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Comparison between illiad and odyssey
Comparison between illiad and odyssey
Comparison between illiad and odyssey
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Every culture and religion has their own gods and believes. We can compare these beliefs with The Illiad and the Bible. We can notice those differences in the character and functionality of the gods. Also with the way humans are connected with them. In The Illiad gods were daily presence in the warrior’s life. The gods had already their destiny planned. For example, when Patroclus died. It was his destiny to die, in his last breath he told Hector: “Hector! Now is your time to glory to the skies … now the victory is yours” Book 16 (Lines 986-987). This is an example of how the gods control the life of the warriors, we can see all the power they have in them. One of the main themes of the book was pride and honor. Those things can be achieved
with the help of the gods. Unlike the gods from the Bible, these gods are unpredictable, they are not loyal to everyone. As Dr. Greene said in lecture, thanks to these, fate is unknown and unpredictable. Basically the Greeks are fighting for honor so they need help from those goddesses to achieve it. We can see this in book 5 where the Trojans, with the help of the gods, began to take the upper hand in the battle. Few books later it turned out the other way, they were losing the battle. Some gods can alternate one way or the other on specific occasions as a favor for each team. These goddesses were not faithful to their people. Warriors cant trust them completely since they can change their mind very easily. They are very unpredictable. Unlike those goddesses, the God from the Bible is not like that. In the Bible we can see that they only believe in one god. He is very empathetic with the people who belief in him. He always keeps his promises for those who never fail him. We can see how he was always telling Abraham that he will be blessed him if he does everything the god tells him. As Abraham follows instruction he will blessed him and his ancestor. In Gn 12:2-3 god says: “I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. All the families of the earth will find blessing in you”. This is a perfect example of how loyal this god is. If you believe in him, he will bless you.
A man threw his son of a mountain because he was ugly. A soldier doomed his countrymen because his prize was stolen from him. A woman plotted the destruction of an entire city because one man chose another woman over her. Murder, jealousy, and impulsive anger, none of these traits sound virtuous, and yet these were among the most virtuous of people. Through The Iliad by Homer, the differences between Ancient Greek idea and the current idea of righteousness become visible. But power and goodness cannot stave off misfortune and grief. Although his definition of virtue remains drastically different from the modern definition, Homer teaches that virtue does not save from tragedy and divine power does not always rescue from pain and sorrow.
For a warrior, humility can often be interpreted as a great weakness. It is easily mistaken for a lack of prowess or might, both of which are essential traits of a successful warrior. However, it is evident in Homer’s The Iliad that humility requires a greater amount of strength than pride. Achilles’ respect for Priam’s ability to relinquish his ego and plead for his son’s corpse demonstrates a clear deference to humility. However, Priam occasionally loses Achilles as he wanes and allows pride to overcome his better judgement. Throughout the epic, characters such as Achilles and even Patroclus must find a balance between pride and humility. Though surrendering oneself to pride may seem more satisfying and alluring, it is evident in each character
The idea of individual honor is predominant all through the Iliad. The honor of each individual in Homeric society was vital, however to the saint, his honor was central. He couldn 't continue put-down, and he felt that he needed to secure his notoriety — even unto demise. The saint 's obligation was to battle, and the main way he had of picking up transcendence and everlasting status was through gallant activity on the front line; in this manner, he persistently arranged his life for the life-and-demise dangers of fight. The Homeric saint trusted that men needed to stand together in fight; men needed to regard each other; and they needed to abstain from over the top brutality. This last condition was basically vital for the Homeric legend. He detested conscious demonstrations of cold-bloodedness and bad form. On the off chance that he were prepared to execute a casualty, he trusted that he ought to do it rapidly; he was not to disfigure him, as Achilles does with Hektor 's body. By tailing this code, a saint picked up a
than the times of today. Back then, the most important aspect of life for a
Respect is a highly valued character trait in our modern society, but it was not always given such high importance. Greek myths, dating from over 2700 years ago, prove that the ancient Greeks considered respect a trivial value. To start, the Greeks thought it right to base other’s worth on their pulchritude. For example, in the Greek myth “the Apple of Discord,” the God Hephaestus is abased by his father just because he is ugly. When the beautiful Aphrodite refuses to marry him, Zeus forces her to marry his son Hephaestus in requital. Zeus shows his son disrespect by acting as if he is trash that can be forced on someone in punishment. He does not recognize let alone respect Hephaestus for his crafting skills or any other talents he possesses.
The world that Homer shows in the Iliad is a violent one, where war is not only a means of gaining wealth, but also the arena in which a man demonstrates his worth. The Greek army gathered in front of the walls of Troy exhibits the weaknesses and strengths of the Homeric world. Greece is not one nation, and the army of Greeks mirrors this. It is a collection of small city-states with a common culture and a common language, capable of coming together for a great enterprise, but also capable of being driven apart by petty squabbling. The common culture is based on acceptance of characteristics seen as virtuous: xeineia, or hospitality; agathos, the successful warrior; oikos, which means from noble birth; keleos, glory; pine, honor, which is a central motif throughout the Iliad; and finally, the ultimate virtue of arête, which stands for goodness or excellence and encompasses the other virtues. For Homer, a good man must be of noble family, strong, brave in battle, and wealthy. Earthly possessions show that a man has initiative and has the esteem of others. But the most important qualification to be considered a good man is honor, because honor is gained, not born into.
