Achilles and Homer

Homer’s poems still influence modern literature because he is studied by nearly every student. These students can grow up to write stories that were influenced by Homer without ever realizing it. Many texts are just the accumulation of previous texts read put in an order different from all other previous works. According to Anthony W. Lee in “Samuel Johnson as intertextual critic,” “each new work [of literature] draws power and articulation from its predecessors, even as it contributes something new.” Homer was one of the first authors to have in-depth characterization of main characters. This depth makes the characters seem life-like and more realistic. For instance in The Iliad, the warriors Achilles and Hector show their vulnerability in different ways. While Achilles weeps because Agamemnon takes

2. Short essay on Homer’s Iliad due in lecture on November 8th (500-600 words or two double-spaced pages to be written on a computer and printed on a printer; 10%)

The time frame is one of the reasons Homer’s writings became well known. He wrote during a time where literacy almost disappeared, and was starting to come back. The other reason being he wrote about the Heroic Age in the Dark Ages of Greek history, giving the people something that brought them pleasure in bad times.

Homers epic poem, The Odyssey, tells the tale of the Greek hero, Odysseus’s 10-year struggle to reach home after the Trojan war. While this book mentions many mythological themes, Homer includes factual information about ancient Greeks and their way of life. He details their culture though the characters and plot of the story. He uses his skill as a poet and philosopher to inform readers about the achievements, values and culture of the Greeks. Religion, xenia and loyalty all play a large part in the poem and happen to be very important to real Greeks during that time.

Homers epic poem, The Odyssey, tells the tale of the Greek hero, Odysseus’s ten-year struggle to reach home after the Trojan war. While this poem mentions many mythological themes, Homer includes factual information about ancient Greeks and their way of life. He details their culture though the plot and characters of the story, using his skill as a poet to inform readers about the achievements, values and culture of the Greeks. Religion, xenia and loyalty all play a large part in the poem and happen to be very important to real Greeks during that time.

Achilles was fundamentally passionate in nature which is the foundation of the heroic characteristics and qualities described by Homer in The Iliad. The character exhibited emotions which were responsible for heroic forcefulness that was provoked by and reacted to the actions of others, and interpreted as reactions to provocations; however, at the center of the emotions is anger. In the Iliad, Homer portrays Achilles as a character with multiple temperaments ranging from superhuman strength and courage, vengeful and quick to anger and could be petulant when conditions were not favorable, to deeply loyal and would sacrifice anything for friends and family. The character of Achilles reflected attributes of a lover of war, vengeful and intense anger, love, suffering, pain, and heroic duty.

      The Iliad is a story of rages of Achilles and the War of Troy. Thanks to the techniques of the author, Homer, The Iliad is very colorful, romantic, and it makes the readers imagine the ancient Greeks and their times of war. Homer is believed to be the author of epics other than the Iliad, although their authorship remains uncertain. Historian believes that Homer probably lived in the eighth century, B.C.1 (Discovering World History). However, there are very few things that we know about him. Some historians think Homer's birthplace may have been on an island on the eastern edge of the Aegean Sea, or perhaps in a city on the nearby coast, but they don't have evidence to

Homer’s poems reflect the qualities that should be found on men of this stage, these were predominantly heroic values. Is Homer building an ideal world through his poems? Is he writing about the quiet desires of every man and woman of Greece from these times?

