Glory And Honor In Homer's The Iliad

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There are many running themes in the literary work “The Iliad”, but the one that stands out to me and that caught my attention. In The Iliad, Homer uses the he theme of war and Kleos, the glory and honor that comes along with it. The Greeks at that time strongly believed that war was an honorable and glorified act and the literature strongly supports that belief. The characters in the literature sacrifice a lot in their lives in order to go out to war, and both the men and the women suffer unimaginable tragedies in order to live this life of glory. Throughout the story, there is a concept that is known as “Kleos” displayed in the characters’ lives. Kleos is the term that is used to describe an action that pleases the gods and in that way they …show more content…

The characters in the story are repaetedly given the hard choice of family life versus the quest for kleos, and the heros always chose the later of the two. As stated previously, this is the great difference between the two characters Paris and Achilles. The literature clearly defines the difference and makes haste to degrade Paris for his choice while glorifying Achilles for his. Although each warrior understands his fate, and knows what the end brings, they still do not hesitate to make their decision. The characters prize so highly the martial values of honor, noble bravery, and glory that they willingly sacrifice the chance to live a long life with those they …show more content…

The author repeatedly exemplifies the soldiers that fought and the families that suffered as honorable people. During this archaic time, Kleos was an ultimate achievment that everyone would strive for under any circumstance. The characters in the Iliad sacraficed family, love, and belonging in order to achieve greatness. Although going out to war is still considered an honorable act, in todays society we try to minimize bloodshed and opt for peaceful negotitions. Even though kleos is not a recognized attainmnet, we must always remember that those who protect our rights and our freedom should be given our highest esteem and

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