Theme Of Violence In The Iliad

The Ancient Greeks idealized and worshiped their heroes, this is portrayed in Homer’s epic poem, The Iliad. To become a hero in ancient Greece, one would have to live and die in pursuit of glory and honor. Both Achilles and Hector seek victory in battle to become the “true hero.” Although both characters possess many hero-like qualities, Hector proved to be the genuine hero.

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.

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.

It goes without question to state that various times in Homer’s epic poem, The Iliad, violence occurs. Violence is typically thought of as it relates to physical violence, war, a way to resolve a conflict, yet is open to various other interpretations. In addition, it is arguable that multiple types of violence occur within that classical piece of literature. The most obvious type being physical violence, but including, yet is not limited to, psychological, emotional, sexual, and linguistic violence. Emotional violence is one that pairs easily within the other types, yet is equally as important. These types of brutality all contribute to the major theme of fate versus free will. This epic poem allows for readers to question whether people are truly free or if everything that happens is due to fate. If there is such a thing as determinism, then it would be safe to say nothing that happens in someone’s life is a free choice. In Homer’s, The Iliad, multiple scenes of violence support the central theme of fate versus free will.

The first way that violence is utilized by Homer in The Odyssey, is as plot device that conveys an important

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 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 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.

While idealizing the glory of war, as well as exaggerating the grief caused by it, Homer attempts to balance the dual nature of war in the Iliad; however, in an attempt to balance this duality, he winds up demonstrating that even the glory and honor of war is tainted with grief. Rather than being an epic that portrays the glory of war, The Iliad illustrates the grief that is brought by it, “‘war, in the Iliad, is a frightening and sorrowful thing’” (Giles 54). All soldiers, not only in the Iliad, attempt to attain kleos, or glory, however the damages of attaining it far outweigh the benefits. Rather than morning the deaths of their fellow soldiers, they continue on their search for kleos. This bubble of grief that was overlooked builds up, and eventually, like all bubbles, pops. In the Iliad, the pop is represented through the interaction between Achilles and Priam, and in today’s contemporary society, it is demonstrated by the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) that many soldiers are faced with. Through the imagery of war, Homer exemplifies how both glory and grief are forms of trauma, as the glory forces soldiers to fall victim to the pressures of being an honorable man while dealing with the grief of losing brothers-in-arms.

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.

In Homer’s Illiad Hector, one of the primary leaders of Trojan forces and also a prince of the fated city of Troy fulfills the male gender expectations defined through prowess in war. However, male’s heroism is driven by the fear of shame and dishonor in war. Hector is an mortal character in Homer’s Iliad and all Hector seeks is war-glory, and he believes that one must die with a cause. He fears the indignity that he believes will come should he not fight nobly for his city of Troy but it is this way of thinking which steers Hector towards his eventual death.

After reading Homer’s text, we realize that while it contains fine poetic history it is in fact about the human condition and how it affects people, Achilles primarily. The reality for people in the world of The Iliad is that they live under many gods, and that they can not please all of them; indeed, the gods are at odds with each other and to support one means to upset another. While the ideal condition for the Greeks is to possess sophrosyne, in reality there are too many uncontrollable external pressures to do so. Just as the gods who influence men are not harmonious, therefore, we find this quality also in the explanation of the human condition for Greek cultures.

In reading texts that describe the mythical story of the Trojan War, it would be difficult to ignore the tragedy that the story emanates in its character’s actions and their consequences. Homer’s Iliad explores the tragedy of Achilles, whose preoccupation with glory has its tragic consequences of death and grief. It also shows the War’s resounding effect on those outside of the battlefield and the families of the warriors, as does Euripides’ Women of Troy, reflecting on family as the unforeseen victims of war. Furthermore, the play Rhesus is shown to give a more elaborated perspective of tragedy for individual characters. An examination of the Trojan War from the Trojan and Roman perspective further reveals tragedy on both sides. The gods’