Honor, Fate In The Iliad And Chushingura

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.

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

To say the Japanese culture value family is an understatement. To say they value honor is a no brainer. What many don’t know is just how deep these values go, as well as how often they are reflected in their literature. In the past the Japanese valued honor, now they call it saving face in our modern times. Both terms mean the same thing and can be lost or earned almost the same way. The Japanese value honor and family, both are equally displayed in various works of literature. The Tale of the Heike gives prime examples of how the Japanese honor others and themselves. The tale also shows how the Japanese culture values family of their own as well as others.

In the epics of both Homer and Virgil, the meaning and politics of honour play a significant role in the decisions and actions of the characters. Honour involves arbitrary set of rules, so just what is is and why did people need to maintain these rules at all? In these poems, honour is linked to a hero’s possessions, identity, and deed. All three are important, but one’s deeds seem to matter the most and without performing great deeds, honour cannot be had the other two ways.

     Mortality, by its very nature, causes men's lives to be cut short at their primes.The Fates cut our lives short at any time, so the Greeks must have an example, a model mortal, to follow so as to make the "most of their lives."A model mortal is one who lives his life accumulating the most honor and glory: "he pressed for battle now where men win glory" (4: 259).By strictly adhering to the honor/heroic code, a mortal can raise himself to become the model mortal. This hero, Diomedes, is the model mortal of the Greeks.

Many books of literature, no matter what time period they were written or who the author is, have many similarities. The books The Iliad and Bhagavad Gita are great examples of this. These two books consist of many of the same themes and characteristics within the readings that cause them to relate to each other. On the other hand, they also have some characteristics that contradict themselves in different ways. In the book The Iliad the author Homer, explains a story revolving around a Greek hero named Achilles. Both stories have two main characters, Achilles and Arjuna, which really have many of the same characteristics within them. Both Achilles from The Iliad and Arjuna from Bhagavad Gita have many similar aspects about themselves and what's expected of them in their daily life. The main theme characteristics that I’m going to discuss in this essay is what duty each character plays in their culture or what role they are expected to take on. I’m also going to compare War between the two stories. Both readings have many similar views under these topics but also have some differences within them. In this essay, I will be explaining the characteristics that are similar in both stories along with the characteristics that contradict in the pieces.

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.

How important is it to be honored? To gain glory in this life? To secure a lasting legacy? To the Greeks and Trojans in Homer’s famous epic, The Iliad, these were the most important things in life. The Greeks of Homer’s time believed that personal honor and glory was just that, personal. Honor and glory belonged to the individual who was skilled and accomplished enough to obtain it for himself. This honor and glory was held in the highest regard, and the worldview that honor and glory are the most important things in life is strongly depicted by Homer throughout The Iliad. The Judeo-Christian worldview depicted in the Old Testament of the Bible contrastingly teaches that all honor and glory belong to God. The heroes of the Old Testament did not attempt to secure the honor and glory of their actions and deeds for themselves, rather they gave it to God. The Greeks, however, saw gaining and maintaining personal honor and glory as foundational to life. They never missed an opportunity to gain personal honor and glory, and certainly never gave away the credit for their deeds. Throughout The Iliad, the characters’ choices and actions revolve around their desire to gain and maintain personal honor and glory. Gaining personal honor and glory--through great deeds, revenge for slights, and through one’s legacy--is a main theme in Homer’s The Iliad. Homer’s clear descriptions of the actions of the heroes in his epic give modern people a clear view into the psyche

Glory and honor dictate the paths of many of the characters in the Odyssey. Telemachus travels in search of his father out of desire to restore the honor of their home. Poseidon hates Odysseus, albeit in part, because Odysseus dishonored his son the cyclops. In the Odyssey, there is a poignant parallel between Menelaus and Odysseus. Both characters have great riches and immortality offered to them, but they are both despondent despite these great gifts. The parallel in the stories of Odysseus and Menelaus shows that the highest value in the Odyssey is placed on honor above all else.

There is a reason pride is the deadliest of the seven sins. It can cause great conflict or sweet harmony in real life and in literature. Some, like Aristotle, consider it the “crown of the virutes.” Indeed, Howard Roark and Mr. Keating both qualify as examples of Aristotle’s “the proud man” through their actions and reactions, but while Roark’s pride is used as an excuse for violence and impracticality, Mr. Keating’s pride paints him as a respectable and decent man.

Simone Weil argues that the way Homer presents war and the use of force in the Iliad, in all of its brutality, violence, and bitterness bathes the work in the light of love and justice (pg 25). The point Weil is making is that by depicting the suffering of all of these men regardless of their side, or strength Homer equalizes them in a “condition common to all men”(pg 25). Because Homer equalizes them the reader can feel empathy, or at least compassion for all of the men. However while Weil is correct about how Homer’s descriptions of war and force reveal justice and love, she is wrong in thinking that justice and love are mere “accents” to the Iliad, and progress through the story “without ever becoming noticeable”(pg 25). Homer not

Shakespeare uses the backdrop of the Trojan War in Troilus and Cressida to explore the interpretation of honor as something extrinsic without associating it with intrinsic moral values. In the seventeenth century, “honour” was used in four different ways: fame, renown, glory; credit, good name, reputation; noble rank, position of dignity, title of renown; source of distinction. Fame and reputation are the most common uses of honor throughout the play. Therefore, to avoid confusion and redundancy, fame and reputation will be synonymous to honor for this analysis. Curiously, “honourable” is defined as honest, upright, and distinguished. The adjective’s definition has clear moral roots based on societal and cultural norms. Thus, in regards to morals, it seems as though during Shakespeare’s time there was a clear divergence between honor and its derivatives. Therefore, by examining the significance and usage of “honor” throughout Troilus and Cressida, it becomes apparent that chivalrous and moral undertones are being exploited to advance glory and reputation.

Honour is what people valued in the longest period in history. Since the day of the earliest civilization men will struggle to maintain the honour of his clan or his family and will fight against all odds to have their honour maintained and acknowledged. In the movie “Othello” directed by Oliver Parker, Parker showed couple of ideas about struggles to restore honour and certainty. The first idea he showed is for showing how far a man is willing to go to take what he thinks he deserves in life. Second idea that Parker develop is showing how an individual will try his best to destroy the man who ruined his life. And lastly, Parker showed how Othello gave justice on his mistakes. People will live their lives according to their own will and they will do everything even sacrificing their own life to restore their honour and certainty.

The gods of ancient Greece were complex deities. They seemed to approve of the morality of man, but they themselves did not feel the desire to do a right or wrong thing. They lack the quality of a moral compass. The average person however, would have been raised with these core values from childhood. This would propel Greece into a place where love, courage, and faith would thrive for generations. When considering, The Iliad and The Odyssey, it is important to keep in mind the psychology of the population that lived during the era of these stories oration. The average person was losing belief in a higher power that would interact with the people in a one on one style; so, Homer chose to revitalize the peoples' faith by spreading these stories in a way that connected the people to the supernatural. This was what bound the people together, and helped to in the construction of their utopia.

Although many characters and relationships throughout the Iliad tend to come across as inhuman or unrealistic, Hector’s relationship with his family portrays a rare sense of humanity from a Trojan perspective during the war. Over the course of the first 9 or so books in the Iliad, the Trojan people and its soldiers are characterized predominantly as the enemy, granted that the story is told by a greek poet. From the start, this has the immediate effect of making the Trojans seem rather barbaric or even bestial, and ultimately prevents them from being viewed as humane. When Hector visits his family during the war however, the opposite becomes true of him. His relationship with his family within the safety of the city walls embodies humanity