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Nature of war in the iliad
Homer's depiction of war in the iliad
Homer's depiction of war in the iliad
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Recommended: Nature of war in the iliad
The Iliad is a heroic epic poem, which depicts the events of the Trojan war. As discussed in class it was written by Homer, a significant ancient Greek poet sometime in the 8th century BC. The story appears to take place in the 13th century BC, yet mirrors the standard of living of the Dark Age (Early Iron Age).1 There are assumptions made in Book 9 of The Essential Iliad about proper human behavior, specifically about proper behavior during time of war; pertaining to warriors. It was assumed that warriors would conduct themselves in a particular manner, according to what was proper. Assumptions about proper behavior were made about the following: glory, honor, gifts, friends, the gods, women, and the public.
Obtaining glory during war was to be one of the main objectives for a warrior. Glory was important to a warrior, if they had obtained it was expected they acted accordingly to keep it. On page 56, line 193 Achilles “sang the glories of heroes in war.” Achilles himself was a hero, he was singing praise to those who had obtain glory. When cities were successfully raided heroes could loot them and and return with heirlooms, a way to demonstrate the glory they had earned.2 Achilles declares to his friends “my glory will be undying forever,” if he chooses to fight.3 He declared he would nevertheless set sail the following day, his friends were bewildered he would do so; since he would be forgoing the glory they considered so important as warriors.
The honor of a warrior was to be held in high regard. Honor was important, which was why Achilles friends: Odysseus, Phoenix, and Ajax partially understood Achilles ire, and refusal to return to battle. They do insist though that he “control [his] proud spirit,” in order to have the...
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...ropriate. Glory was important to a warrior, and it was to be proven. A warrior was to uphold their honor. If that honor was infringed upon, gifts were to be used to soothe things over. Friendship was important to warriors, they fought alongside their friends. Just as important were the gods, in honor of them sacrifices had to be made and they were to be listened to. Though the warriors were men, women did play a role in a warrior's life. The public too had a role in a warrior's life, they were to be considered since they praised the warriors. These are the assumptions of human behavior in Book 9 of The Essential Iliad.
Bibliography
Doran, Timothy. "Ancient Greek Civilization." World Civilization 110A. 1 Mar. 2014. Lecture.
Greece 110A, Slide 32
Homer, and Stanley Lombardo. "Iliad 9." The Essential Iliad. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Pub., 2000.
56-71. Print.
Phoenix’s paradigm narrative fails to persuade Achilles to rejoin the war because the specifics of that narrative fail to align with Achilles’ specific concerns. In particular, Phoenix neglects the pernicious effects of Agamemnon 's actions on Achilles’ notions of honor and pride.
Throughout Greek history and mythology, the greatest heroes have been driven by the desire to gain heroic glory. For them, kleos served as a fundamental indicator of their personal value. A warrior’s worth was defined by how they were viewed and discussed by their peers. Personal glory was more important than life itself. Warriors would rather die young with renown than live a long life of little consequence. However, once they reached the underworld, many found their struggle for kleos by way of personal gain never earned them what they desired. True glory goes beyond an individual’s accomplishments and lives on after their death through their posterity as demonstrated by Agamemnon and Achilles who, upon being visited by Odysseus in the underworld, inquire after the
The notion of personal honor is prevalent throughout the Iliad. The honor of every person in Homeric culture was important, but to the hero, his honor was paramount. He could not endure insults, and he felt that he had to protect his reputation — even unto death. The hero 's duty was to fight, and the only way he had of gaining glory and immortality was through heroic action on the battlefield; thus, he continually prepared his life for the life-and-death risks of battle. The Homeric hero believed that men had to stand together in battle; men had to respect each other; and they had to refrain from excessive cruelty. This last condition was critically important for the Homeric hero. He loathed deliberate acts of cruelty and injustice. If he were ready to kill a victim, he believed that he should do it quickly; he was not to mutilate him, as Achilles does with Hektor 's body. By following this code, a hero gained a sense of dignity and a reputation for honor that would ensure his place in the social memory of his community.
He feels that his honor was besmirched when Agamemnon demands that Achilles relinquish his war prize, Brises "Are you ordering to give this girl back? Either the great hearted Achaians shall give me a new prize chosen according to my desires to atone for the girl loss, or else if they will not hive me I myself shall take her, your own prize?(Homer 1.134).
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
The text supports a means of judging character and extends it to cultural elements such as the gods who define the faith and belief of the people. Iliad upholds warlike deities, including Athena, for admiration among the modern civilization. In the ideal epic world, the comic is vital in creating relief as seen with the timidity of Artemis and Aphrodite. Moreover, fighting seems as a way of proving honor and integrity, while avoiding warfare is a demonstration for laziness and misaligned
In conclusion, one sees that honor is central to the Greeks because honor is the foundation of family and society. Both texts, the Iliad and Antigone depict the goal of every Greek hero is to ensure his place in the social memory of his society by seeking honor in his lifetime and performing a proper burial after he passes away. The pursuit of honor is the driving force for what Greeks have done to their society, family and friends. Both texts imply that family’s love is a main ingredient in making decisions. Because of love, Achilles, Priam and Antigone are willing to sacrifice themselves in order to gain honor for themselves as well as for their families.
