It is a commonplace of the western world’s recollection of the Greek civilization that the Greek loved things that are definite, that have clear definition and boundaries that really are what they appear to be. For the Greeks in general as for the cult of the Pythagoreans, the finite, the definite, the bounded are “good,” and the infinite, the ambiguous, the indefinite, the unbounded are “evil”. So much so that one of the most powerful Greek thinkers, Aristotle, equated Being with “identity.” To “be” and to “be one” are the same, Aristotle says. (citation, ) To be one is not to be another. It is to have one’s boundary set by an essence, a form. Form or an essence is “what is was to be” a curious past tense. While we are alive, identity is …show more content…
They retain precisely the image of what they were in essence when they were alive. As Odysseus notices, the beautiful eyes of Achilles lovers’ Patroklos still shine in his ghost. It is just that nothing further is possible for the identity the ghost soul. During his journey to the house of Hades in the eleven book of the Odyssey, Odysseus greets his mother Anticlea. She is the first in a series of ghost souls he encounters once he has finished speaking with sheer Tiresias to learn whether his wanderings will ever end or he is destined to perish without reaching his homeland. There is something unsettling and unsatisfactory in this …show more content…
The view that life is once-and-for-all and inwardly destined corresponds to the view that death is equally final and obedient to the same law – an unalterable, conclusive end. Achilles’ fate, with comes into being at his birth, ripens into a daimon (Latin version of the Greek "δαίμων" ("godlike power, fate, god) of death, and his soul, the suffering aspect of the same daimon, complaint loudly about his fate, for its leaves behind manhood and youth for a bloodless and shadowy existence in death.
Like character, fate is individual and it realizes itself according to the inherent values, which govern the hero in question, and it ended in his own particular death. The heroes was not tricked or seduced by an unfamiliar fate. The power that lures him into his death is originally in him – in Patroclos, in Achilles, in Hector, in all who throught their heroic courage fall into it. What we do discover in the Iliad about heroic identity is that it composed of fatal opposites, clandestine violation of boundaries and laws. Life most obvious course – its overflowing in generation and productivity, in fruitfulness and multiplicity – appear as something in calculable, as purest accidents. Death can be view from life’s point of view as its destined conclusion and necessary
Schein, Seth L. The Mortal Heroes: An Introduction to Homer's Iliad. Berkley: U. of California P, 1984.
Within the epic poem "The Odyssey", Homer presents the story of Odysseus's quest to find his home and his identity. According to Homer's account, with its origin in oral tradition, the two quests are interchangeable, as a mortal defines himself with his home, his geographic origin, his ancestors, his offspring, etc. But in addition to this Homer illustrates the other aspect of human identity, shaped by the individual and his actions so that he may be recognized in the outside world. Through this Homer presents Odysseus in two ways: the first his internally given identity as ruler and native of Ithaca, son of Laertes, father of Telemachos; the second the definition of the external world which sees the "god-like" mortal famous for his clever actions and the god's almost unanimous favor.
Throughout the Odyssey, there are many relationships that represent love between two people. These relationships show loyalty, compassion, and the wanting to be near one another. Two of these kinds of relationships are between Odysseus and Telemakhos, and Odysseus and Penelope.
I chose to write my essay on the topic of the theme of identity in Homer’s the Odyssey. The theme of identity is presented quite frequently throughout the Odyssey, and is a key component of the story. By reading the Odyssey, we learn that identity was a huge part of social dynamics in Ancient Greece. This is why I chose this theme for the thesis of my essay.
Schein, Seth L. The Mortal Hero: An Introduction to Homer's Iliad. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984.
The relationships between parents and their sons in the Iliad are not relationships we expect to see in today’s society. The Iliad portrays the relationships between fathers and sons as something more than just physical and emotional. It is based on pride and respect for one another. The expectations of their son are more so to pass on their fathers reputable name and to follow in their father’s footsteps of being noble warriors. These relationships are the driving forces in the Iliad, making each son in the Iliad identifiable first by their father’s name. An outcome of the father–son relationships is ancestral loyalty among the characters which play a prominent role in war. Therefore, not only does the Iliad share a major war story, but the strong relationships among fathers and sons, ancestral loyalty among characters, and relationships between mothers and sons.
