Essay on Comparison of Troy and the Iliad

Even as his wife Andromache pleads “Pity me, please! Take your stand on the rampart here before you orphan your son and make your wife a widow” (Iliad VI. 511-512) to persuade him to stay at home, he chooses kleos over his family. Hector is described by Helen far differently than she speaks of her own husband.  “But come in, rest on this seat with me, dear brother, you are the one hit hardest by the fighting, Hector, you more than all – and all for me, slut that I am, and this blind mad Paris” (Iliad VI. 421-423).  Helen embraces Hector for his bravery and honor, and asks even that he rest from battle.  Her polar opinion between the two brothers serves as an important facet for dissecting the importance of kleos even within a family. Homer shows Helen’s shame and contempt for her husband as he does nothing to defend her or his home against her love for Hector as he fights so gloriously for Troy.

Nowhere in the Iliad is Hector's superiority more obvious than when he is contrasted with his brother Paris, the man who bears the sole responsibility for the chaos and terror that engulfs Troy. Hector finds Paris "polishing (and) fondling his splendid battle-gear, his shield and breastplate, turning over and over his long curved bow" (VI, 243-245).

In the beginning of the Iliad Akhilleus has a conflict with Agamemnon, the commander of the Greek forces during the Trojan War. Both Agamemnon and Akhilleus seize two women named Khryseis and Briseis from a previous battle. The capture of Khryseis causes a curse on the Greeks and they must return her back. Agamemnon seizes Akhilleus’ woman in a caprices fashion, which causes a conflict between the two. Agamemnon

Homer’s, The Iliad, is an ancient Greek poem that opens up ten years into the Trojan War. The protagonist is Akhilleus, the greatest warrior of the Achaean army. His rage and quarrel with Agamemnon, the king of Mycenae, condemns the Achaean army to catastrophe. The epic poem preludes to the origins of the Trojan War as Paris, prince of Troy, was lured by Aphrodite and broke the Greek Alliance by seducing Helen, wife of King Menelaus, and abducting her to Troy. The book, “Literature of the Western World, Volume I, The Ancient World: Through the Renaissance,” portrays the Greek gods loftier to human beings through their power, beauty and immortality. Contradictory to Yahveh, the Hebrew God, they did not follow a set of principles which

Although Briseis is Achilles war prize by fair trade. Achilles is infuriated by Agamemnon’s threat. Agamemnon believes that they are both the same as well. And that if anything is the better of the two. Even though they are both quite similar Agamemnon feels he has the upper hand in winning their feud because he thinks higher of himself.

“But now, Troy is no more. Nothing will ever rise from this mound again. Sacked. Gutted. A smoldering ruin” (Euripides 41). This description of Troy from Trojan Women by Euripides is perfectly embodied by Michael Cacoyannis in the 1971 film, The Trojan Women. With screams of terror, dust in the air, and chaos throughout the ruined streets of Troy, Cacoyannis paints a violently surreal portrait of the sorrowful Trojan women, ripped apart by the lengthy war. Although some artistic liberties were taken with the recreation of this ancient play, I believe Cacoyannis’ choices expand upon the legends of Helen and help to further illustrate the brutal tales of Troy. The overall plot is devout to Euripides original Trojan Women and contains practically

In the story of the Iliad, Helen who was originally married to Meneloas, eloped to Troy with Paris to marry him. Helen was described as the most beautiful woman. Each character of the Trojan Warriors displayed characteristics of bravery as well as deceit and infidelity. Each symbolic god represented or exhibited human emotions such as envy and anger. From Zeus, Hera, Athena and so forth. The Trojan War highlighted the disharmony among the people and the different Gods.

In The Iliad, Hector’s death spurs lament throughout Troy and sheds light on the values and ideals held dear to Homer and the people of this time. Three of these individuals that mourn and are particularly close to Hector are his wife, mother, and sister-in-law, as they played different roles in Hector’s life and in Troy. Because of these factors each woman has a unique perspective on the war that has been taking place around them and what that means for herself, her family, and her city which The Iliad may or may not completely

It is the central plot of the epic, yet it is easy to neglect that the conflict between Achilles and Agamemnon begins over a woman. Achilles war prize was Briseis and she represented his glory he gained from fighting. When Agamemnon takes her, he does not do it because he is attracted to her, rather than to make up a lost. Again, women are seen as objects being taken and given to others as if they are not human. Even Nestor discusses Briseis in a third person perspective, creating an image that she is an object rather than a human.

