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The Horrors of War Exposed in Homer’s Iliad
"There- Harpalion charged Menelaus - King Pylaemenes' son
Who'd followed his father into war at Troy
But he never reached his fatherland again.
He closed on Atrides, spear stabbing his shield
Right on the boss but the bronze could not drive through,
So back he drew to his ranks, dodging death, glancing
Left and right, fearing a lance would graze his flesh.
But Meriones caught him in full retreat, he let fly
With a bronze-tipped arrow, hitting his right buttock
Up under the pelvic bone so the lance pierced the bladder.
He sank on the spot, hunched in his dear companion's arms,
Gasping his life out as he writhed along the ground
Like an earthworm stretched out in death, blood pooling,
Soaking the earth dark red. Hardy Paphlagonians,
Working over him, hoisting him onto a chariot,
Bore him back to the sacred walls of Troy...
Deep in grief while his father, weeping freely,
Walked beside them now. No blood-price came his way.
Not for his son who breathed his last in battle." -Homer, The Iliad; book 13, page 362, lines 742-760
Homer, perhaps one of the greatest epic writers of all time, was a master in the art of manipulating the emotions of his audience using only the written word. This passage, however, seems somewhat atypical of his writing style. Strangely enough, he does not even once laud the beauty of war or the concept of kleos, which is a Greek term meaning glory and renown. This is highly out of the ordinary for Homer, who seems to admire the manly feats of arms and courage that he perceives stem from war-like pur...
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...r, he is telling a truly epic tale. Many elements hold constant throughout the poem, so much so that Homer has been said to use his "stock" tactics to the extent that his story becomes almost formulaic in nature. In some cases, Homer strays from his normal style in favor of tangents that at times contradict his views on warfare, as in this case of young Harpalion. These rare passages are enough to give one pause, and are certainly worthy of note in that they not only enliven the story but also serve to maintain the attention of the audience through sheer force of contrast. This sad tale of a young man cut down in his prime might have been only a passing, fleeting glimpse into the horrors of war, but nevertheless it is a good reminder that war is not glorious as it is in the old tales...it is ugly and brutal, stomach-turning and heart-breaking.
A poem interpretation lays in the person’s capability to understand and take human emotions and each poem has multiple readings, and every person who reads a poem will interpret it differently.Racism ,a misconception or a myth?” The collection of poems "I'm not racist but..." by Anita Heiss shows how racism is embedded in the human race and although not always spoken is there hidden and ready to hurt people. Anita Heiss ’s poetry collection is emphasising the permanence and the anger felt by the victims of racism . The poem raises awareness about racism as an ongoing problem.
The Trojan War veterans of The Odyssey succeeded in defeating their enemies on the battlefield. The end of combat did not mean relief from burdens for them. War is cruel, but in it these men see a glory they cannot find outside. Achilleus’ death in war is treated with ceremony and respect. Agamemnon, having survived that same war, dies a pitiful death and Klytaimestra “was so hard that her hands would not/ press shut [his] eyes and mouth though [he] was going to Hades” (XI, 425-426). Dying at home meant being denied even simple acts of dignity. Reflecting back on it Hades, Agamemnon characterizes the veteran’s struggles when he asks, “What pleasure was there for me when I had wound up the fighting?” (XXIV, 95).
During Author Miller’s era of the 1950’s, the ‘cold war’ was happening. Senetor Joeseph McCarthy was completely against communism and began to arrest the communists and people assosiating with them. Those arrested were forced to either name names to identify those who were communists or thought to be, or else they would remain in jail. This was callef McCarthyism For many, being prisioned was a terrible frightening thought so they would name names including any that they could think of that could be innocent. Author Miller was arrested for associating with communists and refused to identify others, and wrote The Crucible, using it as an allegory to identify the problems of society and it’s flaws of the corrupt government.
The subject of Homer’s epic poem, the Iliad, is very clearly stated--it is “the rage of Peleus’ son Achilles.” The reader remains continually aware of the extent of Achilles’ rage, yet is never told the reason why Achilles remains angry and unreconciled. There is no definitive answer to this question. Achilles is not a static character. He is constantly changing; thus the question of why he remains angry solicits different answers at various stages throughout the poem. To find an answer, the reader must carefully examine Achilles’ ever-changing dilemma involving the concepts of mortality and honor. At its simplest, Achilles’ dilemma is that if he goes to war, he will die. But he will die with glory.
Homer’s Iliad focuses on the war and its heroes, their emotions and their ultimate glory. In Book 6 of the Iliad, Hector comes home for the last time and shows tenderness as a father, “Then his beloved father laughed out and his honored mother, and at once glorious Hector lifted from his head the helmet… Then taking up his dear son he tossed him about his arms, and kissed him.” This quotation shows us the tender and fatherly nature of Hector while he is still fighting a war. Homer is emphasizing that although one can love his wife and his children, fighting for the city is always the highest duty for a soldier, which transcends all his other personal responsibilities. As Hector leaves, his wife cries; “so glorious Hector spoke and again took up the helmet with its crest of horse-hair, while his beloved wife went homeward turning to look back on the way letting the love tears fall.” Hector’s wife understands that the ultimate glory of a soldier lies in carrying fighting the war bravely and fearlessly, Even though she ...
...journey is less cyclical than Achilles' but similarly ends with his regret for the ravages of war. Odysseus is a flawed character, much like man himself, and his actions can only be fully accounted for by attributing them to the gradual progression of his soul. He is gifted, yet possesses shortcomings; insightful, yet blind; driven, yet lost. Achilles is divine, yet mortal; rational, yet contradictory; kind, yet vicious. Still, together they represent the ideals of Greek mythology and the weaknesses of mankind. They are in control of their own actions, but subject to fate. Through both heroes, Homer manages to convey some of the most fundamental features of human existence.
