Iliad Analysis: why are the gods in bliss when the men go to war?

This was the rational motive why Zeus' acquired Thetis to marry a mortal, named Peleus. On the other hand, it doesn’t signify that Achilles cannot die; he is still fated to die as he is more mortal than an immortal. Furthermore, if you look at one of the god named, Apollo, he is supplementary, without any questions, inclined toward Trojans and is persistently engaged to help them. Apollo assisted Trojans on numerous occasions in war. For instance, he dispatched a pestilence to Achaean soldiers by responding to the priest’s pray, ‘[1:40-60]’. Apollo also aided Hector in book 15 where Zeus dispatched Apollo to help Hector and blow new air into his lungs so he can fight again, ‘[15:300-310]’. Also in Book 16, Apollo heard Glaucus’ pray and healed his wound to get him to fight again against Achaeans, ‘[16:600-640]’. Apollo’s twin sister, Artemis, also helped Trojans in the battle alongside Apollo. She helped Trojans just because Apollo is engaged against Achaeans. On the other hand, Athena and Hera are inclined towards Achaeans and assist them in the battle in every accomplishable manner. These deities, Hera and Athena, want the Achaeans to triumph the war and pulverize the Troy. Moreover, Thetis cannot see her mortal son Achilles suffering and resources him as much she can. And, Zeus the king of all gods, however, is not on any side and he attempts to stay impersonal during the conflict but somewhere in his intuitions he does not want

A scene of physical violence in Homer’s, The Iliad, contributes to the overall theme of fate versus free will. The Iliad is a very brutal and gruesome poem involving a war and a horrendous amount of death. Close to the beginning of the epic, the gods decide that Athena should see to it that the Trojan’s be the first to break their truce with the Achaeans This leads to the Achaeans and Trojans going into battle and slaughtering one another. The battle is so intense that a man went to collect armor off of an enemy that he had just finished killing, and dies himself in the process. Antilochus slaughters the Trojan captain, Echepolus, and when he dies, Abantes tries to steal the corpse. In the following quote it shows how Agenor prohibits Abantes from stealing the armor off the dead. “Just as he dragged that corpse the brave Agenor spied his ribs, bared by his shield as he bent low-- Agenor stabbed with a bronze spear and loosed his limbs, his life spirit left him …” (Homer 160 lines 540-543). This brutality starts when a god stirs up anger in the Achaeans by forcing the Trojans to

In the Iliad, at the start of the Trojan War, Ajax, son of Oileus, is recognized as the best of the Greeks with a spear and the fastest runner, second only to Achilles himself. He also possesses skills in interpreting divine phenomenon. After observing the “light-feet” of charging soldiers and a falcon pursuing its prey, he concluded that the gods are with them and convinced greater Ajax to proceed offensively (Homer p. 245). These attributes give him an unwavering sense of confidence in matters on and off the battlefield. It is this same confidence that creates discontent for him among some of his contemporaries and the gods.

Throughout The Iliad, an epic poem written by Homer, there were numerous warriors and other characters that could be looked upon as heroes; some of these heroes included Achilles, Ajax, Diomedes, Hector, and Glaucus. All of these individuals were heroes because of their remarkable mental and physical strength: they were courageous and were better fighters in war than other ordinary men. The trade of battle was a way of life to the Greeks back in Homer’s time. Children were raised to become great servicemen to their country, and warriors lived to fight for and defend their nation with pride and valor. The heroic code was a strict morality that dealt with matters relating to honor and integrity in battle.

The idea of kleos otherwise known as glory in Greek, and honor is one of the most essential motifs of the Iliad. For many warriors depicted in the Iliad, honor was vital and personal. For many, Glory earned in battle was more important than one’s life. Glory or the lack of, was remembered long after one’s life. Possibly the greatest fundamental part of honor to the fighters of the Iliad was courage in battle as shown throughout multiple books. Throughout the course of this book we can see how different characters display these traits and how they influence the course of the war. Even though the Achaeans and Trojans are enemies they display a similar view, the acquisition of glory is more significant than life

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

Portions of modern society believe fate to be concrete and unchanging. However, in ancient times, it was believed to be influenced and guided by the actions of the gods. Similarly, in The Iliad by Homer, the actions of the gods influence the life, death, and fate of each and every individual. Gods such as Zeus, Athena and Apollo take great influence in human affairs in The Iliad. These actions cause life, death, sorrow, and triumph to befall various individuals of the story. Achilles’ fate results, solely, from these actions the gods undertake. In particular, the gods influence on Achilles’ fate shows when the gods keep Achilles from killing Agamemnon, staying out of the war, and holding onto his rage.

