Homer's Use Of Violence In The Iliad

One cannot disagree that rage is a word with many possible meanings. However, one meaning that is almost always presence is the guarantee that violence will be shown. In Homer’s (800 B.C.- 700 B.C.) The Iliad violence is a major part of the story. The story starts out in the middle of a nine-year war. This war was started because of a girl. When Achilles gets his own girl stolen, the readers get their first glimpse of rage. Achilles then continues to pout for almost the entire book while the rest of the Achaeans put their lives on the line. Violence becomes the biggest player in the war as Achilles’ rage increases. There are three types of violence expressed in Homer’s The Iliad.

Linguistic violence is the first type of violence that is shown in Homer’s epic poem, The Iliad. Linguistic violence is the violence shown in words. Many people have made the discovery that The Iliad was

very ahead of its time regarding the types of insults that were used in the epic poem. The first book alone in The Iliad has some of the best examples of linguistic violence. “You— I hate you most of warlords… You are nothing to me—you and you overweening anger! ...I will be there in person at your tents to take Briseis in all her beauty, your own prize— so you can learn just how much greater I am than you.” (Page 83, lines 208-220). This was King Agamemnon talking to Achilles. No surprise they were fighting over a girl. However, in this period of time, respect from your colleagues was very important. For King Agamemnon to tell Achilles that he is more important is a big slap in the face. To retaliate, Achilles called King Agamemnon a “Staggering drunk, with dog eyes, and a fawns heart.” (Page 85, line 264). Being a drunk is a very un-respected state for the Acheans. However the worst of that insult is the dog eyes and fawns heart. A dog is something of a lower level than humans. Being regarded as an equal to dogs, a lesser creature is definitely an insult. Each King is supposed to have the heart of a lion to lead his army into war. This means that when Achilles told the king he had a fawn’s heart, he was offending him.
Physical violence is another type of violence that is clearly shown in The Iliad, written by Homer.

The Iliad is basically a big poem about war. You cannot expect to have a story about war without mentioning some physical violence. During this time, gruesomeness was not something that people would cringe away from like people of the present. In fact, the Achaeans seemed to enjoy the physical violence that was created. “Where collarbones lift the neck bone off the shoulders, the open throat, where the end of life comes quickest—there as Hector charged in fury brilliant Achilles drove his spear and the point went stabbing clean through the tender neck.” (Page 552, Lines 383-386). Describing this scene with such great detail shows that the Greeks were very proud of this moment. They did not see it as Achilles murdering somebody, but rather he was killing for the Greeks. Perhaps the terminology suggest that this example of physical violence could have been much more gruesome. However, killing people is always horrific in today’s world, making this scene viciously

gruesome.
Psychological violence is the third type of violence that is shown in Homer’s, The Iliad. With psychological violence, you could scare a person without even saying a word. A simple look alone will send a message. This type of violence is not to be underestimated in The Iliad. Actions that prove a point are all great examples of psychological violence. Patroclus borrows Achilles’ armor to fight Hector with, however when he dies Hector steals the armor. This is an insulting act to the highest degree. Everybody knew that Achilles’s armor was passed onto him form his father and Achilles’s was planning to pass his armor onto his own son. However Hector stole this family heirloom. This armor is famous and taking it off a slain body represents psychological violence. “You don the deathless arms of a great fighter—And all other fighters tremble before him, true, but you, you killed his comrade, gentle, strong, and against all rights you ripped the immortal armor off is head and shoulders.” (Page 449, lines 231-236). From that point on, Zeus punished Hector and gave him his fate. For stealing Achilles’s armor he made sure that Hector be slain under Achilles’ arm. By taking the armor in the first place, Hector was laughing in Achilles’ face. He not only killed Achilles’ best friend, he stole the armor to prove that he was greater. However, unfortunate for Hector, this example of psychological violence would not go unnoticed by Zeus.
The fall of Troy has always been a very famous point in history. Throughout this ten-year war, a lot happened. This includes all three types of violence. However the first part of the book foreshadows the rest of the story. It starts with rage, and it ends with the fall of the protagonist. Some would debate that Achilles is not the hero in the story, however all three examples of violence include him in some way. This proves that although he was not always a central character, in the end he was the tragic character that fell. Achilles is the reason that all three types of violence are shown. Perhaps if the story had not started out with Achilles’ rage increasing, then there would have been a slightly happier ending to the epic poem.