The critics of the film, Troy (2004) by Wolfgang Peterson, were too mythologically correct. They had assumed that Peterson had gotten the myth wrong and completely disrespected the original stories. However, the inherent nature of Greek epic poetry in itself is that they are dynamic, always changing. The word “Myth” comes from the Greek word mythos which means “word”, “speech”, “tale” or “story”. Myths are traditional stories of collective importance that were shared, usually passed down through oral tradition. Having them passed down through generations orally is similar to a very long game of telephone, as the story gets passed on some parts may change as the performer forgets what happens or they may change some details of the story to their …show more content…
Agamemnon walks behind Briseis as she was praying to Apollo, he grabs her and in defence she takes out the knife she was hiding and stabs him in the throat. The way that Agamemnon died in the literature was very different, one account had him die after he had arrived home from the war to his wife, Clytemnestra. At his home was where he was baited into a trap assisted by her lover, Agamemnon’s brother, Aegisthus (Homer.Odyssey.11.415-450). Another example of change comes on how Achilles was killed. In the film, as Achilles was saving Briseis from the Greek soldiers sacking the city of Troy he was shot by Paris in his heel. In the texts however, Achilles was killed earlier in the war. He was shot by Paris along with Apollo while he was rushing to get into the city …show more content…
The main reason could be due to the audience that he is trying to reach. The original literature of Homers Iliad was dated around 8th century BCE, the audience back then would’ve been the Greek public as these epic poems were performed in the streets for people to enjoy. His audience would have complete understanding of Greek mythology as it was part of their everyday lives, the gods were their explanation as to how the world came to be and why things are the way they are. Compared to audiences nowadays not many people know much about Greek mythology, except for the few that may remember what they were taught in high school. This was perhaps one of the main reason as to why the gods don’t physically appear in the movie. Audiences in this generation may not be able to understand who the gods are when they appear on the screen and, may not take it as seriously as they should be. In Proclus (Chrestomathy.B.339), it was said that Apollo was there when Paris shot his arrow to kill Achilles, in the movie however it looks like Paris just happened to shoot Achilles heel eventually killing him. The ancient Greek believed that the gods were in control of everyone’s fates, for todays audience this would probably not be a too popular opinion as people believe in their free will more. This point also relates to how Briseis killed Agamemnon in the movie, this gives the audience the satisfaction of having
Pop culture’s mythology theory is used in many forms of media today, from The Legend of Zelda in video games to “Harry Potter in books. One example of usage of the mythology theory is the 1996 movie, O Brother, Where Art Thou? directed by Joel Coen. This movie is based off Homer’s epic poem, “The Odyssey.” There are many similarities between the two, yet at the same time, there are many differences.
Tens of thousands of stories fit into the hero’s journey archetype created by Christopher Volger. Out of these, a large number of them are stories with remakes that share notable resemblances in their heroes’ journeys. However, none of these quite match those very strong similarities found between Homer’s The Odyssey and Joel Coens’s O Brother, Where Art Thou? These stories share crucial components of the hero’s journey whether it be “crossing the first threshold,” where the main characters of both stories begin their long adventure that transforms them into heroes; “the supreme ordeal,” where the main characters are both deprived of the opportunity to get home sooner; or “return with elixir,” where Odysseus and Ulysses both return to their homes alive the comfort of their wives. In their major plot points, the novel The Odyssey and the motion picture O Brother convey obvious similarities in key elements of their heroes’ journeys such as “crossing the first threshold,” “the supreme ordeal,” and “return with elixir.”