Regardless of the time frame, Virgil’s Aeneid and Homer’s epic the Iliad share both a copious amount of similarities and differences. For example, many common themes such as heroism, fate, and destiny are apparent in both works. Within the Aeneid and the Iliad, it is seen that the wars going on during that time were glorious that is why the role of gods were significant in leading both Aeneas and Achilles and influencing fate. In both texts, it is clear from the beginning that the role of the gods is to make Aeneas and Achilles fulfill their journey The Iliad focuses on the end of the Trojan War and the damaging power, while the Aeneid is focused during the aftermath of the war and underlies the foundation for the new civilization. This paper will address and argue the comparison of the role of gods and how each of the authors representation of the gods have influence on the lives of mortals.

Warriors of ancient Greece were considered heroes by following the Heroic Code of excellence. They achieved this by acquiring a kleos; establishing fame, glory and a positive reputation. It was not an easy task to become a Grecian hero. Building and maintaining kleos meant that a warrior must be brave and strong, be “a speaker of words and a doer of deeds.” The solider had to protect his friends and harm his enemies, respect the gods and his elders, and most of all value his honor over his life. To die in battle, and be spoken of after death was the most important act of honor for a hero. The Greek tragedy, Iliad, attributed to Homer, portrays Achilles as the most gallant hero of the Athenian army. The story tells of Achilles, who develops into the greatest hero of the Trojan War. While the end of the end of the poem does portray Achilles as the solider that the story foretells throughout the poem he does not act like that. Many times in the story Achilles actions are perceived as unheroic but ultimately they shape the course of the few weeks of the Trojan Wars described in the Iliad, the Achaean’s final victory at Troy and his emergence as a hero.

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.

The Aeneid by Virgil is an epic war poetry written in the 19 B.C.E based on the Trojan War. The poem narrates a story of a Trojan who visited Italy where he came the Romans’ ancestor. In the context of the poem, gods have much quoted manipulating; plotting and working against humans they abhor (Virgil & Ferry, n.d.). Despite the god 's cunning behaviors, their actions end up putting destiny back on its proper course. Gods, future, and fate are essential aspects of Greek epic poetry .in most Greek god’s stories; the gods despite being powerful and divine also have human characteristics such as rivalry. The gods and goddesses portrayed as being in a conflict with each other but no matter their perceptions the results are always

Besides illustrating that soldiers should fight for family, love and vengeance, Homer also illustrates through epic simile that soldiers should fight even though war is brutal. One example of this is when Patroclus and Sarpedon fight at the end of the first part of the “Rage of Achilles” (13). The two men attack each other like “eagle-beaked crook-taloned vultures” (13) symbolizing that the men are attacking each other aggressively, with the intention of ripping each other apart, just like how vultures attack their dead prey. The war is brutal because there were no guns then, so it was all hand to hand, bloody combat with soldiers stabbing, slashing, cutting, and throwing their weapons. Additionally, soldiers were surrounded meaning they could be attacked from anywhere, yet they still fought in the horrible war. The two men fought like vultures who “scream and tear at one another” (13). This creates a vivid mental image in the reader's mind of two men screaming with desperation, covered in dirt as they viciously swing their weapons, trying to tear one another apart and spill their

The Greek gods are highly partisan beings in the Iliad. The Greek gods side with different armies there is no side that is more 'moral' or favored by the gods than the other. The Trojan War itself was largely begun because of a rivalry between Athena, Aphrodite, and Hera. The gods also favor certain mortals Athena prefers Odysseus, for example, while Aphrodite adores Paris. This favoring is not based upon the moral behavior of these particular humans but is instead based in the gods' own prejudices. The gods do not act as moral guides in a Judeo-Christian sense. They are anthropomorphically rendered, jealous, unpredictable, and at times vengeful. They have more power than humans and demand humans' respect, but that respect is commanded by their greater power, not their greater morality. The gods also deliberately insert themselves into human affairs, egging on the Trojan War when it seems to be flagging, or favoring one side over another. "Make all haste, and invent/Some mean by which the men of Troy, against the truce agreed, /May stir the glorious Greeks to arms, with some inglorious deed" (59). However, even the gods have limits Achilles mother Thetis, although a goddess, cannot prevent her son's death, which she knows is inevitable. Q2.In Book 1, with whom is Achilles angry? Why? What does Achilles vow to do in response?

Initially the book starts showing people in a normal state of life, but the main story of Homer’s Iliad, however, starts once there is the ignition of wrath among prominent characters of the story like Agamemnon and Achilles. In the normal state, people are capable of behaving rationally, using experience and wisdom to guide their action. However, during the main

In Homer’s, The Iliad, the intensity and seriousness of the war between the Trojans and the Greeks, known as the Achaeans, is best represented in his epic simile in Book 6, lines 170-175. In this simile Homer describes Glaucus’ response to his encounter with Diomedes: