Analysis Of Homer 's The Iliad

“As is the generation of leaves, so is that of humanity. The wind scatters the leaves on the ground, but the live timber burgeons with leaves again in the season of spring returning. So one generation of men will grow while another dies” (6.146-50)

The relationships between parents and their sons in the Iliad are not relationships we expect to see in today’s society. The Iliad portrays the relationships between fathers and sons as something more than just physical and emotional. It is based on pride and respect for one another. The expectations of their son are more so to pass on their fathers reputable name and to follow in their father’s footsteps of being noble warriors. These relationships are the driving forces in the Iliad, making each son in the Iliad identifiable first by their father’s name. An outcome of the father–son relationships is ancestral loyalty among the characters which play a prominent role in war. Therefore, not only does the Iliad share a major war story, but

In the Epic, “The Odyssey", spoken by Homer, conveys a heroic tale of an epic hero named, Odysseus, who faces many challenges as he sails to get home. One of the tasks Odysseus faces is, "The Sirens", who challenge Odysseus 's will power. Another challenge Odysseus encounters is, “The Cyclops", who torments and slaughters some of Odysseus 's men due to his curiosity. One of the hardest threats he had to confront was, “The Land of Dead" which tested his self-restraint, and revealed his human weaknesses of sorrow. The Epic Hero, Odysseus, struggles with many challenges such as, the taunting Sirens, the brutish and cruel Cyclops, and one of the arduous territories Odysseus has ever crossed, The Land of the Dead.

The notion of honor is prevalent throughout the Iliad and Antigone. Both texts demonstrate that honor is essential to Greek heroes because honor is the foundation of the society and family. Homer and Sophocles clearly show that honor guides people’s actions and responses and decides the fate of themselves and others. Both authors also place emphasis on the importance of proper burial because it is a strong indication of honor to the deceased and the deceased’s family. As can be seen in the Iliad and Antigone, the aim of every Greek hero is to gain everlasting honor because it ensures his place in the social memory of his society resounding even after death.

Every character in a story is motivated by a feeling or action. In Homer’s Iliad, the themes of aidos (shame) and kleos (honor) are used to propel the story forward and to keep the reader’s attention. The actions of the characters are heavily influenced by shame and honor. Homer does a stupendous job of portraying the feelings of shame and honor to develop specific characters in the story.

Throughout The Iliad, an epic poem written by Homer, there were numerous warriors and other characters that could be looked upon as heroes; some of these heroes included Achilles, Ajax, Diomedes, Hector, and Glaucus. All of these individuals were heroes because of their remarkable mental and physical strength: they were courageous and were better fighters in war than other ordinary men. The trade of battle was a way of life to the Greeks back in Homer’s time. Children were raised to become great servicemen to their country, and warriors lived to fight for and defend their nation with pride and valor. The heroic code was a strict morality that dealt with matters relating to honor and integrity in battle.

Some of the most memorable stories are recorded in Homer’s epic tale, The Iliad. With action packed battles, heroes and mighty gods, these tales that are so incredibly detailed that the reader can picture the battles like they were happening right in front of them. The Iliad’s legends are so infamous that even after hundreds of years they are still being told in the 21st century. Between the fighting and the glory however, there are scenes with the hero’s wives and families pleading with their loved ones to cut these stories short. If the hero of Troy, Hector, would have listened to his wife, Andromache, there would be no dramatic ending to his life and he would have lived out his days in shame. Luckily, even she realized this end and urged Hector to fight on for his city illustrating that, Andromache’s role in the myth was more import than audiences remember.

The idea of kleos otherwise known as glory in Greek, and honor is one of the most essential motifs of the Iliad. For many warriors depicted in the Iliad, honor was vital and personal. For many, Glory earned in battle was more important than one’s life. Glory or the lack of, was remembered long after one’s life. Possibly the greatest fundamental part of honor to the fighters of the Iliad was courage in battle as shown throughout multiple books. Throughout the course of this book we can see how different characters display these traits and how they influence the course of the war. Even though the Achaeans and Trojans are enemies they display a similar view, the acquisition of glory is more significant than life

Homer’s epic, The Iliad, highlights the influence and jurisdiction that beauty provides. The prizes and glory a man accumulates from war measure his power, while beauty measures a woman’s power. Since conquering a woman is the ultimate prize to a man, her beauty represents ultimate power. Though the beauty of mortal women has the power to turn men against each other, mortal women have no influence over this power and are instead objectified by men. Immortal women, however, have authority over their beauty and are able to control men with their power. Helen, on the other hand, though mortal, has the beauty of a goddess. Yet, Helen is bound by her fate to Paris, making her power obsolete. By presenting Helen’s hopeless power and supplying the reader with insight on her suffering through her thoughts, Helen is portrayed as a tragic hero.