One of the situations that show the role of women in the Iliad occurs in book one when Chryseis and Briseis fall into position of war prizes. This major conflict which sets the two women as prizes of gifts between Chryses, Agamemnon and Achilles begins when Agamemnon refuses to return Chryseis, Chryses’ daughter and Agamemnon’s prize back to her father. In this point of view, rather than viewing Chryseis simply as property, Chryses loves his daughter more than all his treasure and riches that he offers a very precious ransom to Agamemnon in return

In the Iliad, Homer tells a story of a brutal nine year war between the Trojans and the Greeks. The two sides, with blessed champions on both sides, are fighting over Helen, the most beautiful mortal woman ever born. In addition, both sides fight for glory, as Ancient Greek society valued success in battle and the amount of spoils one brings back from war. While Hector and Paris both are champions of Troy, and share a noble pedigree, the two heros show a different set of priorities on the battlefield; Hector wishing to return to the battlefield as soon as possible, while Paris takes his time. Ultimately, Homer suggests that the value of a warrior rides on his dedication to his cause.

This decision of prideful betrayal brings many casualties to the Achaean army. Once Agamemnon apologetically offers Achilles many valuable gifts along with the return of his war prize, Achilles refuses. In this rejection, Achilles is putting his own animosity toward Agamemnon above the needs of his fellow Achaeans. His friend Phoenix tells him to think of his diminishing honor, but Achilles answers, “…what do I need with honor such as that ?/ … It degrades you to curry favor with [Agamemnon],/ and I will hate you for it, I who love you./ It does you proud to stand by me, my friend,/ to attack the man who attacks me…”(p 147). Not only does Achilles reject honor, but he egotistically asks his father figure, Phoenix, to give up his in order to take his side.

One of the major characters who have been altered for the film is Briseis. In the Iliad, readers discover in a passage spoken by Achilles that she was captured by the Achaians when

These lines foreshadow the effects of the downfall of the Greeks by Achilles temper. Each man, Agamemnon and Achilles, believe that they have a right to have the biggest prize. The argument between the two emphasizes the dominant aspect of personal honor. Each man believes that their ranks subject them to the most sought after possession, in this case Briseis. The king Agamemnon, in order to obtain his prize, antagonizes Achilles. He threatens to come to Achilles’s camp and take what he rightfully thought as his. Achilles in a rage tries to start a dual that is only stopped by the goddess Athena. The two men let their bitterness towards one another become the downfall of the Trojan War. Even the gods in the story are more self-centered than caring for the well-being of the people. Apollo begins the conflict long before Achilles and Agamemnon begin the quarrel. Their interaction begins as external such as the plague Apollo brought upon the Achaean Army, but then begin to become more internal. Athene goddess of wisdom persuades Achilles to only smite Agamemnon with words rather than a sword. Zeus and his wife Hera have a lighter parallel to Achilles and Agamemnon. Each of these characters, mortal and immortal, put their personal interest before the good of the people, jeopardizing the lives of

The instance of Briseis not being able to control her fate is within the first book of the poem. Agamemnon, angry that he must give up his geras for the good of the army, fights with Achilles, yelling “I’m coming to your hut and taking Briseis, / Your own beautiful prize, so that you will see just how much / Stronger I am than you” (Il. 1.194-196). Agamemnon abuses his power as the most powerful king in Greece over a matter of pride and uses it against one of the greatest warriors in the army, which makes Agamemnon lose respect of his men. Not one man asks Briseis if she will accept this change as all the men view her as an object for being Achilles’ geras. How Briseis feels about being passed about is made very clear when the heralds went to her “And brought Briseis, cheeks flushed, out of the tent / And gave her to the heralds, who led her away. / She went unwillingly” (Il. 1.359-361). Forcing Achilles to give up Briseis also means that Agamemnon takes Achilles’ honor which he seeks retribution for in a public declaration that “When every last Greek