Honor in the Iliad and Antigone Essay

Honor and glory are two important things for the heroes of Greece. Greek heroes live all their life to pursue honor and glory, and they always want the society to know their reputation. Honor and glory create many epic wars which take the lives of many people, and it exists at every stage. One of them is the fall of Troy, and it is “a thing… whose glory shall perish never” (Homer, Iliad 2.324). For the Greeks, they always appreciate the personal honor, family honor and the honor of the country, so they always try to do everything to achieve that goal. Even they want that after they die, the honor and the glory of them will persist forever. Honor and glory prove a hero, so those are the foundations for everything in the Iliad of Homer.

The major moral conflict in Antigone by Sophocles is the conflict over which value is most fundamental. The play presents the moral conflict over whether the god's law or the city's law is more powerful. This seems to be the most prominent theme. The conflict arises mainly between the tragic heroes Antigone and her uncle-in-law Creon, King of Thebes. The city of Thebes had been through a war in which Antigone and her sister Ismene have lost both of their brothers to it, Eteocles and Polyneices. Eteocles's fighting for Thebes was buried and honored as a hero. (lines 24-26) Polyneices was left unburied and dishonored because he is considered an enemy of the city. (lines 27-32) Creon edicts that whoever broke the law by burying

The Greeks placed great importance on personal honor. Why is this? Is it because to them man I nothing without honor. Or is it that the honor is more important than the man? "Honor to the Greeks is something that is won by a man's prowess, his ability to fight and be victorious on the battle field"(Schein 62). This is just one example of how honor is obtained. A second method of gaining honor is to be a great orator, one must posses the ability to speak in the assembly and express his ideas eloquently, and persuasively to the gathered body. A third way of achieving personal honor is to demonstrate athletic ability.

The great talents that Achilles’ possesses cause him to become much admired and well known by both the Greeks and the Trojans. He begins to believe all the good things people are say and becomes an arrogant, child-like, selfish person which all mark Achilles’ hubris part of his behavior cycle. Achilles shows his arrogance when he gets angry with Agamemnon for him wanting take his prize of honor, which Achilles worked very hard to get. Because of this, Achilles begins to lose his capability to think straight and weigh all the factors in situations, and withdraws himself from the battle. Later on after Achilles overcomes the death of his best friend and regains back his courage and pride, Achilles kills Hector and thinks he is invincible for doing the great deed he did. Achilles fought Hector for honor over all else and performed the death of Hector almost as a duty and feels proud of himself for doing so. Before he kills Hector, Achilles declares, “I will go forth to slay Hector, who killed the man the I loved… Until then, may I win great fame and glory, and may every Trojan realize that the greatest of the Greeks no longer remains apart from battle”(145).

Socrates’ primary motivation for comparing himself to Achilles, the best of all the classic heroes, is to convince the jury of his Achillean heroism. One attribute of a hero according to the events of the Iliad is that one must either kill or be killed in the pursuit of honor. Correspondingly, the Iliad chronicles Achilles’ life and death on the natural path to heroism. Despite the

and set of values. She dies with pride and no regret for she died because she acted doing what

“A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you 're looking down, you can 't see something that 's above you.”

King Agamemnon has demanded Achilles give up his maiden to him after Apollo has forced him to give up his own prize (Homer 5). Achilles feels shamed that Agamemnon would demand such a thing but eventually does give up his prize (Homer 6). It makes him seem inferior. Because of this, he refuses to participate in battle because he is returning home (Homer 172). Refusing to fight is a shameful thing that brings honor to nobody. He can fight and seem inferior to Agamemnon or he can sit out and let his comrades die. There is no honor in this.

