Mockery Of The Trojan War In Homer's Iliad

The Trojan War and its characters are detailed in the writings of Homer, Vergil, Dante and many others. It is a fantastical tale of a decade-long siege of a powerful city by a massive pan-hellenic force. However, even though it has proved to be such a rich source of inspiration for writers, poets and artists throughout history, it is debated whether it

Homer’s epic poem about the long ten year war between the greek Achaeans and Trojans conveys characteristics of ancient greek society. These include time, geras, menis and aristea, which are respectively honor, stuff, anger or wrath and finally a warrior's greatest moment. While it may be expected to be a poem about a glory filled war that the great heroes and even mighty Gods of Olympus get entangled within, there are messages and references to the pity and extreme loss that war brings. Especially the end of the poem in which the great warrior Achilles lays waste the Trojans and gives revenge to the great Trojan warrior Hector.

This adds to the description of battle and creates imagery of the Greeks to be aggressive savage predators (wolves) and the Trojans to be helpless week prey (lambs). Homer is representing the Greek victory and furious fighting and the defeat and disorder of the Trojans. Thus, showing that the battle is now in the Greeks favor, gaining them honor, and the Trojans retreating. Furthermore, this is also shown in a simile following shortly after in lines 364-366: “As when a cloud goes deep into the sky from

The Iliad during the Trojan war is a very interesting story that could cause debate upon fellow readers. It brings up a lot of questions and thoughts about the gods and greeks of this time period, such as what is more important to them, justice or mercy? Also, it highlights the view that they have on war and whether it is tragic or glorious to them. During the Iliad, justice and mercy both play very important roles throughout the multiple books and are seen by different characters during the war. Also, it shows what the gods are like and how they view themselves and humans.

The first book of the Iliad begins with the beginning of Achilles’ rage, the rage that will eventually cause his own people so much grief and is also the force for Homer’s version of the story of the Trojan War. Whereas the taking of Helen is the focus of the larger, traditional story, the feud between Agamemnon and the hero Achilles over a kidnapped girl defines the Iliad. Both feature a conflict over a woman, Helen and Chryses’ daughter, and a need for resolution as well as a breach of social contract: Paris steals the wife of Agamemnon, ruining the bonds of the guest relationship, while Agamemnon denies Chryse his right to ransom and invokes the wrath of the gods in the form of a plague. In both cases, however, it becomes clear that the conflict will not be resolved quickly, but will continue through the very heart of the story. By “singing of Achilles’ rage” from the first line, the narrator is clearly showing the audience that this Trojan war is not the war of Hector or Paris or Helen, but of the proud Achilles and his hero-sized enemy.

    Homer's Iliad enthralls readers with its’ valiant heroes who fight for the glory of Greece. The Iliad, however, is not just a story of war; it is also a story of individuals. Through the characters' words and actions, Homer paints portraits of petulant Achilles and vain Agamemnon, doomed Paris and Helen, loyal Patroclus, tragic Priam, versatile Odysseus, and the whole cast of Gods. Ironically, the most complete character in the epic is Hector, enemy hero, and Prince of Troy. Hector is in many ways the ideal Homeric man: he is a man of compassion and piety, a man of integrity and bravery, a man who loves his family, and above all, a man who understands and fulfills his social

The Trojan War is described as one of histories most legendary battles. This battle is told to have lasted ten years, resulting in the eventual collapse of Troy, under the siege of Greek forces. Modern knowledge of the Trojan War has survived mainly through the account given in Homer’s Illiad, and while having proved to be a rich source of inspiration for other writers, artists, and even filmmakers in recent history, much speculation still exists surrounding his account. I will analyze modern interpretations of the Trojan War and examine both speculation and support for Homer’s account. Concluding with sufficient evidence that has been collected surrounding this epic battle, proving Homer’s account of a massive battle between these two powerful city states to not be just a tale of myth and legend, but actual history.

