Comparing The Iliad, Sundiata, And The Ramayana

Homer clearly and precisely depicts the religion and the ethics of the Achean and Trojan societies in The Iliad. In The Iliad, the Greeks and Trojans struggled to adhere to the codes of religion and ethics, of their society. The Iliad is an epic poem dedicated to the pursuit of honour and name immortality through fame by humans who were inevitably mortal. During the time of the Trojan war, religion played an important role in the societies. Sacrifice, prayer, and rituals were all equally significant, and the superiority of the gods and the fates above humans was a standard of society. The gods were sacred deities to whom one had to bestow honour and respect. Within the society, honour, glory, and fame were desperately sought by warriors striving

The themes of myths speak to concerns for every human being. This shows that different cultures are interconnected and share ideas. From reading the Epic of Gilgamesh we can begin to understand the values help by ancient Mesopotamian society. By reading the Ramayana we can analysis the religion and world view of Hinduism. Many ancient stories seem to parallel each other. Although stories are written in diverse cultures, there tend to be likenesses, especially between the protagonists. This is true with the stories of the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Ramayana when it comes to the depictions of their hero’s.

The violence of war that takes place in the Iliad is directly related to the war that the United States is facing now and has for the past fifteen years. Violence and war were major themes in the Iliad and today we see war, not only between our country and others but all over the world.

Sundiata, West African King of Mali, spent most of his childhood years physically impaired, later gaining powers and capabilities to serve in his given position. Gilgamesh, on the contrary is the King of Uruk and a tyrant beast who has promiscuous characteristics. In both epics, the protagonists venture out on journeys to pursue different goals. In terms of geographic location, Sundiata’s passage occurs in western African amongst the Mande people in the Mali Empire (Miller 354). On the other hand, the Epic of Gilgamesh focuses on Sumerians in Mesopotamia (Modern day Iraq) (Miller 27, 30). The two historical epics have many parallel themes such as origins, superhuman traits, and heroism; amongst these are also many differences, for example the battles fought by both Kings and dependence on technologies in different cultures.

Sundiata was written in Africa. Gilgamesh was the oldest one written. Other works include the Iliad and the Odyssey, which were written by the blind prophet Homer. What do all these works of literature have in common with each other? The similarity that all these works of literature have is that they are all epics. What does this mean? What is an epic? The definition of an epic is that an epic is a long, narrative poem with a hero that goes on a quest. What is the hero? Well, the characteristics of a hero is that they all go on a quest, which is a long, arduous journey, he usually descends to the underworld, and many other traits are possessed that determine if a hero is an epic hero.

The Iliad begins with Chryses, a prophet of Apollo, coming to a Greek camp and offering valuable “penalty tokens” requesting the return of his daughter who the Greeks had captured in a raid. Because Agamemnon believed she was rightfully his, he refused. Most of his fellow Greeks wanted him to return her in order to avoid conflict. In order to preserve his time (honor, respect, value), Agamemnon brings danger to them all. Chryses prays to Apollo and a plague is released upon the Achaeans. Achilles, a basileus in the Greek army, suggests seeking insight from the prophet Calchas. Upon doing so

The Ramayana and The Iliad are both significant pieces of literature in India and Greece. The two main characters in the stories are Rama and Achilles. In the Ramayana, Rama is a prince who had been exiled the kingdom to the forest. In the Iliad, Achilles is an egotistical warrior who goes to war to claim glory and fame. The two heroes from the Ramayana and the Iliad are both epic heroes who share some similarities and differences regarding their heroism.

There are many notable characters in the epic that have their own reasons for fighting in the Trojan War. The war started because of the kidnapping of Helen, the wife of Menelaus, and it doesn’t really affect any of the soldiers in any way because they didn’t really lose anything. “But you, great shameless man, we came with you, to please you, to win honour from the Trojans”, (cited fromhttps://records.viu.ca/~johnstoi/homer/iliad_title.htm) Achilles said this to Agamemnon to remind him of why he and the others are there for. They are fighting

Action, thriller, romance… these are all the things people are attracted to, and the author Homer knew it. In The Iliad, Homer wrote exactly what the audience would like. In The Iliad, there is war, both between humans and gods alike. The people worship the gods, they use the gods to explain what they can’t explain. Why the crops grow in only some months of the year, and why the sun rises and falls.

Even Homer himself cannot disagree that the Illiad seems to celebrate war. Characters emerge as worthy, courageous, despicable based on their level of competence, bravery and just how skillful they are in battle. To fight is to prove one’s honor, integrity, and virtue while to avoid warfare represents laziness, ignoble fear, cowardly behavior, or even misaligned priorities. This is seen when Andromache expresses her fears, and Hector responds with, “But I would die of shame to face the men of Troy and the Trojan women trailing their long robes if I would shrink from battle now, a coward." (Book: VI, Line: 6.283-285).

In The Iliad the gods play a major role in the Trojan War due to their own personal investment and ties to the characters in the battle. The war was primarily between the Trojans and the Greeks. Throughout the epic the gods intervene on the behalf of the heroes to either save or defeat them. For instance, when Athena tempts Pandurus to shoot the arrow at Menelaus to wound him so that Menelaus will be angered and officially declare war. This intervention of the gods is also shown when Poseidon rescues Aeneas from the hands of Achilles and takes him to safety.

“Ramayana and The Epic of Gilgamesh” The different cultures of Indian and European, can be similar in literature. In Valmiki’s “Ramayana”, that was written in 550 B.C.E. and “The Epic of Gilgamesh”, that was written in 2100 B.C.E., have similar plots. The epics written in different times, and places shows that they are connected. In the stories, both the protagonists have God like traits.

While reading Gilgamesh, I began to realize how many aspects of life resemble others. There are so many wars fought over religion when the thing is, even religions have so many aspects that are the same. There are different versions of The Flood in many religious, and non religious pieces. It is not until reading something like Gilgamesh that some people can see that. It is also interesting to see an “epic” character in action. Each epic poem has the main characters of the epic, which can be compared and contrasted to other characters in other epic poems. Gilgamesh went through so much in the tale, and near the end, he finally becomes the King that he needs to be. There is a lot that can be learned while reading

I believe Homer wrote The Iliad in order to show the reader that while the Gods that are in the story are immortal, and the humans are not. As well as showing their influence on both sides of the battle. He also includes a theme of showing us how the Greeks believed that once your fate was set, there wasn’t going back. Throughout his story Homer would narrate the Trojan War towards the end of its run and show us the main role of Achilles. The Trojan War itself is not the main idea in the story, even though it is an incredibly violent and large war.

The Iliad was composed more than three thousand years ago. Homer, the writer, had exceptional talents as a writer. He had a way of teaching a moral lesson through his characters. In the opening lines of Book 1, Homer announces his theme, the anger of Achilles. This theme remains present throughout the entire story. With aid from the Olympic deities, the Trojan War is shaped. After Achilles and the king Agamemnon feud, Achilles withdraws from war, not bothering to think about the consequences to the war. The anger of Achilles is even more evident when he faces Hector, the leading warrior of the Trojan army. Achilles kills Hector, and viscously mutilates both his dying wish and his body. In this story both glory and gore are exemplified. The