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The Odyssey by Homer Fate
The gods role in the iliad
The role of the gods iliad
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Recommended: The Odyssey by Homer Fate
Divine Providence and Destiny in Homer's The Iliad
Destiny is defined as fate. One cannot escape destiny. Divine intervention on the other hand is much different. One can at least beg for mercy or help. Both destiny and divine intervention are intertwined in Homer's The Iliad. In book I Thetis asks a favor of Zeus in order to make her son look good. Zeus decides to help Achilles against the wishes of Hera. In Book II there are two gods trying to accomplish different tasks. In order to make Achilles look good, Zeus must give glory to the Achaeans. Hera on the other hand tries to help the Greeks. The gods try to assert their divine authority, but without the humans realizing they are being played like puppets. Throughout The Iliad we see both divine providence and the luck of humanity playing a part in the lives of Hector and Achilles.
In Book I Achilles looks for a holy man to find out why the gods are against the Achaeans. Achilles knows that in order to win the war, the Trojan army must find favor with the gods. The chosen holy man was Thestor. It was said that the god Apollo had given Thestor power to see into the world of the supernatural. Before Thestor would even say anything, he required assurance that he would not be harmed for what he had to say. Thestor blames the plague of problems on Agamemnon. Because Agamemnon will not return Chryseis, the Achaean army has fallen out of favor of the gods. In order to return to the protective umbrella of the gods, restitution must be given. Chryseis must be returned. In this instance, the humans wanted favor from the gods. In order to get it, they had to comply to what the gods wanted, which was give back Chryseis.
In Book II Zeus uses a dream to change the lot of Achilles. Agamemnon has a dream indicating that the Achaean's should give up. Nestor also agrees after hearing the dream. Agamemnon and the chiefs make a decision about the war and the destiny of the Achaean fighters based on a dream sent by Zeus whose purpose is to make Achilles look good. Here again, the gods are the puppeteers and the humans are not really in control of their destiny.
In Book VI we see the belief in fate becoming more evident.
The decision of Achilleus is a crucial moment in understanding how fate works in epic (Homerian) literature. Thetis tells Achilleus of his opportunity to win renown as the greatest warrior of all time, earning glory through his fearless acts in battle against a foe who is sure to overcome the Achaians. The fate of ten years of attack on Troy hinge upon the decision of Achilleus, who is given the choice to win glory for the Achaians and, more importantly, himself.
Destiny in Gilgamesh and The Iliad Stories do not need to inform us of things. From Gilgamesh for example, we know that some of the people who lived in the land between the Tigris and Euphates rivers in the second and third milleniums BCE. We know they celabrated a king named Gilgamesh; we know they believed in many gods; we know they were self- -consious of their own cultivation of the natural world; and we know they were literate. In the story, The Iliad we also know that great rulers and gods ruled and where top priority of the lands. Point being it can be argued that the story of Gil- -gamesh and the Iliad destiny's are quite the same in relivence of the wars and the way's of life both of the story's complete to meaningful death. In hand which comtr- -ibutes to both of the epics. In the story of Gilgamesh, it is important to look careful what happened in the story; that is , look at it as if the actions and people it describes actually took place or existed. The questions raised by a character's actions discuss the implic- -ations of their consequences. But it's not to consider how the story is put together rather how it uses the conventions of language, of events with beginings and endings of description of character and storytelling itself to reawaken our sensitivity to the real world. The real world is the world without conventions, the unnameable, unrep- resentable world--in it's continuity of action, it's shadings and blurrings of character its indecipherable patterns of being. The Iliad and Gilgamesh story's is greatly a remminder of the way life is today; just different in time but neitherless to say similar
As isolated herders the Himba are known as the “Lord’s of the last Frontier” (Michael Bollig, 2002). They were given this name by an anthropologist...
NCLB was passed with a goal of closing the achievement gap between white students and their low-income and minority peers. However research over the past 10 years has found that the high-stakes testing policies have not improved reading and math achievement across states, and have not significantly narrowed national and state level achievement gaps (Au, 2009). In fact, the high stakes testing and standardization of classrooms has hurt the very students it set out to help. According to Haretos...
One of the biggest problems Americans face today is a US student’s underwhelming academic performance. When compared to other countries, the United States comes in 18th place in math literacy and 25th place in reading literacy. The problem is not just a standard problem throughout the country, as there is much variation between graduation and subject literacy rates, with huge differences also between schools alone. These statistics are disappointing because the US is considered one of the largest world powers. The disparities in American students academic achievement is also detrimental because they are less able to compete in the global market place. Many things have been used to explain this disparity but race has often led as the main explanation. The racial disparities in academic achievement have also led to acts of law, such as the Hispanic Education act, which focus on improving test scores in New Mexico’s minority students. While there is a correlation between race and academic performance, I believe there are other factors, like economic class, which also have a profound effect on a students’ academic achievement. If my hypothesis is correct, review of further literature should show discrepancies between students of different socioeconomic status as a major influence on a student’s academic achievement.
With even a cursory exposure to ancient Greek texts, it is obvious that the gods and goddesses are very important in traditional Greek culture. As literary figures in mythos and specific poetry and drama, the gods dabble in the life of man, predict his fate, and routinely thwart any attempt for him to entirely forge his own future. But for those of us who are not extensively schooled in antiquities, it is hard to pinpoint exactly what the gods are to the ancient Greeks, and what they are to us as readers of literature who live outside the culture. Were the gods accepted as parable figures, meant to instruct? Were they used to explain acts of nature? Do they now belong to anything outside the scope of literary history?
