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Greek gods influence on modern society
Greek gods influence on modern society
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Book Four of The Iliad demonstrates the importance of the gods in the events of the Trojan War, during the quarrel between Hera and Zeus and the aftermath of this argument. The importance of this scene, approximately lines 60 through 90 of Book Four, is that it clearly establishes the fact that the gods influence and meddle with the events and the course of the war. This particular passage illustrates the consequences which the plotting of the gods causes both the Greeks and the Trojans, as Hera’s plotting and hatred of the Trojans results in the violation of an oath, in order to ensure the destruction of the Trojans. Prior to the quarrel between Hera and Zeus, Menelaus and Paris duel in single-combat, the winner of which would win Helen as well as …show more content…
Hera despises the Trojans, and in order to bring suffering and pain upon the Trojans she offers Zeus the destruction of her most beloved cities. Hera states, “the three cities that I love best of all are Argos and Sparta, Mycenae with streets as broad as Troy’s. Raze them, whenever they stir the hatred in your heart” (4.60-62). This goddess offers the destruction of these cities along with their people in order to obtain Zeus’ permission to bring misery to the city of Troy, saying that “I will never rise in their defense” (4.63). Such an action demonstrates the cruelty of the gods, not caring about the harm they are bringing to the mortals as long as they are satisfying their desires. Hera’s hatred for the Trojans leads her to bring more suffering not only to the Trojans, but also to her beloved Greeks forcing the Trojans to break their oath results in the continuation of the Trojan War. Therefore, the interference of the gods is an important aspect of The Iliad, demonstrating to the reader the personality of the gods as well as showing that the meddling of the gods conducts the course of the Trojan
In The Battle on the Plain (pg. 41), Zeus calls a meeting, telling all of the gods that they are not to help the Greeks or the Trojans, but Athena, who is Zeus favorite daughter, says that her and the other gods pity the Greeks, feeling that they will be destroyed by the Trojans. So Zeus allows the gods and
After putting up with Hera for years, Athena is ready to put an end to this confrontation. That being so, she accepts the statue and places it in the center of Troy. Later that night, some of the Greeks emerged from the inside of the Trojan Horse and opened the gates for those remaining on the outside. Within an hour, the city of Troy, in its entirety, went up in flames. However, Hera has forgotten that Athena is, by nature, an excellent war strategist. Being so, she recognized Hera’s true intentions with the Trojan Horse. Nevertheless, she allowed the city of Troy and its inhabitants to be sacrificed as a pawn in the war against Hera. With the destruction of Troy, Athena knew that Hera would no longer have any leverage over her. On the other hand, Athena had many things which would give her an advantage over Hera.
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.
Throughout The Iliad, the heroic characters make decisions based on a definite set of principles, which are referred to as the "code of honor." The heroic code that Homer presents to the reader is an underlying cause for many of the events that take place, but many of the characters have different perceptions of how highly the code should be regarded. Hektor, the greatest of the Trojan warriors, begins the poem as the model of a Homeric hero. His dedication and strict belief in the code of honor is illustrated many times throughout the course of The Iliad. An example of this is presented in book three of the poem, where Hektor reprimands Paris for refusing to fight.
At the time of Homer, it was normal for gods to meddle in human affairs, and he shows this in The Iliad. A vast majority of the Greek gods play some role in how the Trojan wars turns out, which is what the poem is all about. Homer uses the gods to deviate from how normal wars are played out. The head god, Zeus, will be the focus as I go through what he did and how it affected the War as well as The Iliad. Zeus tried to stay out of the Trojan War for egotistic motives and was viewed as a father figure, not being biased to either side of the conflict. He likes to keep tabs on the other god’s dealings in the war. If he had not been involved as the top dog of Olympus, the Trojan War would have been much more hectic, and probably an arena for the gods to play war. Zeus fits the role perfectly for the plot of The Iliad because he is the head god and has much more experience than they.
