Importance Of Homeric Codes In The Iliad And The Odyssey

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In two of Homers epics, The Iliad and The Odyssey, it can be seen that in his epics he displays his own Homeric and heroic. The honor of every person in Homeric culture was important, but to the hero, his honor was extremely important. Not only does ones heroism and honor define ones social status and ranking, it is also defense mechanism to build within their own persona of themselves. This way of thinking can cause the Homeric characters to feel invincible and untouchable to their enemies with pride of dying with honor. In the Iliad, the two major opponents with the same ranking stature of being exceptional warriors were Achilles and Hector. In the Odyssey, the character Odysseus the main character in the epic is seen as a strong and courageous …show more content…

But a question that can be asked is whether or not the characters Odysseys, Achilles and Hector display and embody Homers heroic codes. Achilles was the greatest warrior the Achaean army has ever seen. Throughout the epic he is described and closely compared to a god. In the beginning of the epic it is described that there is much tension between Agamemnon and Achillies after the battle when Agamemenon uses his power at his own advantage. They begin to argue and Achilles finally speaks his mind on how self-centered Agamemnon is after he threatens to take his prize after the return of his. Achilles mentions Menelaus, Agamemnon’s brother for whom the battle of Troy is for seeking to recover his wife who had run off with the son of Priam. Achilles tells him that he has to do all of the “dirty work” and when the battle is over Agamemnon takes the “lions share” and he has nothing but the worn ones that have no strength from the war. He states that he “sweated” for what the Greek gave him and that he never receives and equal prize to him. He goes on by saying that he would rather go home with his curved ships than stay and “unhonored myself and piling up a fortune for you” (111). After reading Book I of the Iliad and Achilles

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