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Recommended: Iliad research paper
The poem of the Iliad takes place in north western Turkey, outside the walls of the once thought to be made up city of Troy. Troy was the city that the Trojans called home and the place the Iliad takes place with the major battle that occurs over ten days. The city of Troy was discovered by a german archaeologist known by Heinrich Schliemann in 1865. The Iliad still to some scholars has an unknown author, but the poem’s authorship was give to a blind poet by the name of Homer. Homer himself is a bit of mystery and some say that he never existed at all or that he 7th or 8th B.C.. I chose for my reading and listening pleasure the Alexander Pope translation of the Iliad. I found this translation to fit my type of reading over the few other translations that exist today. The poem of the Iliad is a poem that contains many characters, mortal and god alike. The Trojans and the Greeks both have their acclaimed heros that you follow through the poem, while the gods of both these men hang in the flanks getting ready to intervene to protect or let die depending on their will alone. The poem opens with the rage of one of the greatest hero’s in some eyes, Achilles. Achilles plays a major role in this story and is quite often the focus for the majority of the poem, but shortly have it begins he is stung by the great Agamemnon and vow’s that he will not fight this war he has begun. The war between the Trojans and the Greeks started because of the Trojan prince Paris stole away the wife of a Greek commander, Menelaus. Helen of Troy is the main reason or the underlying reason that this entire story exists. The greek army has come to Troy to either take the city or be given Helen back, but clearly Paris being greedy for that he cannot give up and... ... middle of paper ... ...t I could not put them in the context that the Greeks could in regards to this setting. It was quite memorable having never read this poem and I will take something away from this story knowing that it was a poem written about a war that took place in a factual place. I loved the battles in this book, they were fantastic with the fantasy of the gods coming in to strengthen the hero’s on the battlefield or to use the powers the gods wielded to lay waste to the armies below, but if I can give any advice to readers is to know the Roman gods such as Neptune or Poseidon if you are following the Greek pantheon. I had to break during my reading to research some of the different gods mentioned because I would think it was Zeus or Ares when in fact it was not. Works Cited Homer, Alexander Pope, and John Flaxman. The Iliad of Homer. New York: Heritage, 1943. Print.
Homer. “The Odyssey”. The Norton Anthology of World Literature. Ed. Martin Puncher. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2012. 475. Print.
Homer. The Odyssey. Trans. R. Fitzgerald. Bedford Anthology of World Literature Book. Ed. Davis, Paul et al. Vol. 1. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s. 2004. 487-579. Print.
Homer, and Richmond Lattimore. The Odyssey of Homer. New York: Harper & Row, 1967. Print.
To begin with, you can see the immense influence that the gods had on humans. In book one there is the induction of the Trojan War started nine years ago. Achilles was on the Achaeans side with his lead commander Agamemnon. Agamemnon captured two women, one of which was the daughter of a priest of the god Apollo. The priest
The Iliad by Homer and the Women of Troy by Euripides are both Greek works of literature that look at the Trojan War from different perspectives. Book 6 of the Iliad illustrates that the ultimate glory is to fight for the city with no regard to the impact on the family. The Women of Troy focuses on the negatives that war causes, especially towards the soldier’s wives and children. Whereas the Iliad focuses on the battle itself and centers on the warriors, the Women of Troy focuses on the wrath the war brings upon the families left behind. The central theme in both the works is the Trojan War and they both offer perspectives of the duty of a person, the role of predetermined fate, and the role of women.
The Iliad by Homer is an epic poem separated in different books or chapters that shows a fictionalized account of the Trojan War. Book 6: Hector Returns to Troy is the specific portion of the poem that is being covered in this essay. Hector from the Iliad shows a very clear aspect of his personality, a strong sense of loyalty and tenderness for his loved ones and also his people by being on the front lines during the war and showing his people he is willing to fight with them and essentially sacrificing himself for his family. Hector even knows his forgiveness towards his brother, Paris even though Paris is the main reason the Trojan War is in existence.
