The Iliad is a collection of poems by Homer describing the 10-year siege on Troy by Greeks in what is now famously referred to as the Trojan War. Several Greek and Trojan characters are worth a special mention in these Homeric poems because of the roles they played in the battles before the war was won, how they conducted themselves to help eventually win the war for their side. This paper specifically investigates the writings in the Homeric poems to look are important in the overall text. The
The Iliad by Homer depicts the great struggle by Agamemnon and the Greeks to take the mighty city state of Troy and return Helen to her rightful husband, Menelaus. While many ponder if the war actually happened, or why the gods always seemed to be more human than humans themselves, few ask the key but often overlooked question; why is Agamemnon the leader of the Greeks in the first place? What happened that put him in charge of the Greek forces? Why does there seem to be an underlying resentment
The Iliad written by Homer in the days of Ancient Greece has become one of the most epic poems of all time. It is a poem that has been debated for centuries. Within the tale of Achilles and the wrath of war lies a magnificent object that is shortly mentioned in Book 18. The brief section in Book XVIII, lines 505-660, described the shield that Achilles would carry into battle. However, it also tells us something about the nature of Achilles and his heroic image full of rage and anger. In order
was, in fact, useful. Aristotle agreed with Plato that literature induces undesirable emotions, but he stated that it only does so in an attempt to purge us of these harmful sentiments, a process which he termed “catharsis”. The events in Homer’s Iliad, while used by both Plato and Aristotle to defend their theories about literature, lend themselves to the defense of Aristotle’s ideas more so than Plato’s. Specifically, the juxtaposition of Achilleus’s intense lamentation with the portrayal of Hephaistos’s
In Homer's epic Iliad, the poet emphasizes the control of the gods in the war he describes. He creates literary devices around these well-known deities to illustrate their role in the action, conveying to his audience that this war was not just a petty conflict between two men over a woman, but a turbulent, fiery altercation amongst the gods. To an audience which had likely lost their fathers, brothers, or husbands to the Trojan War, it would be a welcome relief to hear that the whole affair was
The Iliad By Homer was created in the late 5th-early 6th century A.D. This Epic was a best seller, but the publishing date and publisher is unknown, due to the story being so old. The Iliad is around 576 pages long. Some facts that have to do with the Iliad that are not well knows include the name Homer resembling the greek word for “hostage.” Also, taking place after the events of the Iliad, Aeneas supposedly survives the war and goes on to become the founder of roman culture. Going on to a different
in Homer’s Iliad, to be a hero is to be “publicly recognized for one's valour on the battlefield” and to have a prize with it (Sale). In other words, a hero is someone who fights for his own fame and glory. However, the modern perception of a hero is quite different. A hero is someone who do not endeavor to become a hero, but someone who act in admirable ways, often for the better of everyone else. The modern concept of heroism is what defines a true hero. Achilles is a hero in the Iliad, because of
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
When analyzing the Greek work the Iliad, Homer procures an idealistic hero with an internal conflict, which questions the values of his society and the Greek Heroic Code. The Greek Heroic Code includes respect, honor, and requirements to procure an exorbitant image. To be considered a Greek hero you must meet the perquisites and fulfill all of the aspects of the code. Achilleus was deemed a hero, he was the strongest and swiftest of the Achieans. Achilleus lived up to all of these aspects until
The Iliad, along with the Odyssey, is one of two epics handed down through the Homeric tradition in the Greek Dark Ages, considered by many to be the Heroic Age. However, the key issue lies with the fact that ancient Greeks define a ‘hero’ very differently from what we would consider a ‘hero’ to be today. In ancient Greece, a hero is any human descended from the gods and bequeathed with superhuman abilities. By this definition, Achilles is immediately classified as a hero, no matter his actions.