Mortality, by its very nature, causes men's lives to be cut short at their primes.The Fates cut our lives short at any time, so the Greeks must have an example, a model mortal, to follow so as to make the "most of their lives."A model mortal is one who lives his life accumulating the most honor and glory: "he pressed for battle now where men win glory" (4: 259).By strictly adhering to the honor/heroic code, a mortal can raise himself to become the model mortal. This hero, Diomedes, is the model mortal of the Greeks.
the Gods in the affairs of humanity is much greater in the Iliad then in the
As one of the seven deadly sins depicted in the bible pride is defined as an excessive admiration of self. In book 9 of the Odyssey, The Cyclops, Odysseus and his men encounter Poseidon’s cyclops son Polyphemus. Odysseus manages to offend Polyphemus, causing the monster to devour two of Odysseus’s men and trap the remaining men inside his cave. At night Odysseus and his comrades fashion a stake and plan to attack the cyclops and escape before they are killed. The men blind Polyphemus by stabbing the stake through his eye, and they escape the cave by using the cyclops’s sheep to disguise themselves. The whole encounter could have went much smoother than what played out of Odysseus hadn’t let his biggest flaw get the best of him; his pride.
Although the gods are immortal, The Iliad gave them human emotions. They felt human traits such as love, humor, empathy and disdain. They held grudges and played cruel jokes on each other, but also exhibited care for those who asked for their aid. For instance, Glacaus was overcome with grief when Sarpedon was killed, however; he prayed to the god, Apollo, to be healed so he could avenge his fallen comrade. Apollo “eased his pain, staunched the black blood from the wound, and gave him new strength” (167). After the death of Hector at the hands of Achilles, the goddess, Iris, was sent by the great god, Jove, to Hector’s father, Priam. Iris prompted Priam to collect the body (148). Mercury was sent as a guide to Priam to ensure Priam had reached Achilles’ tent unharmed (188). Homer ensured the supernatural was felt throughout the story and ...
The plot of the Iliad is most likely based on legends and stories passed down through Greek tradition. The Greeks believed that their ancestors, such as Achilles and Agamemnon, were born from the gods of Olympus. Several times Homer makes references to people being stronger, faster, or nobler at this time. “…Aeneas seized a great stone, so huge that two men, as men now are, would be unable to lift it, but Aeneas wielded it quite easily.” (The Iliad) This is a clue that it was common for people to have great respect for their ancestors at the time, and Homer reflects this in his poem. The poem brings more character and opinion into the Trojan War than a factual account. It shows the thoughts and feelings of many people, from their points of view. It attributes the victories of certain battles not only to those fighting, but also to the gods. The Iliad deals with the war on a huge scale, speaking of large armies congregating from all over Greece, and yet also on a more personal scale, showing the regret that Helen feels when she thinks of all those who have suffered and died because of her. “She found her (Helen) in her own room, working at a great web of purple linen, on which she was embroidering the battles between Trojans and Achaeans that Mar...
Hon·or [/ˈänər/], noun: good quality or character as judged by other people; a high regard or respect; personal integrity; reputation or privilege. The notion of honor is prevalent in the epic poem The Iliad. In The Iliad, Homer (a famous Greek author) expresses the quintessence honor brings to the Greek and Trojan soldiers. He shows how honor is a requirement for one who wants to be a hero and describes the extent to which honor plays a role in the lives of the Greeks and the Trojans. The warriors ' goal of honor influences how they behave in the story and shows the impact honor has on each of their decisions. The way the warriors behave in battle emanates directly from their desire to attain honor. Honor is the overall theme that drives the actions of almost
The Iliad starts with Chryses, a prophet of Apollo, going to a Greek camp and offering profitable "punishment tokens" asking for the arrival of his girl who the Greeks had caught in a strike. Since Agamemnon thought she was legitimately his, he declines. A large portion of his kindred Greeks needed him to give her back to maintain a strategic distance from strife. With a specific end goal to save his time (respect, regard, esteem), Agamemnon conveys peril to them all. Chryses appeals to Apollo and a torment is discharged upon the Achaeans. Achilles, a basileus in the Greek armed force, recommends looking for understanding from the prophet Calchas. After doing as such, all are educated that Agamemnon is in charge of the torment since he declined to give back his geras (prize), the little girl of Chryses.
The Iliad is an epic novel about the war between the Greeks and Trojans that has many instances of the Greek Gods impacting the war in favor of one side or the other. While it seems like they have all-powerful powers like immortals should, many of the arguments they get in amongst themselves demonstrate their humanity. I believe Homer’s intent in this epic is to portray a theme of role-reversal, where the warriors are more like the gods and the gods are more like the warriors. This is evident in a most conspicuous way between Zeus and Hera when they recite sexual innuendos to each other and Zeus openly admits to adultery, also when Hera designs cunning plans to aid the Greeks in battle without Zeus’ consent.
In The Iliad the god’s fate is controlled much in the same way as a mortal’s, except for one major difference, the immortals cannot die and therefore do not have a destiny. An immortal’s life may not be judged because they haven’t and won’t die. The gods are able to manipulate mortals fate but not their own directly. A god may inspire a mortal to do or create something that might indirectly affect the god’s fate. This reinforces the concept that no one may escape his or her actions or decisions.