Homer's two central heroes, Odysseus and Achilles, are in many ways differing manifestations of the same themes. While Achilles' character is almost utterly consistent in his rage, pride, and near divinity, Odysseus' character is difficult to pin down to a single moral; though perhaps more human than Achilles, he remains more difficult to understand. Nevertheless, both heroes are defined not by their appearances, nor by the impressions they leave upon the minds of those around them, nor even so much by the words they speak, but almost entirely by their actions. Action is what drives the plot of both the Iliad and the Odyssey, and action is what holds the characters together. In this respect, the theme of humanity is revealed in both Odysseus and Achilles: man is a combination of his will, his actions, and his relationship to the divine. This blend allows Homer to divulge all that is human in his characters, and all that is a vehicle for the idyllic aspects of ancient Greek society. Accordingly, the apparent inconsistencies in the characterization of Odysseus can be accounted for by his spiritual distance from the god-like Achilles; Achilles is more coherent because he is the son of a god. This is not to say that Achilles is not at times petty or unimaginative, but that his standards of action are merely more continuous through time. Nevertheless, both of Homer's heroes embody important and admirable facets of ancient Greek culture, though they fracture in the ways they are represented.
Homer. The Illiad. The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces: Expanded Edition?Volume I. ed. by Maynard Mack. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1995.
Schein, Seth L. The Mortal Hero: An Introduction to Homer's Iliad. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984.
focus on the Trojan War and its aftermath. Throughout the poem, Homer represents the gods intervening in human affairs and by this changing the destiny of human life. Because of the intervention, the gods start the war between Trojans and Achaeans and the reason of the war leads them to take sides. Homer represents the gods in many aspects; as humanlike, having miraculous actions, super being, controlling, life savers, and disguisers.
Achilles is introduced into The Iliad getting into a debacle with the leader of the Greek army, Agamemnon, during the last year of the Trojan War. Achilles starts a quarrel with Agamemnon because he has demanded possession of Achilles’ woman, Briseis, in consolation for having to give up his woman, Chryseis, so that the gods will end their plague upon the Greek soldiers. Achilles does all he can to get his loved one back, but he knows that nothing will waver Agamemnon’s decision. This is when Achil...
It is the underlying theme in works of Greek literature. Mortals became tools of the gods when convenient. The affairs of men were not always at the will of the gods however, in certain instances, the agenda of the gods permitted involvement in the human domain. By mating with mortals, the Olympian gods could produce children who be loyal to themselves and would be stronger and better than ordinary mortals. Hemitheoi, or demi-gods, were the fourth generation of humankind; the heroes of myth, the ones who fought at Troy or killed immortal beasts in order to save another (Zaidman 25). Homer’s epic the Iliad describes the last two weeks of the ten-year battle between the Trojans and the Greeks that has become known historically as the Trojan War. While the poem primarily focuses on the conflict between Achilles and Agamemnon, the use of several Greek gods displaced the purity of the war involvements change the pace of the battle. The story of the Trojan War begins with the story of the apple of discord, the Golden Apple. Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite each believed that they deserved this apple, by virtue of being the most beautiful. Since the goddess could not decide among themselves and Zeus was not willing to suffer the wrath of the females in his family, the goddess appealed to Paris, Prince of Troy. When asked to judge
The Iliad is not a story about the Trojan War at all, the war is just to set the stage for Homer to bring together the swift footed Achilles and Hector, the Prince of Troy, so they can be compared. The Iliad starts with how Achilles is dishonored by Agamemnon and withdraws from the war and ends with his return to the fight and eventually falling at the end. Hector is brought into the story and displays through his character what a real hero should be like.
The Iliad is a classic epic poem written by Homer about the Trojan War and the rage of an Achaean warrior, Achilles. The book introduces the reader to the war and the personal battle between Achilles and King Agamemnon; because of this argument between these two major characters, Homer introduces the role of the gods when Achilles asks his mother, Thetis, to go to Zeus and beg for his interference on Achilles’ behalf. The major role the gods play in the Iliad is their interference in the Trojan War as immortal versus immortal and mortal versus immortal.
The Iliad may be seen as an account of the circumstances that irrevocably alter the life of one man: Achilles, one of the greatest warriors. Throughout the course of the poem Achilles goes through many ordeals that change his character immensely. Starting with his quarrel with Agamemnon and withdrawal from battle, to the death of Patroklos, and with the slaying of Hektor. Achilles emotions and actions decide the fate of many warriors on both sides. Achilles struggles with anger, honor, pride, loyalty and love make the poem more that just a gruesome war story.