Men fighting at war are a common depiction of how battles are fought in most cultures. As with Homer’s The Iliad, the mortal and semi-mortal men are combat rated based on their personification of masculinity. Homer sets this up through various literary tropes which range from the characterization of heroes or major figures in the poem, rousing speeches, and analogies. All of these tropes function using masculinity as a way to determine who fights best or at all in some cases. Homer’s gendered narrative aids in the development of masculinity being the deciphering tool which designates shame and glory in the midst of warfare. Masculinity aids in contextualizing the character’s actions as seen through the Greeks perspective as his writing are …show more content…
Achilleus is described as strong, masculine, and an excellent hunter using Homer’s analogy of the hawk chasing the doe. However, Hektor is seen as terrified which is later noted by his fleeing the fight, but also described as a “doe” and “her” in Homer’s analogy. This passage functions as antitheses in order to show the duality of the strong Hektor now being reduced to prey by Achilleus, but also it contextualizes Homer’s ideas of warfare into gender. Because Hektor is attempting to flee his fight, he is emasculated in the text which translates into the Greek’s idealization of war and how it is to be conducted. Achilleus retains his masculinity within the fight by Hektor’s retreat rather than praising his efforts in combat. This means that the Greeks expect soldiers to participate in warfare, and when a solider or even a hero does not participate, they are feminized which is ultimately a reduction in stature. Another instant where Homer characterizes a hero through masculinity happens between Hektor and Paris before the Menelaos fight. Although Homer does not evoke an inherently gendered analogy, he uses Hektor to criticize his brother on his lack of fighting ability in relation to his “beauty” and his interest in women over war. Hektor’s speech provides the Trojans collective view of Paris when he …show more content…
His armor is also seen as an extension of his masculinity as he expressed as “as if I were a woman” once he offers it to Achilleus in exchange for his life. Hektor effectively wants to offer Achilleus his manhood and sees the whole transaction as if they would both be flirting with each other. In the Homeric analogy of “young man and a young girl”, Hektor admits to being the girl in this paradigm which suggests that he sees a peaceful resolution to the upcoming fight as embracing femininity. His resolution to fight Achilleus is met with the winner being gloried through combat ultimately by gods to their fellow soldiers and is seen as his only real option. Homer’s ideals are explicitly stated in this monologue as someone who does not fight when prompted is not seen as a man. Not only this, but in order for one to gain glory, the solider must fight and win, or else he is not subjected to the glory that warfare brings. Because Homer marries these two ideas through Hektor’s monologue which are that a masculine man is one who fights and glorification of warfare comes through victory are solidified throughout the
In The Name of The Wind by Patrick Rothfuss, the author states: “The day we fret about the future is the day we leave our childhood behind.” Patrick Rothfuss instates the position that when one experiences change, they can not expect it to be easy. An individual relies on their ability to overcome and accept change before it begins to take advantage of them. Similarly, in Books 1-4 of Homer’s epic, The Odyssey, Telemachus shifts from boyhood to manhood while searching for his father. Thus, through characterization, Homer develops the theme that life is filled with obstacles, hardships, and responsibilities, but an individual must have strength to work through it.
Clashing swords, miraculous survivals, pain of loss, and heroic sacrifice are all terrifying yet thrilling moments in a battle. The strong possibility of death and the frailty of human life add into the suspense of battle. Yet the reasons behind the wars, death, and suspense can be overlooked. The stories behind the warriors who have died will not be told again, but the stories of warriors still alive are what give the men strength to continue fighting against impossible odds. Ultimately, the reason of why a man would risk his life in battle is for someone, or something, he loves. Like in Gilgamesh and the Iliad, women help encourage and influence the protagonists to be the heroes and protectors they are meant to be.
The World of Homer is home to many ideals and values, primely, the idea of the Hero and what makes one a Hero. A Hero of Homeric society places personal honor above all else, including one’s home, kin, and life itself. The Hero’s reputation meant everything, and if he was insulted or had his honor called into question, he would defend it to his death. Moreover, The Hero amassed glory though the most honorable act of Homer’s World, which was battle. Engaging in combat and putting one’s life on the line was not only considered a duty, but was the only possible way to bring about such great glory and fame that one could achieve a form of immortality. Additionally, The Homeric Hero’s honor code held the notion of respect and justice very high,
Schein, Seth L. The Mortal Hero: An Introduction to Homer's Iliad. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984.
In the Iliad we saw women as items of exchange and as markers of status for the men who possessed them (Chryseis and
Throughout the Iliad the warriors' dream of peace is projected over and over again in elaborate similes developed against a background of violence and death. Homer is able to balance the celebration of war's tragic, heroic values with scenes of battle and those creative values of civilized life that war destroys. The shield of Achilles symbolically represents the two poles of human condition, war and peace, with their corresponding aspects of human nature, the destructive and creative, which are implicit in every situation and statement of the poem and are put before us in something approaching abstract form; its emblem is an image of human life as a whole.
Schein, Seth L. The Mortal Hero: An Introduction to Homer's Iliad. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984.
War has been a mainstay of human civilization since its inception thousands of years ago, and throughout this long and colorful history, warriors have almost exclusively been male. By repeatedly taking on the fundamentally aggressive and violent role of soldier, Man has slowly come to define Himself through these violent experiences. Although modern American society regulates the experiences associated with engaging in warfare to a select group of individuals, leaving the majority of the American public emotionally and personally distant from war, mainstream American masculinity still draws heavily upon the characteristically male experience of going to war. In modern American society, masculinity is still defined and expressed through analogy with the behavior and experiences of men at war; however, such a simplistic masculinity cannot account for the depth of human experience embraced by a modern man.