Honor is defined as a high respect given to an individual that brings credit. To receive honor is paralleled to being crowned with jewels and being regarded as a role model to all. The society that the Iliad portrays is “centered on the battlefield of achievement and its rewards” (Homer, xxi). The figures in Homer’s epic poem, the Iliad, partake in events that will allow them to “receive more honor and more material rewards” even if it means that they must indulge themselves in heightened risks that could end in death (xxiii). Hector, one of the most pivotal characters in the poem, illustrates the lust for glory and ignorance of everything else that holds just as much importance. As his character is strengthened, it can be seen that every

Before his death the Trojan leader Hector exclaims, “Well let me die⎼but not without struggle, not without glory, no, in some great clash of arms that even men to come will hear of down the years,” (22.359-362). This proclamation reveals an important theme in Homer’s Iliad. Throughout the epic poem, the concept of honor and shame constantly reappears, from being the cause of the plot to personification as Greek and Trojan heroes to the dichotomy of honor and shame within the gods. Homer uses honor and shame as a major theme of the Iliad to show how important these attributes are to the human condition.

Throughout time, sibling have had to deal with sibling rivalry. It is been seen even as far back as the 7th or 8th century b.c.e when homer wrote the epic poem, The Iliad. In the Iliad, Homer showed us a huge sibling rivalry between the two brother Hector and Paris. He focus on these two men that both want to become a great legacy and hero. Homer’s comparison of these to characters shows there drive to become the better man. Through all of there rivalries, which include but are not limited to family, behaviour in battle, and how they relate to the gods, Hector shows that he is the more honourable man.

When hearing words honor, shame, and fate, many people regard this concepts as a something that was only significant far back in the past. These concepts, however, always play a dominant role in a society because it provides different cultural values to each country. This function of honor, shame, and fate in the social life is where the individual sense of one’s identity comes from. In the works of The Iliad and Chushingura, this concept of honor, shame, and fate play different roles, therefore, separate one culture from the other, but these factors ultimately unites together to explain prominent social values in both cultures.

Anger infiltrates and attempts to paralyze its victims with its intensifying grip. Often times, an unmet or loss of a desire sparks anger into life. As the minute spark of anger morphs into a small flame, it begins to control the thoughts, intents, and actions of its victim. Motivated by the increasing heat of anger, the victim seeks revenge. During this time, anger shackles its victim in chains and throws away the key. Grappled in these chains, the victim cannot escape on his or her own initiative or power. In the Iliad, Achilles finds himself shackled in these chains of anger. Even though Achilles fights viciously in the Battle of Troy, he willingly surrenders to anger when Agamemnon seizes his girl, Briseis. Musing over his aroused anger, Achilles allows anger to shackle him in its impeding chains. Now, Achilles’s anger which escalates until it reaches the peak of Mount Olympus where the gods reside moves the gods to suppress his anger. As the Iliad comes to a close, Achilles never breaks off the chain of anger through forgiveness but carried them to the grave. Sparked by an unjust loss of honor, the anger of Achilles fumes until it explodes into unbridled revenge.

For thousands of years the Trojan War, spoken of in Homer 's epic poem the Iliad, has been believed to have been a legend made up by Homer rather than a poem based on historical fact. It was only in 1865 that archeologists began digging up Hissarlik, the supposed site of Troy based on the Iliad, situated in Troad in the North-West of the Asian Minor. The first archeologist at this site, Frank Calvert, was convinced that Hissarlik was the site of the ancient city of Troy. After numerous archeological digs there appeared to be more Hittite evidence that indicated Troy was in fact a city which the Hittites called Wilusia, as stated on their historical tablets. Despite, after many years of excavation, the proof of the existence of Troy became evident. However, evidence for a war between the Trojans and the Greeks took a lot longer. In the Iliad it is said that the Greeks fought the Trojans for ten years in a battle lead by the king of Mycenae, Agamemnon. There is significant proof in Mycenae being the political power house during the time of the late Bronze Age when the Trojan War was fought, providing evidence that the Mycenaeans did fight against the Trojans. The Hittites records of the war appear to be accurate when compared to all other existing evidence. Indeed, their records do clearly mention the majority of wars that were fought in their region and specifically a long war in Wilusia, against the Mycenaeans. This unexpected evidence from all around the region during the