Both men appear distraught and heartbroken. Although Agamemnon sails home a hero after the war, he returned home only to die disgracefully at the hands of his scheming wife who even “lacked the heart to seal my(Agamemnon’s) eyes with her hand or close my(Agamemnon’s) jaw”(Od.11.482-3). Achilles, on the other hand, never sailed home but instead dies a noble death on the battlefield. In Odysseus’s eyes “there’s no man in the world more blest than you (Achilles)”(Od.11.548). Agamemnon died a disgrace and Achilles died a hero, yet both desire the same information in the afterlife. While on earth they fought and strove to die a noble death for themselves when in reality the only fulfilling glory was the knowledge that they left a legacy behind. When given the chance, both men ask about their sons. Agamemnon requests information from Odysseus saying “Come, tell me this and be precise. Have you heard news of my son?”(Od.11.519-20). Unfortunately for Agamemnon, Odysseus was unable to give him any information concerning his son and leaves him grief stricken and heartsick. Achilles was more fortunate when he
But I want another prize ready for me right away. / I’m not going to be the only Greek without a prize,” (1.124-127). Sadly, the prize Agamemnon ended up taking was Briseis, and she originally belonged to Achilles. Because Agamemnon took Briseis, Achilles was angry and went to Thetis, his sea nymph mother, saying “And heralds led away my girl, Briseis, / Whom the army had given to me.
When Achilles says “don’t provoke me old man”, Achilles seems ever more violent. Why does Homer have to ensure violence upon every corner of the Iliad? Even the accord between Priam and Hector that Homers convinces the reader that they are both god-like and are of such power and honor. Even after killing man after man, the honor and the kleos remains. Violence, as seen in the movie Gladiator, is adored by the public and cheer for the death of the gladiator that cannot fight anymore whose fate is in the hands of the gladiator looking down upon them. Same goes for the gods. The gods control the fate, the destiny, the flow of all the lives under them. In Homers Iliad, humor is seen only amongst the gods. This is true because humor is seen as a weakness, or a way to make someone vulnerable and laugh. The gods and their immortality have no worries nor fear of anything. This guarantees a set tone of understanding for the reader to see why the fate of Hector or the fate of Achilles is all controlled by the
The Iliad begins with the clash between Achilles and Agamemnon. Agamemnon has little, if any, respect for the gods. This is displayed by his irreverent behavior towards the priest, Chryses. Agamemnon refuses to release the princess even when the Achaean soldiers suggested "`Respect the priest, accept the shining ransom!' But it brought no joy to the heart of Agamemnon" (104). Achilles is, unlike Agamemnon, respectful of and revered by the gods. In order to expose the cause of Apollo's wrath against the Argive army, Achilles uses the prophet, Calchas. Achilles already knows why Apollo is angry, but decides the fact should be stated by someone other than himself. He knows that Agamemnon will become angry once the truth is revealed. I believe that in this instance he is trying to keep his rage in check by avoiding a direct confrontation with Agamemnon. Calchas also fears for his life because he also knows Agamemnon's fury is unyielding at times. However, with a great deal of encouragement from Achilles, Calchas "spoke out, bravely: `Beware-The god's enraged because Agamemnon spurned his priest'" (106). When the truth is exposed, Agamemnon be...
The gods are always in the background, their presence is always felt. Patroclus is afraid of Thetis, not only because she is immortal but because she is Achilles mother and Patroclus is aware that Thetis does not approve of him in her sons life, “You will be dead soon enough” (pg.54). Patroclus knows he is nothing in the grand scheme of things he is no hero just in love with one that happens to be half god and that love which will eventually take him to the battle field where Apollo drops him from Troy’s walls and find his death at the end of
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
Odysseus and Agamemnon are heroes who fought side by side to take down the city of Troy during the Trojan War. In Homer’s The Odyssey, why is Agamemnon slaughtered when he arrives home while Odysseus returns to find his loved ones still waiting for him? The reasons for the heroes’ differing fates are the nature of their homecoming and the loyalty of their wives.
Troy?s damaging relationship with his father had a dual effect in his life. It created a conscious awareness of how not to conduct his life and built fences, which inevitably recreated his father in his personality. These fences shaped and formed his relationships with his son. Due to his conscious efforts to not become what he did hold that were his father?s. The narrowness of his thoughts and ideas about life made him an almost impossible person with whom to have a relationship. These flaws permanently changed the lives of the people around him and built barriers which were too solid to ever be broken.