An Examination of Similes in the Iliad - and how Homer's Use of Them Affected the

Throughout the epic The Iliad, written by Homer there is an overall theme of suffering. Suffering occurs when someone is put under an immense amount of sadness and grief. Many people in the epic suffer due to the war. Suffering in regards to war, even today, is mainly caused by loss of loved ones. Loved ones include children and significant others that are fighting or a casualty of the war. The Iliad demonstrates the theme of suffering throughout the epic due to the capturing of women as prizes and the killing of many men with their bodies left for the birds and dogs.

The Iliad takes us way back to when war was part of peoples everyday life and explained what life was like during the Trojan War. This book seems to celebrate war a lot. Another main aspect of everyday life would have been the gods. The gods had a huge influence on everything during the war. These gods would pick theirs sides while helping who they wanted to help. Their voices were always heard and listened to. One section in the Iliad that shows how important the gods roles were was in Book 2 (p. 20). In that section Agamemnon had a dream, from Zeus, that he should attack the Trojans and take their city. Fighting proves ones honor and integrity, but if warfare is avoided then it shows laziness, and ignoble fear.

The Iliad is the story of hundreds of Ancient Greek heroes and kings seeking to take the fabled city of Troy. They embody the values that the Ancient Greeks valued. The charismatic Odysseus, the mighty Achilles, the wise Nestor, the royal Agamemnon all take part in the Iliad. The heroes pursue personal glory on the battlefield. Glory to them, is more valuable than their families, their lives, and form the very basis for their existence. The invincible Achilles, mightiest of the Achaeans, chooses to withdraw from the fight due to a loss of glory. Glory, the intangible, almost untouchable thing that even the mightiest of heroes sought. The idea of glory is the temptation of man, it leads them in an endless cycle of conflict and struggle,

The Iliad, written by Homer, is a war poem translated by Robert Fagles. The epic poem features many of the Greek gods and goddesses as they manipulate mortals in the battle for Troy. While the mortals may be controlled by the gods, everyone is susceptible to the struggle of obtaining glory. Zeus is the god who decides to side with the Trojans, giving them power and encouraging them to fight off the Achaean army. The other gods see him trying to give an unfair advantage to the Trojans, and step in.

Barry Strauss, professor of classics at Cornell University attempts to redefine a one of history’s biggest love affairs, the Trojan War. Strauss explains how certain events and characters from Homers “The Odyssey” might have actually existed, but also uses modern discoveries from the Bronze Age to compare Homers account to those of Egypt, the Middle East, and etc. While Homer’s epic should not be read as a historical document which recounts the Trojan War hundred percent accurately, it can still be seen as document which embodies some historical truth. The novel as a whole explains the customs, economic standing, fighting styles and beliefs of the Greeks. Strauss’s writing style allows for the book to be accessible to both students and historians. He argues that just like Franz Ferdinand was the spark which ignited World War 1, Helen on the other hand was just a spark which escalated an existing tension between the Greeks and Trojans. Strauss’s personal input on the war itself gives the novel a different outlook on the Trojan War because, it allows for readers to see beyond the facts and make connections with ideas that Strauss had made with recent discoveries and Homers epic.

From the standpoint of the study of Homer as a poet, the War of Troy was a war actually fought nearly four centuries before Homer's time, and the causes of that war were almost certainly political and economic (Moss and Wilson). Homer thus, adopted the historical fact of the war and the tradition of an exciting legend. In The Iliad Homer uses the War of Troy as an example of the tragic futility of all wars, rather than assuming either an antiwar or a pro-war position.

It has influenced many literature and dramatic works, and it is also the only text that gives collective identity from the Trojan War. Whether the war happened is unanswerable, but the Greeks claim this war as the foundation of their culture. It was all influenced from Homer’s works and the perception of values and ethics from his narration. In 2004, Wolfgang Petersen directed a film that is evidentially a “loose adaption” of the Iliad. Both works examine the Trojan War and the wrath of Achilles on the city of Troy. There are obvious differences in the absence of the Greek Gods, change of plot, characters, and the theme of both pieces. However, Wolfgang Petersen created his own story by changing the direct details of the Iliad to display human interactions throughout the story to connect with audience in order to produce more revenue and viewings of the film.