epic of Gilgamesh was written 1500 years before Homer wrote the Iliad. It tells the story of mighty hero Gilgamesh, the hero king of Uruk, and his adventures. The Iliad is an epic poem written in the mid-8th Century BCE. It describes the main events in the final weeks of the Trojan War and the Greek siege of the city of Troy. The wrath of Achilles, themes of glory and fate are portrayed in the subject matter of the epic.
Within the Iliad and its ever-present themes, the theme of revenge is against the Trojans due to Paris taking Meleanus ' wife Helen who was claimed to be the most beautiful woman in the land. Also, Achilles goes against Agamemnon who to take revenge on Achilles takes away his prize that he rightful deserved and
The Iliad was a really good representation of the chaotic war-torn times of the area surrounding the Mediterranean Sea; this includes the countries Rome and Greece. It was a time where nations were trying to expand their power and influence and warriors were claiming their spoils of war. I mean the beginning of book I of The Iliad, Achilles and Agamemnon are arguing over the rewards and the spoils of war. Agamemnon didn’t want to give up his prize girl Chryses in order to please the God Apollo and stop the plague and the rain of arrow falling from Olympus. However, in the end Agamemnon took Achilles’ girl, Briseis, which really hurt Achilles in the end. These warriors took a lot of pride in the things or people that they
One of the major consequences of war is the horrific tragedies that occur. In the Iliad, in book eighteen, when Achilles hears that Hector killed Patroclus he is filled with rage and enters the war seeking vengeance. His rage causes him to kill hundreds of trojans and seek
Literary epics, including the Aeneid, typically have a very poetic and lyrical sense of style in the writing that go hand in hand with the other characteristics of epics such as supernatural forces, the actions of superhuman strength, and a hero or heroine. Authors of epics, for example the Aeneid, the Iliad, and the Odyssey, often include several different themes and lessons that the reader can learn from reading the stories. The themes and lessons vary from simple moral beliefs to psychological behavior. Most themes, however, have to do with the way humans act and human nature. In the Aeneid, one theme that deals with human nature is the idea that strong sentiments or feelings between people or towards situations can overwhelm a person and
The Iliad is a riveting tale of violence and rage amongst heartbreak and tragedy, where a range of emotions are evoked through various events and decisions made by the characters throughout. Some of these characters act on impulse, while others think over with others and themselves to find the best course of action and do what they feel would be the best, be it for their families or their people, or for themselves alone. Through such feelings, certain events play out that either work out to the favor of the characters, or the exact opposite. Characters like Achilles and Agamemnon act on their anger, often going beyond what would be deemed reasonable and even affecting the events following. Achilles’ anger was triggered by Agamemnon’s arrogance