Analysis: The Iliad Glorifies War

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Classical Civilisation
“The Iliad glorifies war”
To what extent do you agree with this statement?
[30]
Achilles suffering from war casualty- Achilles’ Decision Line 23
Offer of reward for return of Hector’s body - book 24 line 227

I disagree with the statement “The Iliad glorifies war”. While the Iliad speaks highly of the soldiers involved in the war, and frequently references the idea of eternal glory, I would argue that the choice to include such parts was made to criticise war. The Iliad also showcases lots of suffering in the Trojan war.

Throughout the poem the idea of eternal glory is often mentioned. A particularly striking example of this is in The Embassy To Achilles, when Achilles is rejecting the offer of many gifts being made …show more content…

This shows that they have no control over their legacies, and therefore criticises the notion of glory within violent death, a force which he shows to motivate almost all actions in the poem, again disproving the …show more content…

Throughout the poem we are lead to believe that Achilles is a great hero, and that Hector is a modest man with a great amount of compassion for his family, and a mostly successful military leader. He is arguably motivated entirely by the fear of letting his family down We’re shown how incompetent his younger brother, Paris, is, and generally given the impression that he is the best man in the Trojan forces. Yet, here we are seeing Achilles, a supposed glorious hero, mistreating his body horribly. While there is a mention of a personal battle between the men in the Embassy To Achilles, we aren’t lead to believe that there were any reasons for such a rivalry other than the fact that they are the best soldiers of their respective armies. Although ultimately, Achilles kills Hector as revenge for the death of his close friend Patroclus, the point could easily be made that the attempted disfigurement was because of Achilles’ pride and self obsession. He has killed the leader of the opposing army, and possible hundreds of other Trojans amidst his aristeia, and is bragging about it to everyone who will pay attention. This is not in line with the idea of eternal glory he wanted so much earlier, and gives the impression that he no longer cares for his public image, and only for his own violent desires. This picks holes both in the idea of glory

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