The Iliad : An Epic Poem Essay

“As is the generation of leaves, so is that of humanity. The wind scatters the leaves on the ground, but the live timber burgeons with leaves again in the season of spring returning. So one generation of men will grow while another dies” (6.146-50)

be looked at as "the wife of Hektor, who was ever the bravest fighter of

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.

Homer’s epic, The Iliad, highlights the influence and jurisdiction that beauty provides. The prizes and glory a man accumulates from war measure his power, while beauty measures a woman’s power. Since conquering a woman is the ultimate prize to a man, her beauty represents ultimate power. Though the beauty of mortal women has the power to turn men against each other, mortal women have no influence over this power and are instead objectified by men. Immortal women, however, have authority over their beauty and are able to control men with their power. Helen, on the other hand, though mortal, has the beauty of a goddess. Yet, Helen is bound by her fate to Paris, making her power obsolete. By presenting Helen’s hopeless power and supplying the reader with insight on her suffering through her thoughts, Helen is portrayed as a tragic hero.

Greek mythology played a large role in Greek artistic styles and functions. In the case of this study, the mythological god Apollo is the subject of the artistic works of the votive known as the “Mantiklos Apollo” and the statue of “Apollo” that was found in Pireaus. These figures show a natural progression in style and technique. They are important because they represent the sacred beliefs and superstitions of their respective cultures and time periods.

The Iliad is an epic of death. It is a tale of conflict, batle, agony, and horific mutilation. Honor and glory are atained through warfare. The great shield of Achiles stands out in this context because it depicts the glories of an orderly, functioning, productive civilization. This depiction of life stands in stark contrast to the scenes of death that constitute a large portion of the narative. An examination of the shield of Achiles in Homer’s Iliad reveals many ideas in conflict: love and honor, the pleasures of life versus a heroic death, free wil and destiny. By viewing the shield as an element of contradistinction—that is to define it on the basis of contrast—one can se that the shield symbolicaly unifies the

The Iliad and The Odyssey are two epic poems with both similar and different styles to the structure of the poems, as well as each poem having the same gods incorporated into the stories intervening with the day to day lives of the mortals.

From the time humans are able to start comprehending basic instruction, they will be ceaselessly bombarded with advice from everyone, from their parents and priest to a stranger on the bus. Ranging from “don’t run with scissors!” and “eat your vegetables!” to “if you love it let it go” people have been giving and receiving advice for centuries. In spite of the ever changing world, it seems that human struggle remains constant. Through these centuries of struggle, humanity has been fortunate enough to preserve advice and information through the literature of many of the great scholars that set the framework for modern philosophy. In great texts and novels dating back to as early as 725 BC in Homer’s The Iliad, readers are exposed to the trials and triumphs of the past, different perspectives on life, and leadership strategies. This paper will review many of these classic texts and draw out the powerful messages and life advice riddled throughout them. Although diverse in genre, time of publication, and message, all of these books teach readers how to live and lead their societies, or in some of them, how not to.

The destiny in Gilgamesh and The Iliad stories are believed to be a power that controls what happens in the future. The story of Gilgamesh and the Iliad destinies are moderately the same in significance of the conflicts and the ways of life both of the stories focused on a significant deaths. The Iliad and Gilgamesh is a remarkable reminder of the way life is in the present, but also how it is a little different. Both stories are similar in goals and destinies and how it affect the main characters. Most people believes that destiny or fate is pre-set and it is changed only by decisions we make that may be selfish and vindicated. Hopefully by the end of the essay the readers will get a better understand of stories similarities and differences.

The Iliad is an epic tale of war and hero’s within the Greek way of life. A

Homer’s epic The Iliad, is a great tale of war and glory. It takes place during the last year of the ten year Greek-Trojan war. The Greeks have been fighting with the Trojans for quite some time, and just when peace seemed like a possibility, the youngest prince of Troy, Paris, acts out selfishly and steals the beautiful wife of Menelaus, Helen. This instigates the fighting again. Throughout The Iliad, Homer tells of two heroes, both similar, but also very different in their character; the great and powerful Greek, Achilles, and the strong, loving father, Prince Hector of Troy. In Homer’s The Iliad, Hector and Achilles differ as heroes in regards to pride, duty, and family love, the latter being self-centered and prideful, while the

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.

In almost all instances of war the cause has been related to greed, or the gaining of land and possessions. Greed is presented in the very first book of Homer’s “The Iliad.” It isn’t displayed by the cowards, but the “heroes” of the war such as Agamemnon, Achilles, and Pandarus. The entire cause of the Trojan War is the result of the greedy and cowardly behavior of Paris. There are many factors that had sparked the war, including the interference of the gods; however, the main factor to be blamed for the war is greed.

Central to any study of the humanities is the human condition – our nature, which has historically shown that it is equally capable of both good and evil deeds – and the problem that arises from it; specifically, why do humans suffer? Many philosophies and religions have their own account for this aspect of humanity, and we find that what the accounts have in common is each explains the human condition in terms that are similar to how that institution of thought explains the true nature of reality.

The Iliad ranks as one of the most important and most influential works in terms of world literatures since its establishment. Between the underlying standard to which the Iliad offers us as audience members, along with the plethora of writers that have followed in the footsteps to which Homer’s Iliad paved, the impact that the Iliad has played is remarkable in itself. While the Iliad can be credited for much of present day literature we study today, Hollywood can be created for the plethora of world-class films and replication of iconic works of literature over its time as well. Wolfgang Petersons Troy is a prime example of a world-renowned poetic being transformed into a Hollywood production. While the 2004 American epic adventure war film, Troy was a huge hit in the box office, and full of world-class actors such as Brad Pitt and Orlando Bloom; it does lack many critical events and characters that play a key role in Homer’s Iliad.