Analysis Of Homer 's ' The Iliad '

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 first book of the Iliad begins with the beginning of Achilles’ rage, the rage that will eventually cause his own people so much grief and is also the force for Homer’s version of the story of the Trojan War. Whereas the taking of Helen is the focus of the larger, traditional story, the feud between Agamemnon and the hero Achilles over a kidnapped girl defines the Iliad. Both feature a conflict over a woman, Helen and Chryses’ daughter, and a need for resolution as well as a breach of social contract: Paris steals the wife of Agamemnon, ruining the bonds of the guest relationship, while Agamemnon denies Chryse his right to ransom and invokes the wrath of the gods in the form of a plague. In both cases, however, it becomes clear that the conflict will not be resolved quickly, but will continue through the very heart of the story. By “singing of Achilles’ rage” from the first line, the narrator is clearly showing the audience that this Trojan war is not the war of Hector or Paris or Helen, but of the proud Achilles and his hero-sized enemy.

In the “Odyssey”, Odysseus goes through obstacles throughout the book that a normal man couldn’t subside. One example is in book 9, his main obstacle that he is trying to face is to escape from being held hostage in a cave by a Cyclops better known as Polyphemus. Odysseus is a archetypal hero, he is also a role model, with an ambition to get to his homeland Ithaca. He goes through resisting temptation and using his intellect and physical strength to get him there, no matter the obstacle nor the negative flaws that he faces. Odysseus put himself and his men in that situation by being curious and wanting to know what kind of land his ship and the winds led him to. This was selfish of him because it cost him some of his men, but a leader and hero has to play that role and some lives will be dealt with on the way. Odysseus says, “The rest of you will stay here while I go with my ship and crew on reconnaissance. I want to find out what those men are like, Wild savages with no sense of right or wrong Or hospitable folk who fear the gods” (Homer 429). Saying this quote alone makes Odysseus a humble man due to the fact that not even a piece of land is going to slow him down on his journey back home.

The Odyssey shows a lot of different stereotypes for women throughout the book, taking action to get what they want. Odysseus is trying to get back home after ten long years since the fall of troy, and his son is going out to find him. Throughout the book Odysseus meets lots of woman who vary in personality. He meets woman with the stereotypes: “mantis”- dominant, eats its mate, destroys to gain power, feared by many. “Damsel in distress”- persecuted maiden, woman placed in a dire predicament requires a hero to rescue her, relatively weak and frail. “Seductress”- reveals a man 's weakness, great beauty and sensuality, heavily chastised through alienationl rejection. He meets two woman named Circe and Calypso. Calypso whose is portrayed by Homer as a “Seductress” and Circe portrayed as a “Mantis”. He first has a love affair with the witch-goddess Circe, and later on gets imprisoned on Calypso’s island for 7 years. In Homer’s Odyssey, both Circe and Calypso seek power through female stereotypes; however, Circe and Calypso’s ability to understand helps them retain that power, conveying the message that once people understand each other good things can come out of it.

Agency can be defined as willed action that is freely taken after deliberation or action taken having a specific purpose behind it. In book six of the Iliad, Hector deals with the struggle of choosing between his familial duties and his public heroic responsibilities. The outcome of this conflict, presented in the passage from book six of the Iliad, represents an agency that is both purposeful and goal directed towards receiving honor. The fact that Hector leaves behind his beloved family, and doesn’t abandon his city, although it is destined to fail shows that Hector is able to make his own decisions, even when he is influenced by those outside forces.

Arle 'chia Nisby Professor Parker World Literature Sept 24,2015 Telemachus: Test of maturity In Homer 's heroic poem the Odyssey,Telemachus is an important character because will be the one to become king of Ithaca if his father 's Odysseus does not return home. However during this time he is not only protecting his mother from a suitor 's hand in marriage,but is forced to mature within a year 's time. Telemachus share strong physical characteristics of his father and based of the knowledge of his the people of Ithaca , Odysseus is the best king that they have ever had. Therefore they expect the same from his son Telemachus. Sadly the two did not compare in the beginning of the odyssey, but the story quickly overturned when Telemachus

In Homer 's The Odyssey, a growing adolescent, Telémakhos, resolves to search for his war-lost father after realizing that his home is teeming with rude, power-hungry suitors that wish to marry his mother, Penelope. With inspiration from Athena, Telémakhos travels to former comrades of his father, Odysseus, in a journey that is eerily similar to that of his father. Telémakhos and Odysseus 's journeys to bring the latter home are distinguishable in very few ways, most notably in how they are guided by men and women, respectively. The similarities in their experiences, due to conditions that affect their journeys, have differing results than the distinctions, which are a product of their emotional accustomations. Together, these situations lead to the collecting of information achieved by both parties, Telémakhos and Odysseus, as well as allowing both to further develop in maturity and social-emotional knowledge.

In the Odyssey, Homer portrays Odysseus as a strong, courageous leader who not only uses his physical strength, but also, his wit to problem solve and defeat his opponents. While Odysseus possesses many valuable traits that help him become the great leader he is, he also has one major character flaw--his hubris. Through his long trek back home to his wife and estate in the Odyssey, we see Odysseus slowly grow as a person and become slightly more humbled and less stubborn. Odysseus does not lose his hubris by the end of his journey, however, there is definitely a change in his decision makings.

