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greek values in odyssey heroism
heroism in the odyssey
heroism in the odyssey
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Immense Heroism in Homer’s Iliad
The Iliad opens with "the anger of Peleus' son, Achilleus," (1.1) and closes with the "burial of Hektor, breaker of horses" (24.804).1 The bracketing of the poem with descriptions of these two men suggests both their importance and their connection to one another. They lead parallel lives as the top fighters in their respective armies, and, as the poem progresses, their lives and deaths become more and more closely linked. They each struggle to fulfill the heroic ideal, and they both grapple with temptations that lure them away from heroism. While Hektor embodies the human heroic ideal, Achilleus strives to surpass human heroism to achieve some identification with the divine. These delusions of grandeur diminish Achilleus greatly; despite his efforts he can never be immortal, and a mortal god, besides being an oxymoron, would be decidedly pitiful. Achilleus' heroism, therefore, is incumbent on his acceptance of his humanity. Achilleus entangles Hektor in his struggle to come to terms with his own mortality by recognizing himself in his enemy. Hektor comes to represent the humanity of Achilleus, against which Achilleus rebels and which he tries to destroy in his desire to be immortal. Their fates are therefore linked, and the death of the one necessitates the death of the other. In finally giving over Hektor's body to Priam, Achilleus is at his most heroic; for in this action he accepts his fate, his mortality, and his humanity.
The two men are lured away from heroism in opposite directions; Hektor, by his connections to home and family, and Achilleus, by his connections to the gods. To be a hero is to sacrifice one's own personal and familial ties in favor of facing death and striving for...
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... of Achilleus' funeral, for the fates of these two heroes are linked. We do not see Achilleus' death in the poem, but we are certain of its prompt occurrence, for we see the burial of Hektor who has become a reflection of Achilleus. By accepting his own death, Achilleus finally becomes a hero. His heroism is so great because, unlike other men, the measure of his heroism does not lie in the status of the people he kills, but in the action of giving up Hektor's body. The murder of Hektor is not Achilleus' greatest moment, but only one step in attaining his heroism. He diverges so greatly from the heroic, that in the moment when he finally accepts his mortality, his heroism is immense.
NOTES
1 Achilleus is the son of Thetis, a goddess, and Peleus, a mortal.
2 Homer, Iliad, Translated by Richard Lattimore (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1951).
The use of hacking to identify weaknesses in computer security has become an increasingly controversial issue in recent years. Awareness of this issue is important, because our ever increasing reliance on technology means that breaches in computer security have the potential to have wide-ranging and devastating consequences to society, worldwide. This essay will begin by clearly defining the term ‘hacking’ and will examine the type of people who hack and for what reasons. There will then follow a discussion of the moral argument on hacking before examining a few brief examples. The essay will then conclude by arguing against the use of hacking as a means of identifying weaknesses in computer security.
The Iliad is an epic of death. It is a tale of conflict, battle, agony, and horrific mutilation. Honor and glory are attained through warfare. The great shield of Achiles stands out in this context because it depicts the glories of an orderly, functioning, productive civilization. This depiction of life stands in stark contrast to the scenes of death that constitute a large portion of the narrative. An examination of the shield of Achiles in Homer’s Iliad reveals many ideas in conflict: love and honor, the pleasures of life versus a heroic death, free will and destiny. By viewing the shield as an element of contradistinction—that is to define it on the basis of contrast—one can see that the shield symbollicaly unifies the entire poem. Achiles’ shield is the mechanism through which the poet presents a tool of warfare as a reflection of civilization; explores the concept, structure, and nature of the universe; and examines the role of art in society.
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.
The Iliad is a story in which many men should be recognized as great war heroes.
Hektor is one of the most sympathetic characters in Homer’s famous epic, The Iliad. He stands apart from the other selfish heroes with his strong sense of duty, which motivates all of his actions. Though he is the main adversary of the story’s Achaian heroes, he is favorably established and likable. For this reason, the reader cannot help but be saddened by his death and look upon his character with admiration.
than the times of today. Back then, the most important aspect of life for a
The Iliad is an epic tale of war and hero’s within the Greek way of life. A
The development of Early Childhood education and Care services in Australia is not that easy as we think. Started form the late 19C and early 20C there are lots of change, challenge, belief and arguments. When looking back on the historical stages and compare to the current stage there are lots better funding, resources, policy and practice to have quality early educations.