In the beginning of the film, the audience is introduced to the five muses who are the goddesses of art, literature, and science. In mythology the muses do rule over art and science, but there are actually nine muses. The only logical explanation for fewer muses in the film would be to cut production cost. The next major difference between the movie and the myth is the role of Hades. In the movie he is chosen to be the evil villain that Hercules must triumph against to prove he is a hero (Disney vs.
When Nestor comes to smooth the thick atmosphere they depart from each other. Upon returning to his ship, Agamemnon sends his men to “go to Achilles’ lodge [and] take Briseis at once” (line 378) illustrating how rude he can be. To take someone at once has an impatient type of connotation. Agamemnon has no intentions of keeping the peace with Achilles because he rudely disobeyed Achilles orders. Achilles tried to comply with Agamemnon, but he refused to do so. Regardless, Agamemnon resorted to his threat. When the men reach Achilles’ lodge, he is grief-stricken and allows for his wife to be taken. He is sad and reluctant, but lets them take her back to Agamemnon. No matter what he does, this event was inevitable. Agamemnon was provoking him making him “blazing … [to] [react] quickly” (line 341) showing that Achilles can be easily angered. Agamemnon tries to use Achilles rage and fury to get him to give up and retreat back to the army he left. Even though Achilles felt rage and sorrow, he keeps to his word. He wants to obey Athena’s orders of to not fight back. Although he is sad, he will not let Agamemnon’s threat get to his
...tling over Helen, Zeus sending the dream to Agamemnon, and Thetis convincing Zeus in the aid of the Trojans. We can see how the Gods affected the plot of the Iliad. If we were to eliminate them, the movie Troy makes more sense. In the movie, since Zeus did not send a dream to Agamemnon he had no real reason to attack Troy. But because Aphrodite was not there to save Paris from his death in the duel with Menelaus, Hector had to save him and death of Menelaus was the perfect motive for Agamemnon to take Troy. The addition of these changes was beneficial to the movie, if one is looking at it from the standpoint of a businessman. These changes allowed the audience to feel more emotion towards the characters, thus allowing them to “bond” with them. In the end of the Iliad, most of the characters die, and as we all know, that is the worst way to end a Blockbuster movie.
Over the thousands of years that the epic story the Iliad has survived, there has no doubt been some form of alteration to Homer’s original. Last May, Wolfgang Petersen directed a movie based on the Iliad. This movie, Troy, has proven to be a very loose adaptation of Homer’s original, as are almost all stories that are made into movies, unfortunately. With its timeless storyline, amazing scenery, gorgeous actors/actresses and most of all, its reported two hundred million dollar budget, it is easy to see why Troy was hyped up to be a box office hit. However, the film critics were harsh on this movie, as they had every right to be, and it ended up being a total flop. Compared to Homer’s Iliad, Troy is rather disappointing. But, to be fair, one must keep in mind the limitations of a movie compared to those of a book, and the fact that the title is Troy, not the Iliad. It really is not as bad as expected. Troy is Homer’s Iliad gone to Hollywood. There probably are just as many similarities as differences from the original. The three major upsetting differences in Troy compared to the Iliad are the absence of the Gods, the weak character and plot development, and the addition, exclusion, and reversal of key points.
Achilles is introduced into The Iliad getting into a debacle with the leader of the Greek army, Agamemnon, during the last year of the Trojan War. Achilles starts a quarrel with Agamemnon because he has demanded possession of Achilles’ woman, Briseis, in consolation for having to give up his woman, Chryseis, so that the gods will end their plague upon the Greek soldiers. Achilles does all he can to get his loved one back, but he knows that nothing will waver Agamemnon’s decision. This is when Achil...