The Iliad celebrates the heroics of some of the most famous Greek heroes, yet perhaps the most memorable character to appear in the epic poem is the Trojan warrior Hector. Throughout the poem, we get the impression that Homer treats Hector as a unique character...
“Rage: Sing, Goddess, Achilles’ rage, / Black and murderous, that cost the Greeks / Incalculable pain, pitched countless souls / Of heroes into Hades’ dark, / And left their bodies to rot as feasts / For dogs and birds” (1.1-6) This opening line of The...
Throughout the Iliad, conflict commonly arise between characters regardless of whether they are allies, close friends, or enemies; many of these conflicts arise due to issues involving pride, power, glory, and honor. In Book Nine of the Iliad, Agamemnon’s embassy utilizes logos and ethos in...
Introduction Human government and military seldom see eye to eye, no matter how vital each is to the other. Homer’s Iliad illustrates such a struggle quite well in its capture of the tension between political authority and military force, most notably the tension perceived between...
Considering divinity, destiny, and the existence of free will is not a concept that is exclusive to Greek Literature; in fact, whenever there are predetermined, all-powerful entities that guide the actions of lesser beings, it is quite natural to question the agency of those being...
Homer’s Iliad tells the tale of how Achilleus, the all-powerful warrior of the Achaian army, turned the tides of the Trojan War following a dispute with Agamemnon, the king of Mycenae. While this story does not serve as a telling of the commencement or conclusion...
The respective endings of Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey prove the different world-view that each epic takes. While both concern the era of the Trojan War, the characters in each seem to value two opposing outlooks. A close reading of the concluding passages regarding the heroes...
In his Iliad, Homer uses the character of Diomedes to personify his definition of effective leadership, often juxtaposing him with the unproductive and cowardly Agamemnon. Homer believes that the bravery to assert one’s opinions and the willingness to act independently, even against authority, constitutes a...
Homer’s Iliad features many sacred cultural principles present in the ancient Greek culture, but the importance and gravity of fate are communicated at the forefront of the work. Made-to-order essay as fast as you need it Each essay is customized to cater to your unique...
Odysseus and Aristotle, as expressed in the Iliad (Homer) and The Politics (Aristotle), respectively, hold irreconcilable views regarding government. Aristotle would have doubtlessly condemned Odysseus’s beating of Thersites. To Aristotle, this act embodies the dystopia that is found in a perverse government, while the Achaeans,...
Both vicious and highly intelligent at once, wolves and leopards are often compared to the most venerated hunters and warriors of Homeric poetry. Though the role of predator and prey are switched in each of these pregnant pauses, the skill and intuition of both the...
Critics and historians are of varied opinions when it comes to the authenticity of Homer’s text. Amidst everything else, it is often disputed whether The Iliad was even written by the man known as Homer, just as Shakespeare’s authorship is sometimes brought into question in...
The Iliad by Homer is an epic poem focused on the wrath of the character Achilles. This wrath guided Achilles to be a great warrior for the Greeks during the Trojan War, but this wrath also extended into his relationships with his fellow Greeks and...
Literature is one of the best ways to understand a culture. Through literature, in fact, it is possible to analyze the customs and traditions of a specific society and to comprehend its way of life. While the Homeric poems, for instance, offer a description of...
In today’s society, movies in all genres thrive on romantic plots and subplots. There is often a form of “Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back” or a variation of that, wherein the guy’s decisions are all centered around securing a love...
Humans are complex beings, each with individual traits, and an individual set of traits that they value in others. Despite this individuality, cultures are formed, in part, by the values they possess and nurture in their society as a whole. In the Homeric society, two...
If the Iliad were a simple war narrative with a clear bias towards the protagonist’s side, Sarpedon would be portrayed as a two-dimensional enemy soldier who dies during the action. However, the Iliad is no such story. Complex and intensely human ideals, morals and emotions...
Achilles, the swift, godlike warrior of Greek lore, is among the most complex of Homer’s epic characters. Achilles and his ill-fated tendon figure prominently in the Western archetypal notion of a tragic hero; however, the application of the term “hero” to the Achaean fighter is...
Things are not always as they seem. A hero may be more than the sum of his deeds, or perhaps much less. Throughout Greek mythology, heroes wage war and titans clash, often resulting in the praise and immortalizing of the names of great men who...