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum in England differs greatly in structure and content to the Te Whariki curriculum in New Zealand; this therefore makes for an interesting comparison. The EYFS was introduced in England, in 2008, by the DfE as a framework that ‘sets the standards for learning, development and care of children from birth to five’ (DfE, 2012). Alternatively, Te Whariki was founded in New Zealand, in 1996, based on the aspirations for children ‘to grow up as competent and confident learners and communicators, healthy in mind, body, and spirit, secure in their sense of belonging and in the knowledge that they make a valued contribution to society’ (Ministry of Education, 1996). Throughout this essay, the EYFS and Te Whariki curriculums will be compared and contrasted to give a greater understanding of the similarities and differences between England and New Zealand regarding their beliefs about young children’s needs.
“Then the screaming and shouts of triumph rose up together, of men killing and men killed, and the ground ran blood.” From first examination the Iliad seems to be an epic founded on an idealized form of glory, the kind that young boys think about when they want to join the army. A place full of heroism and manliness where glory can be achieved with a few strokes of a sword and then you go home and everything is just lovely. Many people view the Iliad this way, based on it’s many vivid battle descriptions and apparent lack of remorse for the deaths that occur. This, however, is not how war is presented in the Iliad. Homer presents a very practical outlook on war countering the attainment of the glory with the reality of its price and the destruction it causes. He successfully does this by showing the value of the lives of each person that dies and, in a sense, mourning their passing, describing the terror and ugliness of war, and, through the characters of Achilleus and Hector, displaying the high price of glory.
...e environment, such as with Eos and Poseidon, or to foreshadow events like Aschenbach’s death, with Charon or Narcissus. Myths create an extreme situation followed by extreme repercussions for ones choices in these situations, that aim to educate or inform the reader of the “what can happen”, and what is deemed proper behaviour to avoid these horrible outcomes. In the case of Narcissus, don’t love yourself too much or you will end up killing yourself, if you love someone truly and completely, such as Semele did for Zeus you will eventually be rewarded. In conclusion, the myths placed throughout this novella guide the reader through all of Aschenbach’s deepest thoughts and feelings and eventually lead us to his final end. They demonstrate in a variety of ways the range of emotions that one can feel for a person, and the integration of old beliefs into modern works.
Social cognitive theory is different from social learning theory because it takes into account cognitive processes including thinking, memory, language, and evaluating consequences. According to social cognitive theory, individuals play a part in their development (Malone, 2002). Cognitive patterns play a very large role in depression (Furman & Bender, 2003). For example, people don’t have a motivation to move forward in difficult times if they don’t believe they are able to do so. Self- efficacy is an important part of personal agency, and a main aspect in social cognitive theory (Bandura, 2001). A person’s perceived abilities and confidence play a part in what he or she does in his or her life. Cognition becomes a motivator or a hindrance, according to social cognitive theory. A person’s perceived self- efficacy helps determine what a person chooses to do, the amount of effort they put into it, and how long they can persist if there are barriers or failures that occur. How a person sees failure is also influential (Bandura, 20...
Throughout The Iliad, one could make the strong argument that it is glorifying or celebrating war. Characters are shown as either noble or incompetent based on their bravery or success in battle. For example when Paris voices his distaste for battle he is shunned by his family and lover. In book 6, Hector goes to Paris and tells him “I don’t understand you, Paris. No one could slight your work in battle. You’re a strong fighter, but you slack off-You don’t have the will. It breaks my heart to hear what the Trojans say about you.” (Homer, 127) Achilles can be viewed as the opposite of this and is in turn rewarded with eternal glory by denying a long, comfortable life with his family at home. The text itself appears to support this claim of judging character based on performance in battle and applies at times to the gods of Olympus. The epic seems to praise brave and war perpetuating deities such as Athena while it pokes fun at gods that despise battle, using the apprehensiveness of Aphrodite and Artemis to add comic relief. Fighting in battle for Kleos or glory, which is often achieved through glory in battle or one’s own death. To fight in war is to prove one’s honor and integrity, while avoiding warfare is illustrated as lazy and ignoble.
Ministry of Education. (2008). Licensing criteria for early childhood education and care centres 2008 and early childhood education curriculum framework. Wellington New Zealand: Ministry of Education.
The Art of exploring various security breaches is termed as Hacking.Computer Hackers have been around for so many years. Since the Internet became widely used in the World, We have started to hear more and more about hacking. Only a few Hackers, such as Kevin Mitnick, are well known.In a world of Black and White, it’s easy to describe the typical Hacker. A general outline of a typical Hacker is an Antisocial, Pimple-faced Teenage boy. But the Digital world has many types of Hackers.Hackers are human like the rest of us and are, therefore, unique individuals, so an exact profile is hard to outline.The best broad description of Hackers is that all Hackers aren’t equal. Each Hacker has Motives, Methods and Skills. But some general characteristics can help you understand them. Not all Hackers are Antisocial, PimplefacedTeenagers. Regardless, Hackers are curious about Knowing new things, Brave to take steps and they areoften very Sharp Minded..