The ethical values reflected in the Iliad should be taken seriously because they are not only plausible, but also congruent with the time and place. Homer is narrating tales of a society where men expect to fight and likely die in battle, where courage is demanded of all men, and where honor and glory are seen as steps toward achieving excellence. What makes the Iliad a masterpiece of Western civilization is not just the stirring story, but most of all Homer’s even-handed portrayal of the Homeric world, for the Trojans are never depicted as being less than the Greeks. The Greeks, even their greatest military heroes, are seen as flawed human beings. In conclusion, what Homer presents in the Iliad is a worldview rather than the local perspective of a distant war. In the end, Homer seems to be saying that all men may aspire to virtue.
In the process, he is going to selfishly put his honor above the well-being of his fellow troops and friends. Achilles is a "man born and shaped for battle, who values life, his own included, as nothing (35). " When he is insulted, he draws his sword and contemplates killing Agamemnon at that very instant, but is stopped by Athena who assures him that his honor will be restored. At this point, it can be seen that Achilles is willing to chance a long peaceful life for honor's sake. He asks his mother for the Trojans to gain power so that he will be called upon for his great worrier skills.
The question "was Achilles' anger justified" brings up issues that seem to have little or no relevance to the war. In time of war I would expect the leaders to prioritize the groups interest for the sake of unity and cooperation rather than being entrenched in achieving their own personal goals. But my expectations are those of a modern day literature student, I'm inclined to think that the Greeks who first read this epic valued different things than myself. Another relevant question might be "were Achilles' actions justified". Anger can be easily justified, but the actions that anger might lead you to take are not as easily justified. Again I am not an ancient Greek and my opinions are irrelevant unless I open my mind to different viewpoints. Therefore I am striving to look into this issue through ancient Greek eyes where the principle of sacrificing ones own interests was apparently not valued, but maintaining ones honor, on the other hand, was greatly valued. In the following paragraphs I will attempt to answer these two aforementioned questions.
Throughout the Iliad, heroic characters make decisions based on a specific set of principles, which are referred to as the “code of honor.” The heroic code that Homer presents to readers is easy to recognize because the heroic code is the cause for many of the events that take place, but many of the characters have different perceptions of how highly the code should be regarded. Hector, the greatest of the Trojan warriors, begins the poem as a model for a hero. His dedication and firm belief in the code of honor is described many times throughout the course of the Iliad. As a reward for heroic traits in battle, prizes were sometimes awarded to victors of war. In Book 1 Achilles receives Chryseis as a prize and a symbol of honor. Heroism had its rewards and its setbacks which ultimately was the backbone of the Illiad in the case of Achilles prize. Hector, arguably the greatest Trojan warrior or even the bravest of the Homeric heroes is very fierce and fights for what he believes is his destiny. In book VI Hector expresses his bravery when Andromache pleads with Hector not to fight when Hector says, “But I would die of shame to face the men of Troy and the Trojan woman trailing their long robes if I would shrink from battle now, a coward. Nor does the sprit urge me on that way. I’ve learned it all too well. To stand up bravely, always to fight in the front ranks of Trojan soldiers, winning my father great glory, glory for myself” (VI, 387).
For the Homeric hero, honour was a code to live by, won on the battlefield, achieved through oratory discourse and attained via athletic ability. However, to understand why honour was an important theme in Homer’s Iliad, we need to look at how the heroes of the epic poem, such as Agamemnon and Achilles lived by this code, observing their behaviour and how they treated others throughout the story. With this in mind, we can establish the ideal conduct that warrants honour and the reality of what living by such a code meant to everyone involved.
The Iliad is not only a story of war, but a story of relationships and family connections through respect and honor. Sons don’t seem to question their duties to their family. They go to battle and fight until the end, maybe even until their death. They do not search for love from their fathers, but for the respect and desire to follow just as their fathers did, to be dignified warriors and proud of their ancestral accomplishments.
The first requirement of Aristotle's tragic hero is that they are more admirable than the average character. Achilles meets this requirement because of his ability on the battlefield. In The Iliad, the background to the story is the war between the Greeks and the Trojans. This background is not only the basis for the story overall, but is also the basis for Achilles' own story. This begins when Achilles refuses to join the battle because he is insulted by Agamemnon. This decision results in the action that drives the remainder of the story. Later in the story when Achilles becomes angered and goes to the other extreme, launching into battle and killing ferociously. The significance of this is that it places battle as central to both Achilles' story and to what is important in the setting of the story. Importantly, the aspect that makes Achilles greater than most is his ability o...
The first reason Achilles is an epic hero is because he embodied the characteristics of the ideal Greek citizen at the time Homer wrote; he is in a position of power and regards honor highly. “O my mother! I was born to die young, it is true, but honour I was to have from Zeus, Olympian, thunderer on high! And now he has not given me one little bit! Yes, my lord king Agamemnon has insulted me! He has taken my prize and keeps it, he has robbed me myself” (page 17), Achilles cried to his mother. Agamemnon stole Achilles’ prize, Briseis, so Achilles is begging his mother, the sea nymph Thetis, to help him regain his honor. In Greece, honor was crucial and by taking Achilles’ prize, Agamemnon has stripped him not only of his hard-won prize but of his honor as well. Such a double loss would have been catastrophic for a Greek citizen. Classicist Ian Johnston highlights the significance of his loss, suggesting that “the greatest harm that can occur to a particular warrior is shame, the community’s public recognition that he has let the group down or failed to live up to its shared rules.”Being shamed, in this case, by Agamemnon, would cause the Achaeans to lose respect for Achilles, and as one of their leaders, this would be a tragedy for him. Achilles’ desire to regain his honor sho...