While there are many scenes in the Odyssey which fall under the category of “moments of recognition” there seems to be a general structure to each scene. At first Odysseus tests the person’s loyalty by listening to them and determining whether they hold sympathetic views towards the suitors and whether they wanted him to return to his home. The next phase is a phase of deception in which Odysseus tells a tale to hide his true identity. This is followed by a scene of him foretelling the future which holds that Odysseus will in fact come back sometime in the future. The final section then is obviously the final recognition in which Odysseus revels his true identity to the people he encounters.

Homer’s The Odyssey is an epic poem which chronicles the tale of the Greek hero Odysseus’ journey to return to his homeland of Ithaca, and the struggles he endures on his quest. Throughout the poem, Odysseus faces many hardships and trials, and having been away from home for twenty years, his family often questions whether or not he is still alive. However, Odysseus repeatedly uses his cunning and arête of rhetoric in order overcome the trials and disasters he is plagued with on his journey to return home.

Throughout the existence of man, individuals spend majority of their life trying to find themselves. This journey is the journey in which they hope they will be able to discover who they truly are and in turn find their identity. One cannot say that they created their own identity because an identity is not simply how we define ourselves but also how others view us. Identity is defined as distinguishing characteristics of an individual, this being said we do not distinguish ourselves from others that is the jobs of outside entities at times. If we really simply on our own definition of self we create an illusion of the individual we want to be but not whom we truly encompass. This is where recognition plays a role. Recognition of oneself by others helps solidify the identity that we have built in our own mind for ourselves. We discover who we are through interactions and how we respond to different stimuli, what are likes are, what are dislikes are, whom we identify ourselves as being similar to. This is exemplified marvelously in Homer’s epic The Odyssey; Homer effectively uses Telemachus the son of the central character to Odysseus as a means to show the journey in which one embarks on to discover who they truly are. This voyage is a pivotal point in the transition from adolescent to an adult.

The Odyssey is known to be one of the most famous works of literature in history. The protagonist, Odysseus, has gone through many hardships and obstacles to reach his final destination and homeland, Ithaca. Throughout his journey, Odysseus encountered various trials and overcame each one with utmost courage and sportsmanship. One of his most famous encounters is his journey to the Land of the Dead. The most important thing Odysseus learned in this episode is his prophecy from Tiresias, the blind prophet and essential information needed to get home.

The Iliad, written by ancient Greek poet Homer, chronicles the battle and events during the final weeks of The Trojan War, an armed conflict between the Achaeans army and the defenders of Troy. It further recounts the story of the wrath of Achilles, the greatest warrior in the Greek army, against King Agamemnon who unfairly appropriates Briseis, the lovely maiden belonging to Achilles after relinquishing his own maiden, Chryseis, in order to end the plague sweeping the Greek armies. Infuriated by Agamemnon’s demands, the dishonored and humiliated Achilles initially withdraws from the king’s army and enlists the service of Zeus, king of all gods, to bring upon the Achaean army a devastating loss. He later reconciles with Agamemnon and joins the Greek army to avenge his friend, Patroclus’ death, who was killed by Hector, the mightiest warrior in the Trojan army. As Achilles renters the battle, he experiences aristeias his finest, most glorious moments during the conflict as he is able to rout the Trojan army, mercilessly slaughtering them one by one, and dragging the mutilated body of Hector after brutally murdering him. It is only through these fearless, life threatening actions does Achilles achieve everlasting glory, honor and fame, bestowed to him by his community. In Homer’s Iliad, Achilles’ aristeia supersedes the aristeias of other characters as the warrior is able to display unsurpassed skill and prowess in battle, is motivated to seek the principle of justice for his

The Odyssey by Homer is more light in tone than the Iliad, of the same author: The good wins while the evil is punished. Even though the gods are still strict, the relationship between Odysseus and Athena is a more sincere and equal a relationship than between God and Man in the Iliad. Odysseus is distinguished not only by his bravery, but largely by his intellect and cunning. He is the type of resourceful man whom never gives up, thinks of the causes, is reverent and never gives in. The Odyssey is more socially oriented, there are more ordinary people, shepherds, service girls and, just overall, more everyday scenes. This realism is offset by fairytale traits with magical elements as the one-eyed cannibal Polyphemus, the gods interfering, the witch-goddess Circe that transforms Odysseus ' men into swine Phaeacians carefree life and their ship sailing by itself as well as the descent into hell.

A truly talented storyteller must be able to craft his or her tale in various ways. A proficient writer can present the same literary tool in differing forms, and thereby entertain his audience despite the fact that he may be telling repetitive ideas. Yet, such a writer will connect these ideas in subtle ways, so as to create a unity in his tale. Homer was a writer who performed this feat throughout the entirety of the Iliad and showed his unique ability to weave a tale full of similes that both enhanced and unified his story. Although Homer used a variety of subjects in his similes, and many of them had a common thread. Homer’s unique ability was to create a tale so descriptive that the listener was able to fully immerse him or