Have you ever thought what would be like if the gods get involve in our life? What would be of us if they do? In the story of Homer 's Iliad, we see how the gods gets involve in people life quite often, and what effect it have on the person when they do. In this paper I will be arguing the differences and the similarities of books 3 and 22 from Homer 's Iliad. I will be talking about the issue of human free will vs. the role of gods in our life. In particular, in book 3 we see how our free will can have the gods get involve in our life’s, where in book 22 we see how free will can decide our destiny without any help from the gods.
Throughout the Iliad the warriors' dream of peace is projected over and over again in elaborate similes developed against a background of violence and death. Homer is able to balance the celebration of war's tragic, heroic values with scenes of battle and those creative values of civilized life that war destroys. The shield of Achilles symbolically represents the two poles of human condition, war and peace, with their corresponding aspects of human nature, the destructive and creative, which are implicit in every situation and statement of the poem and are put before us in something approaching abstract form; its emblem is an image of human life as a whole.
In order to understand the “center” of the Iliad, one must first recognize that the Iliad started as a “Lyrical,” or oral poem and was written down much later in history, becoming a “Narrative,” or literate poem. The Iliad began as a poem that was strictly part of an oral culture, its transition into a written work for a literate culture brought complexities and complications that are often overlooked when examining this poem on its surface. Walter J. Ong explained this phenomenon best when he described the psychodynamics of an oral society. His explanations concerning these particular societies’ psychologies and social dynamics are often times lost on the Iliad’s modern-day reader. Therefore, when reading a piece of literature, one must first take into account how the text has arrived to him through the passage of time and history. So, before we are to examine the modern critics’ interpretations and analyses of Homer’s Iliad, we must first look to Ong’s claims concerning oral societies.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Schein, Seth L. The Mortal Hero: An Introduction to Homer's Iliad. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984. Segal, Charles.
The Iliad, which is an epic poem written about the Trojan War, was the first thing written in the European tradition. Astonishingly, its quality and appeal have yet to be surpassed. This is a result of Homer's use of idealistic themes, many of which show up in many modern novels. One of the most dominant themes present in The Iliad is the pursuit of honor and glory. Even though the Achaeans and Trojans are in a violent battle with one another, both display a similar attitude: the acquisition of glory is more important than life itself.
The text supports a means of judging character and extends it to cultural elements such as the gods who define the faith and belief of the people. Iliad upholds warlike deities, including Athena, for admiration among the modern civilization. In the ideal epic world, the comic is vital in creating relief as seen with the timidity of Artemis and Aphrodite. Moreover, fighting seems as a way of proving honor and integrity, while avoiding warfare is a demonstration for laziness and misaligned
The Odyssey is an epic that shapes and defines the roles of many great leaders. These leaders are made up of mortals, alive and dead, and immortals. The trip taken by Odysseus is not only a journey of a war hero back to his homeland, but is a journey in all of the characters lives, which develop a better sense of personal identity and selfhood as the epic goes on. It is the many disguises that each character uses that uncover their true identities from their experiences. The revelations of each characters identity are what teach the lessons that Homer is trying to portray to his audience, and what lead to each character’s success in their personal journey. Each character’s identity is constructed by the courage and morality that they reveal, through disguise, by their actions to help or prevent bring Odysseus home. These actions are what make each character who he or she is, whether god or human. Homer uses Odysseus and Athena as the principle identities developed throughout the poem to send his messages.
To view the links that are instilled between mortals, immortals, and fate in The Iliad, it is worthwhile to examine each on its own to observe how they connect. The characteristics of the three are inherently unique in relation to each other, though in some areas there is overlap. Man is defined as a mortal, someone who can die from old age and disease. Products from mortal and immortal procreation, such as the hero Achilles, fall into a sort of category all their own, but Achilles himself suggests that he would die from old age if he were to return home (9:502-505). In this weakness of the flesh they differ from the immortal gods, who cannot die from natural causes. Nevertheless, the gods share the imperfections of man: disloyalty, deceit, anger, and even lust. They see themselves as above man, and yet their actions are often as selfi...
Odysseus’s encounter with Achilles in the underworld is a reminder: Achilles won great kleos, or glory, during his life, but that life was brief and ended violently. Odysseus, on the other hand, by virtue of his wits, will live to a ripe old age and is destined to die in