The Iliad, by Homer - 855 Words

In Homers 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 orchestrated by the gods, and that the deaths of their loved ones were inevitable and honorable. Part of trying to understand such a tragic war is justifying how rational human beings could behave so savagely. The poet does not want to say that†¦show more content†¦Likewise, the affair that started the whole war is explained away by divine intrusion, for the sake of the listeners. No audience wants to imagine an epic, ten-year war fought solely for the sake of one woman’s infidelity, and no family wants to think of their men dying for the sake of one man’s pride. Rather than tell the story from that perspective, the poet looks at the situation through a supernatural lens, taking the responsibility off the shoulders of the human beings involved and placing it on those of a meddling deity. Rather than claiming that Helen ran away with Alexandros purely of her own volition, the poet implies that she is being swayed by lust forced on her by Aphrodite. When the goddess of love—and sexuality—commands Helen to go to her husband, she resists, calling it â€Å"shameful† (3.410), and refuses to go. She obeys in the end, however, only after Aphrodite threatens her. It is even implied that Alexandros is being manipulated himself by the attractiveness that Aphrodite bestowed on Helen, when, coming straight from a painful confrontation on the battlefield, he finds that he has â€Å"passion enmeshed in [his] senses† (3.442), as never before. The audience, picking up on this incongruity, would be moved for these helpless lovers, under the control not of their own lusts, but the will of a fickle goddess. Whereas in other stories, Helen might be portrayed as an unfaithful villain, Homer paints her as a victim of the cruelShow MoreRelatedThe Iliad By Homer1654 Words   |  7 Pages 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 th e 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. TheRead MoreThe Iliad By Homer892 Words   |  4 Pages 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 resentmentRead MoreThe Iliad, by Homer980 Words   |  4 Pages 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. How ever, it also tells us something about the nature of Achilles and his heroic image full of rage and anger. In orderRead MoreThe Iliad By Homer2007 Words   |  9 PagesThe Iliad is a collection of poems written by Homer describing the 10-year siege of the city of Troy by Greeks in what is now famously known as the Trojan War. Several characters stand out in the series of poems because of the roles they played in the war, how they behaved and the acts they took to help eventually win the war for the Greeks (then known as Akhaians). This paper specifically investigates the writings in Books two, four, thirteen, sixteen and seventeen and why the events in these booksRead MoreThe Iliad by Homer1383 Words   |  6 Pageswas, 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 â€Å"catharsis†. The events in Homer’s I liad, 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’sRead MoreThe Iliad By Homer2191 Words   |  9 PagesThe 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 â€Å"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 differentRead MoreIliad by Homer1216 Words   |  5 Pagesin Homer’s Iliad, to be a hero is to be â€Å"publicly recognized for ones 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 ofRead MoreThe Iliad Of The Homer s Iliad Essay1475 Words   |  6 PagesThe 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 ofRead More The Iliad of Homer Essay711 Words   |  3 Pages 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 untilRead MoreThe Iliad, By Homer1141 Words   |  5 PagesThe 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 thi s definition, Achilles is immediately classified as a hero, no matter his actions.