Iliad Paragraphs

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Plot for “The Golden Apple” – “Ship Gathering”:

In the beginning, Eris, the goddess of discord, cunningly left a deceitful apple engraved with “To the fairest” at the wedding of King Peleus. Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite all immediately clashed over this pseudo-gift. Towards the middle, the three goddesses (Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite) became weary of their argument and, spying young Paris, found an end to their bitter rivalry. Together, they presented the apple to the herder and bade him to pick she who most deserved the gift. Each goddess offered him something different- her own exchange gift- but in the end, Paris chose Aphrodite. The Goddess of Love won his favor by offering Paris a woman who far surpassed any other in sheer loveliness. Forgetting the love he already possessed for another, Paris fell to his vanity.

Theme for “Quarrel” – “Single Combat”:

A main theme for this section would be that power has the deadly ability to corrupt because Agamemnon survived under the impression that since he was High King, he could do whatever struck his fancy. For example, Agamemnon, when faced with the decision to send Chryseis back to the Temple of Apollo, claimed Briseis instead. Achilles, “who had grown to care for Briseis” (pg. 19), fell blindly into a rage as black as death once the High King announced these intentions. Agamemnon didn’t care, however, even though Briseis had been given as a gift to Achilles. He simple had more power and wanted her back- like how children believe they always deserve what they want merely because they wish it. This shows corruption as a result of power because Agamemnon took what he wanted rather than what he deserved and no one could stop him. In addition to claimed Briseis, Agamemnon further in...

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...s the sacrifice of Odysseus because, due to his sly disguise and sharp tongue, he got suffered ridicule and beatings. All of these men held Odysseus in respect, but had no such feelings for some beggar- and Odysseus knew that would be the case before he even donned the persona. In addition to these scuffles- mild in comparison- Odysseus, playing he his part well, was taken out and whipped “until the blood ran from his shoulders” (pg. 100) and treated like an overall mutt. This shows, once again, how much he sacrificed for his plan because the whipping lasted even after the disguise fell away. It all worked out, however, because he was let within the walls of Troy and stole the Luck of Troy right from under their noses. All of Odysseus’ sacrifice paid off in the end, turning the tide of the war and the important lesson of self-sacrifice would go far in modern life.

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