Achilles Shield

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The Shield of Achilles has many ideas behind it and plays a very important role in Homer's Iliad. The shield depicts many things on different areas of the shield. Hephaestus, the god of fire, is the one who created Achilles' shield. It is a wide ranging work of art from the heavens to the seas. It also depicts two cities where one is at peace and the other is at war. This shield was worthy and suitable for a god. The description of the shield in Homer's Iliad gives the reader a very clear idea of the shield. When reading, the mind automatically goes to the two cities. The central idea behind the images on the shield is the symbol of coexistence, even though there are times of war, there is always peace to go along with it. The stark contrast …show more content…

The quarrel between the two men was taken care of in an orderly manner when Homer says, "They were headed for an arbitrator" (18.540). An arbitrator, by definition is an independent person officially appointed to settle a dispute. This shows how the city at peace was run by a rule of law. The dispute was settled by somewhat of a court, and the party went on. Peace and prosperity is the goal when cities or nations are at war. If one can achieve this feat the people will be dancing in the …show more content…

R. Hardie states, "the great variety of activities in the two cities of the Homeric Shield is reduced to a stark dichotomy of the opposites of peace and war." (Hardie 17) The cities depicted on the shield are polar opposites. One is based on peace and the rule of law; the other is based on war and killing. The two cities also can relate to another image on the shield. The image of the earth and the heavens. The city at war can closely relate to the earth, where it always seems chaotic. While on the other hand, the city at peace can relate to the heavens because there are no worries. Oliver Taplin points out, "The accomplishments of singing and dancing, which are of course useless and even despised in time of war, epitomize the pleasures of peace." (Taplin 6) Taplin is essentially telling the reader that the people singing and dancing embody the sheer joy of not being at war. Both images remind the reader that humans do in fact have the capacity for both killing and peaceful trade and

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