Theme Of Violence In The Iliad

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.

Nietzsche interprets Iliad as a demonstration of a single nature of “power” among the Greeks that leads to the brutal war. Simone Weil disagrees with Nietzsche and believes Iliad to be a representation of two forces, “might” and courtesy, which she calls “gravity” and “grace” (Simone Weil Handout, passage # 2, pg 2). Nietzsche considers only one perspective of the Iliad, the cruelty of “power,” in contrast, Weil examines both the good and the brutality shown in Homer’s epic. Weil thinks of Homer’s epic to be exhibiting the misery of the war, along with some sparks of “grace” (IC 48). Overall, Nietzsche thinks of Homer’s Iliad only to be a celebration of competition derived by the “will to power,” whereas Weil considers Iliad as not just a representation of the rule by “might,” but also showing moments of courtesy through the savagery of war (NR 355).

Every character in a story is motivated by a feeling or action. In Homer’s Iliad, the themes of aidos (shame) and kleos (honor) are used to propel the story forward and to keep the reader’s attention. The actions of the characters are heavily influenced by shame and honor. Homer does a stupendous job of portraying the feelings of shame and honor to develop specific characters in the story.

Children taunting each other on the playground. A fast paced action adventure movie. A family crossing the street when a person of color walks by. They can be found everywhere within society, and yet rarely are recognized for what they truly are; scenes of violence. The children are using linguistic violence. The movie shows physical violence. The person of color endures societal violence. From the time a person is born to the time they die, they are subjected everyday to violence, even if it comes in forms that we do not immediately recognize as being violent in nature. It is possible that this complacency with violence exists because it can also be found in Western Cultures’ most treasured works, specifically those that are accredited for shaping the view of society as the world knows it. In Homer’s masterful work of The Iliad, the reader is confronted with all sorts of violence on many different occasion;, however, a few specific ones contribute more than the rest to the overall themes of the text.

The Odyssey by Homer is a literary classic that presents many themes about the natures of both man and god. Although the characters of the book display characteristics relatable to those of the people today, one of the most prevalent differences between the two eras and their people is the intense violence that takes place throughout the entirety of the epic. This violence serves several functions in the work as a whole. The violence that is enacted upon the characters of The Odyssey serve as a device to convey the Greek cultural value of reverence of the gods and as a method for the author to create nuances to his characters.

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

According to the Odyssey, and Agamemnon, ancient Greeks value violence as a way of maintaining their society because the stories showcase how violence functions in ancient Greece polis system. The stories indicate the structure of ancient Greece society and the ideal principles that held the people together. Because works of Homer and works of Aeschylus represent a different period of ancient Greek culture, the form of society differs. However, the fundamental principles of ancient Greek society remain similar. Regardless of what period of ancient Greece, the admiration of violence by the ancient Greek can be seen from both Homer and Greek Tragedy.

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.

The Iliad, by Homer, is an epic poem set in the era of the Trojan War, accounting the battle logs during the time of conflict between Agamemnon and Achilles, the text’s tragic protagonist. The heroic outlook on life, in Iliadic terms, is exemplified through the construction of one’s honor through hard work. Being an aspect of the heroic outlook of life, this value is demonstrated through his contribution and dedication to the Trojan War, his experience with neglect from the deities, Achilles’ overall disdain towards Agamemnon, and, lastly, his longingness towards Briseis, his dear lover.

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.

x that turns anybody who is subjected to it/ into a thing,” (153). Weil perceives force as an active entity that is capable of profound, negative, influences on the lives it touches (153). For a hero, force replaces his rational sensibilities by an uncontrollable urge to slaughter his opponent in an animalistic fashion, an unavoidable outcome generated by war. Weil defines this uncontrollable type of force as “the force that kills,” marking the moment when a hero becomes a warrior (155). Simone Weil records The Iliad as a evil and vanity of war, but she fails to do justice to the complexity of Homer 's challenging vision. She turns a blind eye to poem 's commitment to heroism, a concept she assigns force as the poem 's "true hero." Weil overlooks the Homeric hero’s investment in the ethos of glory and the participation in the “noblest deeds of men,” which is present in The Iliad’s “true hero,” Hector.

The Moirae were goddesses of fate who portrayed the destiny of a mortal being. The definition of their names can be “parts” or “shares”. Zeus, the god of fate, was their king. After a mortal being is born, moirae weave their future life according to the directions of the gods. Their duty was to direct fate and watch for any obstacles.

Written almost three thousand years ago, the Iliad is one of the greatest stories ever told—of those who participated in a long-ago conflict called the Trojan War. It is an epic and part of an oral tradition of poetry. In ancient times a poet—simply known has Homer, brought to life a vast assembly of characters in his epic—of gods, warriors, and their prized possessions. The Iliad is widely known to be an account of an actual war between two great empires of their time, but the magnificence of the epic lies in its narrative form, rather than in its value as a historical reference. The Iliad is so compelling because it doesn’t tell the story of a people. Rather, it tells the story of people, real flesh-and-blood human beings with problems, deep-rooted

In the epic novel, The Iliad by Homer, Achilles demonstrates psychological and moral traits by showing his hubris, rage, and love of glory. We are able to understand these traits by predestination, the influence of war, and burial rights that were displayed in the story. We can see these come into work by Hector and Patroclus’ deaths for burial rites, Achilles’ fate being foreshadowed for predestination, and the Greek and Trojan conflict through the story of the influence of war.

The Iliad is one of the greatest and earliest works of Greek literature beautifully written by Homer. The poem was set at the last year of the Trojan War prior the fall of Troy, that was indeed ten years long. Moreover, the focus of this poem is a conflict that rose among Agamemnon, king of Mycenae and commander-in-chief of the allied Greeks, and Achilles, the greatest warrior, rather than the events and battles that occurred in the Trojan War between the Greeks and Trojans. Throughout the Iliad, the conflict rose due to numerous issues regarding pride, honor and power. This epic poem was written in a distinguished manner that made it easier for the readers to identify the important themes of the poem. For