This epic poem by the ancient Greek poet Homer, recounts some of the significant events of the final weeks of the Trojan War and the Greek siege of the city of Troy. All of the places where Homer’s stories took place were in areas that had been significant in the Bronze Age of Ancient Greece. Excavations at Troy and Mycenae have revealed that affluent kingdoms did indeed exist there. The Iliad provides examples of the culture and traditions that took place in Ancient Greece. The warrior culture that is presented in The Iliad is based on honor and bravery, a good example of this is when Diomedes is trying to rally his fellow warriors in says, “I know only cowards depart from battle. A real warrior stands his ground. Whether he is hit or hits another.” This society was strongly against cowardice; bravery was the only option in these times. The Iliad preserves the Ancient Greek’s views on masculinity and what it meant to be a “real warrior” in their times. The evolution of what people consider honorable and brave is evident, for The Iliad has conserved past views that can be juxtaposed with more modern
Throughout the Iliad, Homer portraits the extent to which honor plays a role in the lives of Greeks and the manner in which they are willing to sacrifice in order to reach their goals. The Iliad is set during the Trojan War, a particularly long and bloody war, fought not over boundary disagreements, and not over political conflicts, and not to protect the nation. Rather, it was a war fought to defend the personal honor. The possession of women was important to a man’s standing and honor. Paris’ theft of Helen struck a huge blow to the honor of Menelaus and becomes the initial cause of the Trojan War. Consequently, Menelaus, the Spartan ruler, called upon his brother Agamemnon to gather the Greek forces to launch the war against Paris demanding the return of Helen and reinstating the honor for the king. The war lasted for ten years and cost innumerable Greeks’ lives and brought incurable pain upon their families. To Greek heroes, honor is more important than their life as much as that life would be meaningless without it, and they even willingly sacrifice their lives in order...
Homer's two central heroes, Odysseus and Achilles, are in many ways differing manifestations of the same themes. While Achilles' character is almost utterly consistent in his rage, pride, and near divinity, Odysseus' character is difficult to pin down to a single moral; though perhaps more human than Achilles, he remains more difficult to understand. Nevertheless, both heroes are defined not by their appearances, nor by the impressions they leave upon the minds of those around them, nor even so much by the words they speak, but almost entirely by their actions. Action is what drives the plot of both the Iliad and the Odyssey, and action is what holds the characters together. In this respect, the theme of humanity is revealed in both Odysseus and Achilles: man is a combination of his will, his actions, and his relationship to the divine. This blend allows Homer to divulge all that is human in his characters, and all that is a vehicle for the idyllic aspects of ancient Greek society. Accordingly, the apparent inconsistencies in the characterization of Odysseus can be accounted for by his spiritual distance from the god-like Achilles; Achilles is more coherent because he is the son of a god. This is not to say that Achilles is not at times petty or unimaginative, but that his standards of action are merely more continuous through time. Nevertheless, both of Homer's heroes embody important and admirable facets of ancient Greek culture, though they fracture in the ways they are represented.
Homer and Hesiod were well-known epic poets that gave contribution to their culture by writing poetry on the different aspects and views of the Greek world. Homer’s long narrative poems dealt a lot with heroes at war, gods and goddesses involved with humans while Hesiod’s poetry is shorter, having little to do with heroes, and presents the importance of work and morality. Although the two poets have their own unique writing style, there are many differences and similarities in The Odyssey, Works and Days, and Iliad about beliefs in religion, description of women, and function of war.
The past does not inevitably exist in the present. The creative processes of remembering and telling stories allow our histories to remain with us. Memory and story negate the possibility of existing independently of the past by connecting humans across time to the actions and value systems of their predecessors. Humans are forced to live amidst and confront a complex and multi-dimensional reality in which their every action affects people and events outside of their immediate context. By burdening humans with the consequences of their histories, story and memory comprise a foundation of moral responsibility. Since memory and story are subjective, our past, a seemingly immutable reality, is subject to their creative hands. These hands define as malleable entities the past, the future, and that which exists or has its basis outside of the present. The “real” is only immutable in a present entirely disconnected from all other time. Yet while the profound power of memory and story does deny an objective, singular reality, it simultaneously allows humans the capacity to transform the world to their liking. Even death, the most immutable of realities, can be manipulated through the creative processes of remembering and storytelling. Death, then, is the point from which we will begin to understand Homer’s exploration of memory and story.
Throughout Homer’s epic poem, The Iliad, gods are presented as remarkably human in almost every way. While it is assumed that gods are divine entities incapable of human transgression, they are portrayed with all the flaws of mortals in The Iliad. The gods are a manifestation of human emotions consequently helping to explain the behavior of the humans in The Iliad. The actions of the heroes are what determine their fate, not divine intervention. Ultimately, the humans in The Iliad have inherent characteristics that provide the driving force behind their actions: the gods simply act in concert with them, allowing the human beings to exercise free will of
Throughout history, men have constantly been at war with something. Whether that something was nature, other men, or a supernatural force, men have historically loved battle. War stories have always been a way for authors to express their concerns about issues in society. Through these stories, authors depict honor not seen in real life, problems that face the world now, and closure so often exempt from our world. There are defined enemies, a clear line drawn between good and bad, and we may be powerful and violent for the sake of righteous ideas. "The war story is a way to exemplify good angels and bad, to exercise our fears, and find some comfort in the inevitable triumph of right over wrong," (strangewords.com). There are three main areas that come to mind under the heading "Men as they are portrayed in war". These topics are: typical attire, enemies, and weapons. We will be comparing and contrasting the four issues as they have been presented to us in science fiction, and also how they have been portrayed throughout history.