The notion of honor is prevalent throughout the Iliad and Antigone. Both texts demonstrate that honor is essential to Greek heroes because honor is the foundation of the society and family. Homer and Sophocles clearly show that honor guides people’s actions and responses and decides the fate of themselves and others. Both authors also place emphasis on the importance of proper burial because it is a strong indication of honor to the deceased and the deceased’s family. As can be seen in the Iliad and Antigone, the aim of every Greek hero is to gain everlasting honor because it ensures his place in the social memory of his society resounding even after death.
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.
By the time the first war broke out, Rome had established themselves as the dominant power over the Italian peninsula. Carthage was a very powerful city-state in northern Africa and had made a name for themselves as the leading maritime leader in the world. Maritime means they are located near the sea and have many things to do involving the ocean. The first war broke out when Rome interfered with a dispute on the Carthaginian controlled island of Sicily. The war ended with Rome controlling Corsica and Sicily. The second war started when Hannibal invaded Italy and had two signature victories at Lake Trasimene and Cannae but was eventually defeated by Roman general Scipio Aemilianus which left Rome in much control of the Mediterranean Sea and a big section of Spain. The third war ended with Rome invading and capturing carthage in 146 B.C. led by Scipio which turned yet another big country into a Roman empire.
The second construct called positive adaptation, is defined in terms of social competence manifested by behavior or success at meeting stage-salient developmental goals). (Luthar SS, 1991) (Masten A, 1990) (Masten A C. J., 1998) (Waters E, 1983) A proper attachment with primary caregivers may be an example of social competence among young children, whereas indices such as school-based functioning such as academic achievement and good relationships with peers and teachers may be appropriate indices to measure positive...
The fact that Homer never clears the hazy and supple relationships between these three unique beings can be seen as a way of pointing out the basic mysteriousness of life and its happenings. Homer surely did not have all the answers about how the universe works, and his masterpiece does not attempt to suggest that he does. It is clear that all men are fated to die, but the willingness of these men, such as Achilles, to do so for something bigger than themselves is what makes The Iliad appeal to the basic humanity and sense of heroics in all readers.
Homer, Iliad is the narration of the Trojan war. The Trojan war was one of the most important and significant wars of Greek mythology, Homer described how the war was triggered by the abduction of the most beautiful women known as Helen. This paper will argue how the traditional view of this poem is accurate because it indeed was Helens beauty and her selfishness that sparked the Trojan war. Although Helen was not happy about the outcomes of her mistakes. This paper will present how Helen faced many forms of self judgment, how she created many relationships with significant characters, such as Paris, Priam and Aphrodite. Homers portrayal of this significant women was remarkable as we were able to feel her pain and anguish, the readers were
Homer drives home the bleakness and hopelessness of war with his final book. When thinking of a war, the first thought to pop into one's head is most likely death and suffering, not great triumph and glory. For a great majority of the Iliad, however, Homer writes about the winning of glory, and the pride taken in killing a foe. This gives war an entertainment value, and makes it seem that it is a good opportunity to be fighting in a war. This is not the case whatsoever. With the mourning over the prestigious Hektor, it makes the reader realize that no matter how much glory is attained through battle, the fact remains that you are fighting a war and your life expectancy sub sequentially drops dramatically. The sadness that war creates is neglected for much of the Iliad, but in book twenty-four, the point is emphasized thoroughly. Beginning with the speech of Kassandra to the Trojan people,...
Homer’s The Iliad: Book XX features a battle between the Trojans and Achaians, shortly after Patroklus’ death (Lattimore Book XVI), where the gods must intervene in order to restrain Achilleus’ destructive nature that becomes amplified due to the grief and wrath as a result of the loss of his cousin/lover. The divine foresaw an early fall of Troy caused by the intensified destructive nature of Achilleus, therefore they interfered in the battle to protect a bigger ideal of fate, a fate of a nation, by manipulating smaller ideals of fate, the fates of people’s lives(Lattimore 405). At the beginning of the battle, after the gods descended from Olympus, they decide to sit and just watch how their mortal teams will fend for themselves until Apollo takes form as Lykoan and coerce Aeneias to challenge Achilleus, thus establishing the first act of divine intervention (Lattimore 406-407). When Achilleus is inches away from killing Aeneias, Poseidon takes sympathy upon him and whisks him off to safety (Lattimore 407-411). The last interference occurs during the confrontation between Hektor and Achilleus, where Achilleus is about to murder him and Apollo saves Hektor (Lattimore 416). Hektor’s rescue in this battle is an important event in the Iliad because Achilleus’ and Hektor’s fates are interrelated, further meaning that if Hektor die...
The Hominidae, or hominids are a group of upright walking primates with relatively large brains. The only existing representative of this family is the Homo sapiens. We can declare that all humans are part of the hominid family, yet not all hominids can be considered humans. However all humans are primates; although humans have developed very distinct traits from its genetically similar primate, the chimpanzees, such as bipedalism, meaning walking on two legs. “Bipedalism seems to be one of the earliest of the major hominine characteristics to have evolved.”(Microsoft Encarta) Bipedalism enabled humans to develop specific physical traits to accommodate their upright posture, such as a specialized pelvis, hip and leg muscles, and an S-shaped vertebral column. These traits, specific to humans, can be detected in fossil records therefore making bipedalism the defining factor in the physica...