The achievement gap is often described as the academic discrepancy in the test scores of minority and other low-income students and the test scores in their White and Asian peers. However the gap in scores affect many different groups across many different walks of life in America. Different groups may trail behind their peers at different points in their academic careers. Classic examples are boys in their early years of schooling and girls in high school math and sciences. The differences between students from various backgrounds are more apparent on the large-scale standardized tests. The gaps in test scores more than often lead to longer-term gaps, including high school and college completion and even in the kinds of jobs these students are able to maintain as adults.
The gods in power, like Zeus, exhibit bias, dishonor, betrayal, deception, and many other humanly characteristics. One memorable scene is when Zeus and Poseidon are in conflict with each other over the Achaens versus the Trojans. Zeus controls the battle by “lifting the famous runner Achilles’ glory higher,” (Homer 13: 404). Zeus plays both sides in this scene, acting like a double agent which is dishonorable. Zeus’s bias is prevalent throughout the poem; specifically, he is “bent on wiping out the Argives, down to the last man,” (Homer 12: 81-82). Just like mortals such as Agamemnon and Achilles view each other with suspicion and intolerance, the gods experience identical emotions of wariness, anger, and irritation. This human-like behavior is not restricted to Zeus. Later in the text, Hera lies to Aphrodite to use her powers to manipulate her own husband Zeus. If one looks at Hera as a heavenly entity, her reaction may not make sense, but when it is viewed as a manifestation of human emotion, it become almost reasonable. Her scheming response to Zeus’s meddling with the war is spurred by her support for the Trojans. Hera’s manipulation and Aphrodite’s ego don’t stand alone as examples of this divine humanity. These instances suggest that the deities are being presented in this unique way to help explain behavior of the humans in The
In fact, its remained a dilemma which all main characters are forced to confront. In the Iliad, Fate is constantly hovering around. Even the power of the gods in unable to intervene with the course of fate. The Iliad mentions fate many times because the characters strongly believe that fate is the center of the universe. Homer though played with the idea that the gods are powerful enough to act as fate. But the Iliad also shows that man can potentially sometimes controls his destiny. In Book I, Thetis, mentioned Achilles fate, "Doomed to a short life, you have so little time…And not only short, now, but filled with heartbreak too, more than all other men alive - doomed twice over" (Page 15 lines 496-98). This shows that that fate is mostly used only as an excuse to rationalize death in the Iliad. When Zeus begins to debate whether he should save one of his sons, Sarpedon, from his fate. Hera stepped in and said “O fearsome power, my Lord Zeus, what a curious thing to say. A man who is born to die, long destined for it, would you set free from that unspeakable end?” (page 318 lines256-59). Mortal men are supposed to die in the Iliad. This goes to show how it wasn’t destiny nor fate that caused Zeus from interfering or stopping Sarpedon from dying. Sarpedon is a mortal man and the impending death is inevitable but in the end both Zeus and Sarpedon made a decision. The fact both had the free will and as well as the opportunity to change fate through the actions they took, which in the end wasn’t truly fates hand but their own knowing that there would be consequences and the benefits of their
U.S. Department of Education. (2006). No Child Left Behind executive summary report. Retrieved September 14, 2006 from http://www.ed.gov/nclb/overview/intro/execsumm.html
In English literature and Greek mythologies fate and free will played colossal responsibilities in creating the characters in the legendary stories and plays. The Greek gods believed in fate and interventions, predictions of a life of an individual before and after birth which the individual has no control over their own destiny. Free will and fate comingle together, this is where a person can choose his own fate, choose his own destiny by the choices the individual will make in their lifetime. According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the definition of free will is the “freedom of humans to make choices that are not determined by prior cause of divine intervention”. Fate and the gods who chose their destinies directed Gilgamesh, Oedipus and Achilles.
In this manner, the comparable aspects of free will in these duels present a moment in which two men could end the war, yet the duel of Menelaus had receives of less godly intervention than did Achilles. The juxtaposition of free will and fate are important aspects of the limitations of gods and men in the context of the duel. In contrast to this man-made solution, the Gods intervene as a form of fate that continues the bloodshed and conflict between the two armies. In essence, the themes of fate and free will be compared and contrasted in the context of two-man combat in Book 3 and Book 22 of The Iliad by Homer.
The Iliad is a classic epic poem written by Homer about the Trojan War and the rage of an Achaean warrior, Achilles. The book introduces the reader to the war and the personal battle between Achilles and King Agamemnon; because of this argument between these two major characters, Homer introduces the role of the gods when Achilles asks his mother, Thetis, to go to Zeus and beg for his interference on Achilles’ behalf. The major role the gods play in the Iliad is their interference in the Trojan War as immortal versus immortal and mortal versus immortal.
On the other hand, journalists from other countries have tried to communicate the situation that Venezuela is experiencing but they have been arrested by the Venezuelan government. “Government must ensure a safe working environment for reporters and editors, who have faced arbitrary arrest and physical attacks by security forces following the outbreak of public demonstrations” (Garnica 1). Not only are the journalists of Venezuela protesting against the lack of freedom of expression. There are also the journalists around the world who are trying to help Venezuela. The Venezuelan government is not only removing the lack of freedom to write, but also physically assaulting those journalists who are writing against the government. The President of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro made this decision after seeing that most of the journalists opposed him. Sev...
One of the most compelling topics The Iliad raises is that of the intricate affiliations between fate, man and the gods. Many events related by Homer in his epic poem exhibit how these three connections interweave and eventually determine the very lives of the men and women involved in the war. Homer leaves these complex relationships slightly unclear throughout the epic, never spelling out the exact bonds connecting men's fate to the gods and what can be considered the power of fate. The motivation for the ambiguousness present in The Iliad is not easily understood, but it is a question that enriches and helps weave an even greater significance of the results into Homer's masterpiece. I feel that the interaction between man, god, and fate can be shown to be one great fluidity that ultimately leaves life mysterious, giving much more depth and complexity to the bonds between the three.