Advice From The ' The Iliad ' Essay

There are many lessons that can be learned from reading Homer's The Iliad. One of which is understanding the stages of grief. One can literally watch Achilles go through all five stages when he morns the death of his comrade Patroclus. Achilles moves through Denial and Isolation, Depression, Anger, Bargaining and Acceptance in the short time after his close friends death.

Action from necessity is a constantly recurring theme in Thucydides’ The Landmark Thucydides: A Comprehensive Guide to the Peloponnesian War. A sentiment used to explain the growth of the Athenian Empire which some Athenians espoused to an assembly at Sparta best quantifies necessity, “. . . we were necessarily compelled at first to advance the hegemony to where it is—especially by fear, and then by honor, and later by benefit.” (Selected Passages 1.75.3). This claim, referred to as the Athenian Thesis, is used to advance the two following implications: all states act with the motivations of fear, honor and interest and no one can condemn a state for doing so. The Athenian Thesis influences the way many of the Athenian elite structure their patterns of reasoning in both noticeable and subtle ways.

One of the greatest and highly esteemed authors throughout all of history is known simply as Homer. Homer is the author who gave a visible, written form to two of the greatest and highly respected epic stories of the world of the ancient Greeks, the Iliad and The Odyssey. However, none are certain of the time in which Homer lived. It is believed now that, if Homer was at all more than myth himself, he did not create the two stories, rather he organized or edited the poems in a written form (Bloom). Regardless of Homer’s involvement with the two stories, these ancient tales are distinct and characterized by the world in which they were conceived. The Iliad and The Odyssey both heavily draw inspiration from and are firmly founded upon the religious beliefs of the ancient Greeks. Being so firmly founded upon the ancient Greek religion, which has for centuries been mythology with many mystical and unusual creatures of fantasy, homer’s tales have withstood the test of time, captivating the attention of countless readers though many millennia and inspired the imagination of those who have read through the glorious epic.

The true essence of human nature is seen during times of great hardships as can be seen comparing Pericles' Funeral Oration and the plague in Thucydides', The History of the Peloponnesian War. Thucydides accounts for many different aspects of justice, power, and human nature through his text. The order, the style of his writing, choice of words, and relations of what he believes actually happened, allows the reader to make different inferences about the message he's trying to convey. The juxtaposition of the two stories portrays many different characteristics to investigate and analyze.

Portions of modern society believe fate to be concrete and unchanging. However, in ancient times, it was believed to be influenced and guided by the actions of the gods. Similarly, in The Iliad by Homer, the actions of the gods influence the life, death, and fate of each and every individual. Gods such as Zeus, Athena and Apollo take great influence in human affairs in The Iliad. These actions cause life, death, sorrow, and triumph to befall various individuals of the story. Achilles’ fate results, solely, from these actions the gods undertake. In particular, the gods influence on Achilles’ fate shows when the gods keep Achilles from killing Agamemnon, staying out of the war, and holding onto his rage.

The perspective that Thucydides took to write History of the Peloponnesian War gave his work, on a first read, the impression that his opinion was removed to provide an objective analysis of the destruction of the greatness of Athens over the period of the war. He began with a “medical history” of how humanity structured the first societies based on the interplay between fear, interest, and honor. Then, progressed to how war devolved the great Athenian society. Which took Thucydides from revisiting eloquent speeches over strategy to simpler retellings of brash disputes. Thoughtful placement displayed Thucydides’ opinion of Athens’ actions, how he viewed the other city-states’ positions on various issues in the book, and emphasized

The book written by Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War, contains two controversial debates between distinguished speakers of Athens. The two corresponding sides produce convincing arguments which can be taken as if produced as an honest opinion or out of self-interest. The two debates must be analyzed separately in order to conclude which one and which side was speaking out of honest opinion or self-interest, as well as which speakers are similar to each other in their approach to the situation.

Schools all around the country are reading books from the same author or from the same time. For example, Dover High School’s AP class is reading Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut Jr and Paradise Lost by John Milton. Our class has already read a Kurt Vonnegut Jr book, however, instead of reading a John Milton book, we are reading The Iliad. You’ll Grow Out of It  is a memoir about Jessi Klein’s transition from “girlhood” into “adulthood” though comical yet poignant real-life stories. If it was put into the curriculum, the books that we would be reading will be more diverse. This is because the book offers an insight into the mind of a woman. Which differs from the normal curriculum because all the books we read come from a male perspective or author. In 2010 The New York Times interviewed 365 authors, and of that group 83 percent were male while only 17 percent were female.

The number 12 was central to Greek stories and Mythos. Examples of this are the 12 main deities, and Hercules’ 12 tasks. This number was also deeply relevant to the plot of the Iliad, and appears at almost every major plot point. The first appearance is the number of days until Zeus will return to Mount Olympus and Thetis can approach him with Achilles’ plea (1.449)—and the last is the number of days until they will resume war after the return of Hector’s body to his people (24.717). This gives the book another level of closure and symmetry, with the same amount of time passing as the story begins and ends.

Homer’s epic The Iliad, is a great tale of war and glory. It takes place during the last year of the ten year Greek-Trojan war. The Greeks have been fighting with the Trojans for quite some time, and just when peace seemed like a possibility, the youngest prince of Troy, Paris, acts out selfishly and steals the beautiful wife of Menelaus, Helen. This instigates the fighting again. Throughout The Iliad, Homer tells of two heroes, both similar, but also very different in their character; the great and powerful Greek, Achilles, and the strong, loving father, Prince Hector of Troy. In Homer’s The Iliad, Hector and Achilles differ as heroes in regards to pride, duty, and family love, the latter being self-centered and prideful, while the

be looked at as "the wife of Hektor, who was ever the bravest fighter of

The Iliad is an epic tale of war and hero’s within the Greek way of life. A

Written by the Greek historian Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War is one that tells the story of the war (431-404 BC) which divided the Greek world between Athens and its allies and Lacedaemon. The Melian Dialogue presents two sides and two perspectives that of the Melians neutrality and that of the Athenians’ might. By Thucydides juxtaposing the Athenian’s position to that of the Melians, there is a clear conclusion of which side actions are tactically and morally acceptable. One would argue that the Athenians are immoral for violently plundering the Melian territory because they had the power to do so. However, given the circumstance of trying to defend their empire due to the imbalance of forces, the Athenian actions are not

After reading Homer’s text, we realize that while it contains fine poetic history it is in fact about the human condition and how it affects people, Achilles primarily. The reality for people in the world of The Iliad is that they live under many gods, and that they can not please all of them; indeed, the gods are at odds with each other and to support one means to upset another. While the ideal condition for the Greeks is to possess sophrosyne, in reality there are too many uncontrollable external pressures to do so. Just as the gods who influence men are not harmonious, therefore, we find this quality also in the explanation of the human condition for Greek cultures.

In the Iliad there are many characters that could be considered heroic. But the two main characters that stand out as heroes to me are swift-footed Achilles and flashing-helmet Hector. Numerous times throughout the epic they display qualities and traits that are unsurpassed by anyone on their side. Many times throughout the epic Achilles and Hector are tested for their strength, and will to win in battle, which for both warriors always ends up positive because they always win their battles. Although both fighters are among the elite status in the armies, they each show human and god-like qualities that help them be as a fierce and feared as possible.