“Homer’s Odyssey is the only surviving poem from a cycle of poems called the Nostoi (“the Returns”), which told of the returns home of the various Greek heroes at Troy” (Norcott, 2012). The Odyssey is one of many accounts of the Greek heroes that took part in the Trojan War. Odysseus’ story was just one that survived after all of these years. The story came out as an Epic only because of how the people revered the heroes as they started many trends, such as Odysseus’ Trojan horse. “These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.” (Homer, 2015). These writings were the beginning of understanding and getting information across many nations. Among many translations, the basis of the epithet is that the underlying message is important. The said message will be gone into depth later on. ”Homer 's works, which are about fifty percent speeches, provided models in persuasive speaking and writing…” (Homer, 2015). His works seemed too real. “…that were emulated throughout the ancient and medieval Greek worlds.” (Homer, 2015). You can say that The Odyssey has influenced many generations. The style has been copied for many, many years and was at one point the only way of writing or telling of monumental journeys like Odysseus’. “Odysseus’ adventures and growth are much more prevalent in the Odyssey than those of any other character” (Lower, 2015). He begins on Calypso’s island, where he has everything,

Written by the ancient Greek poet Homer, The Iliad tells an epic tale of the events surrounding the Trojan War and the siege of the city of Troy. The Iliad is considered one of the most renowned and loved stories in history. Homer masterfully constructed a tale surrounding the Trojan War, created scenes of gory battles, and delved into themes of glory, fate, and mortality. He portrayed complex characters showcasing their arête and displaying other heroic characteristics admired by ancient Greece – strong, athletic, commanding, and wise – human beings seemingly perfect at first glance. But his characters were not all perfect beings. Each character had their own shining qualities and strength, but they also had their own weaknesses, that created

Greetings, I am Homer. Currently, I am writing my life story to you during my older years such that I have more knowledge now. It begins at roughly 801 B.C when I was born, on the coast of Asia Minor, to be precise, where almost immediately; I took on a strong liking to literature. I studied artwork, religious pieces, stories, and poetry. It struck me hard when I discovered that I too could be able to create such masterpieces. I began small, writing little portions of works addressed as celebrations to our gods, 34 were created, and these composed my collection of Homeric-Hymns. Although these were found popular by the local town’s people I knew I need to increase my abilities and writings.

A writer is a reflection of his age. A work of art is considered a mirror of the customs, culture, and concepts of the age to which it belongs. Homer’s writings are a true representation of this. His Iliad and Odyssey both reflect the old Greek culture, yet in Homeric touch. The meantime the Greek gods and goddesses are

Homer was known to be a legendary ancient Greek poet who formed the admirable epics of the Odyssey, and lliad. Born somewhere between the 12th and 8th century B.C. During that time period seven different cities claimed of having been his birthplace, but none of them can be validated. However, the time and location of his living is still controversial, he was a native and resident of some part of Greece or Asia Minor. Homer suffered from visual impairment, and was considered the teacher of Greece, due to his epics widely influencing the Greek culture.

To most scholars, Homer is a familiar name, typically associated with two epic poems from ancient Greece: the Iliad and the Odyssey. But Homer is also, to many scholars, a mystery. The Homeric Question is the name of a group of questions that have been around for nearly two centuries. These questions surround the history of Homer (who he is, when he was alive, where he may have lived) and the origins of the poems associated with him (how were they originally composed, and whether both poems were conceived by the same poet). While there are many biographies written about Homer, none of them are based on facts. This shows that even in ancient times there were debates about from where, and when, he came.

Homer was an unbelievable antiquated Greek writer who composed the stories, the Iliad and the Odyssey. These stories were a piece of Western ordinance of writing and extraordinarily affected the historical backdrop of writing. The real time and area of his living is still questionable. The old Greek antiquarian, Herodotus evaluated that Homer lived 400 years before him, which was around 850 BC, though the other old sources put him around Trojan War in twelfth century BC. Be that as it may, the advanced researchers decide his season of referring so as to live the period in which the sagas were composed. They express that the two legends were made around eighth century BC and that the Iliad was composed couple of decades before the Odyssey. Some later researchers assessed the date of formation of stories around seventh century. Couple of researchers even say that the Homeric sonnets step by step created and got to be altered messages just in sixth century. Researchers like Martin West, expresses that Homer is not the name of a chronicled writer, but rather an invented or built name. The Homeric sagas were broadly credited for impacting the Greek culture and Homer was viewed as the instructor of Greece.