Ideals of the Elite in The Illidad and Ther Odyssey by Homer

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The document that I chose to write about is The Odyssey by Homer. Homer is believed to have lived during the 8th century B.C.E and was considered the greatest and last of the epic poets in ancient Greece. With the knowledge of writing almost nonexistent due to the fall of the Mycenaean civilization the only thing that kept Greek traditions and culture alive were stories also known as poems shared from one generation to the next. During Homers time Greece was believed to be in the dark ages during this time the wealth was limited and the population was shrinking. With a new group of elite emerging those included were people who earned it by competing whether on the battle field or public speaking. Most epic poems of this time had some sort of emphasis on arête or excellence which was earned. The master pieces of Homer the Iliad and the Odyssey both show the ideals of the elite of 8th century Greece.
During this time Mediterranean Sea trade was starting to boom and sea travel was a norm. Being that Greece had a sea based economy stories of sea travel were very common. This is why Homer created the odyssey following the character named Odysseus on his travels across the sea and faced many challenges but triumphed over them proving his arête The Odyssey was meant to inform the audience of the struggles of Odysseus a great general and member of the elite on his voyage home from the battle of troy. The section of the odyssey that was read in class was taken from “Book 9: In the one-eyed giants cave”. In this part Odysseus leads his men to an island only to discover that it is inhabited by Cyclopes one in particular takes him and his men hostage. The main point that stands out in this story is how cunning Odysseus is when dealing with ...

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...nformation is not very reliable. If more sources were available from this time period Homers epic poems would be irrelevant but since no other account of history during this time period they have to dissect the real from the fake to understand what occurred during this time. These poems show how obsessed with arête and the belief in their gods altered their culture and future societies to follow. Their lack of knowledge of the open seas created many stories of creatures and acts of the god in its uncharted territory Homers odyssey has had a huge impact on western civilization. The Odyssey is the sequel to the oldest known work of western literature the Iliad. Most works of literature are based off Homeric themes created in this time period. There are many ways it has influenced western literature but the most prevalent theme is homecoming and the idea of a journey.

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