Although his father Priam begs Hector to retreat behind the safety of the walls, knowing Achilles will most likely kill the last of his sons, Hector believes this is his fate to fight Achilles. Pride and honor play a role in preventing Hector from backing down. However this is where Achilles turns out to be more hero-like than Hector as Hector backs off when he is confronted with Achilles one on one. Each hero responds in a different manner to this conflict. Hector, in this case, decides to flee from Achilles, who chases him. Achilles, vengefully kills Hector with a spear to the throat which is the only part of Hector‘s body which isn't covered with Patroclus‘ armor. After Hector dies Achilles shamelessly desecrates the body and allows Greek soldiers to "have a piece of Hector" by cutting him. These actions do not follow the warrior code of the Greeks, which in turn angers the gods. When Achilles and his soldiers gain pleasure from repeatedly stabbing Hector's lifeless and bloody corpse, Achilles true nature is shown, and according to the heroic code, this should take away his title as a hero. In my mind Hector was more of a hero than Achilles although Achilles survived and Hector didn't. Hector died for the Trojans and died in the glory of battle whereas Achilles downgrades himself by attacking the lifeless corpse and gains pleasure. Also Achilles takes Hector's body and keeps it as a ransom. Knowing Hector's father,

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.

Prior to this negotiation, Hector slayed Patroklos in battle, and to revenge his friend’s death Achilles slew Hector and tortured his corpse by dragging his body behind his chariot. First of all, Achilles’ ferocious treatment of the corpse of Hector can be considered an offense to the standard of humanity, as ancient literary sources emphasize the necessity of a proper burial and refer to the omission of burial rites as an insult to human dignity. The significance of burial is also suggested in Achilles’ allusion of Niobe, as he mentions “there was no-one to bury [the children of Niobe] ... but on the tenth day the heavenly gods buried them.” In fact, Aphrodite and Apollo were preserving the body of Hector from corruption and mutilation. However, in the heroic age, the hero’s decision in not contributing to the sacred ritual – in Achilles’ case, a retributive vengeance – can be rationalized by his own moral laws. It is crucial to recognize the fact that prior to this event, Achilles has undergone no real change of heart, nor has he learned moral lesson from his experiences. Throughout the poem, Homer charts Achilles’ inability to think beyond himself – Achilles did not concern for Helen, rather, it is apparent that he fought for the prestige and the personal glory. This passage demonstrates Achilles’ mortal development by performing a moral rehabilitation. Fatherhood becomes the critical element that forges a momentary bond between Priam and Achilles. By agreeing to return the body of Hector to Priam, Achilles gains the ability in understanding another man’s sorrow and the common bonds of humanity, moreover he learns to possess compassion for others. Likewise, Achilles emphasizes the natural continuation of life by narrating Niobe’s story: the fact that no matter how long one can lament for (for example, Niobe weeping for the death of her children), there will always be a period

Throughout The Iliad, Homer revolves around this idea of duty, honor and bravery. When men died fighting battles, they were glorified and regarded as “real warriors.” Furthermore, we can see that everyone faces death but it is up to the men whether they want to die and be remembered as a real warrior or just a common man. This belief of brave and honor can be seen in several characters in the story. However,

Achilles is selfish when, being dishonored, he leaves his men and goes crying to his tent.Agamemnon also acts like this when he takes the most honor (booty) just because he is the king, not because he earns it.Diomedes, while establishing glory by the great feats he accomplishes, is able to keep order in the troops.He cares for other troops and his people.He does not run away when Agamemnon calls him a coward.Instead he holds steadfast, realizing that Agamemnon is just doing his job and accepts dishonor.Most heroes in the Iliad are able to establish great

Book Twenty-Three of The Iliad focuses on the funeral of Patroclus, including the burning of the body as well as the funeral games hosted by Achilles in honor of his fallen comrade. This Book illustrates a very important aspect of The Iliad, the importance of a proper funeral, and it explores in depth the reason that funeral rites are so important to the Greeks and the Trojans, an idea that has been demonstrated throughout the poem. The passage from lines 80 through 115 brings the vision of Patroclus to Achilles, in which the fallen hero reprimands Achilles for neglecting to carry out his funeral and thus denying him of passage to the realm of Hades, the underworld. Therefore, this scene between the phantom of Patroclus and the hero Achilles emphasizes the importance of a proper burial, as such a funeral allows the souls of the dead to enter into the afterlife.