Death In The Iliad Essay

Before reading, I was aware that death would be a prominent theme in Homer’s The Iliad, however, it took on different meaning throughout the text than expected. Not only was the text quite graphic quickly after the beginning of Book 6, but there seemed to be a deeper significance to death or the act of dying in this poem than in most literature. First, death was a source of hope. As Ajax takes on the Trojan line, he kills a brave enemy “[bringing] his men some hope” (Homer, p. 195). Although it is only expected that victory would bring hope to those on the warfront, it is interesting that this hope is noted right before the descriptive slaughtering of the enemy line. It is a direct juxtaposition of the idea of death and hope; although, they are correlated in this idea of war.

He notes that with little effort, he would “lose [his] nerve for war” (Homer, p. 204). Fighting in the war is not something that Hector wants to do, but he sees it as his duty. Leaving his family seems to be extremely difficult for him as pages 209-212 dictate the loving exchange of Hector, Andromache, and their son. It is quite uncharacteristic of the time for a family to be so close-knit. It seems to be important that Homer includes this passage solely because of its length. Other parts of this story line are not targeted while this family scene is. Because of how much Hector loves his wife and son, we know that fighting an already lost battle holds an even bigger significance. Andromache knows that Hector is going to die, and Hector does too, but he goes to battle anyway-no matter his loss. I do not know if it is honorable or selfish for him to go to the battle knowing how much pain he will cause his family. Personally, I have always struggled with the idea of death and honor, and it seems that Homer did