The work was written by one author but gave two diverse views on the nature of the Olympian Gods, their relationship to humankind, and the general lot of mortals throughout their all too brief lives. For the reason that of these differences, both novels end up sending, different messages about life in general. In the Iliad, the supernatural denizens of Olympus are representing as false, power-hungry, and above all unreliable beings that are always at each other's throats. Factionalism abounds, and neither the bonds of marriage, nor the ties of relationship can contain keep it under control. A great example is when Ares betrays his mother, Hera, and his sister, Athene, by aiding the Trojans instead of the Greeks. When he is revealed, Athena strikes him down in battle through Diomedes. In the Odyssey, however, the Gods of Olympus display far more unity and civility toward each other. They argue and disagree, but their disagreements are never carried out to the extremes found in the Iliad. When Poseidon punishes Odysseys for blinding the Cyclopes, Athena does not take revenge. Even though Odyssey's is her favorite human, she respects Poseidon's right to punish him. In addition, the betrayal among the Gods that is so prevalent in the Iliad, is nowhere to be found in the Odyssey.
In polytheistic Greek cultures such as that of the world of The Iliad, the gods affect the lives of mortals based primarily on the gods’ whims. Each people have their own contingent of gods who support them, but also other gods who dislike them and whom they do not worship. This conflict between the influences of one god’s favor and another’s menace on the Achaeans is portrayed in the death of Patroclus, Achilles’ brother-in-arms. Hera and Poseidon help enormously to keep the Trojans from burning the Achaeans’ ship. Patroclus, no longer able to sit by idly as his comrades die, ...
Religion was deeply intertwined the culture of the ancient Greeks. In their stories, they prayed to the gods to satisfy their needs and offer assistance in their endeavors, and the gods would occasionally appear to select Greeks to give counsel, gifts, or other forms of aid. Alternatively, if the desires or endeavors of a mortal or mortals displeased one or more of the gods, they would also interfere with the fulfillment of their goals. In Homer’s Odyssey, the gods appear to or interfere with both Telemachus and Odysseus, either to help or hinder them in their journeys. Although the gods are responsible the difficulty Odysseus faces returning from Troy, they are equally responsible for motivating and assisting Odysseus and Telemachus in their respective travels. If not for divine interference, neither Odysseus nor Telemachus would have journeys to make.
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.
Homer's Iliad is commonly understood as an epic about the Trojan War, but its meaning goes deeper than that. The Iliad is not only a story of the evolution of Achilleus' persona, but at times it is an anti-war epic as well. The final book proposes many questions to the reader. Why not end with the killing of Hektor? Most stories of war conclude with the triumphant victory of good over evil, but in the Iliad, the final thoughts are inclined to the mourning of the defeated Hektor, which accentuates the fact that good has not triumphed over evil, but simply Achilleus triumphed over Hektor. Ending with the mourning of Hektor also brings to center stage for the first time the human side of war and the harsh aftermath of it. We see that war not only brings great glory, but also much suffering and anguish. Homer puts his anti-war views on display.
In the Iliad, the action we are witnessing is a war between the Achaeans and the Trojans supported on each side by different gods, with Zeus supposedly acting as the impartial referee ensuring that the rules of honourable conduct are adhered to. The poem opens during a ‘time-out’ in the nine year war and the losing Achaeans are blaming their poor performance on the actions of their ‘captain’ Agamemnon, who has upset the other side’s main supporter Apollo. But in appeasing Apollo, Agamemnon disrespects the honour of Achilles, and in retaliation he refuses ‘to play’ for his side until his honour is restored. It is at this point in the action that Zeus’s impartiality is compromised by a promise to Thetis that the Trojans will have the advantage until the Greeks acknowledge the worth of their ‘star player’ Achilles. When the action resumes in Books 2-7 each of the gods gives their support to their favourites on the first day of fig...
One of the most compelling topics The Iliad raises is that of the intricate affiliations between fate, man and the gods. Many events related by Homer in his epic poem exhibit how these three connections interweave and eventually determine the very lives of the men and women involved in the war. Homer leaves these complex relationships slightly unclear throughout the epic, never spelling out the exact bonds connecting men's fate to the gods and what can be considered the power of fate. The motivation for the ambiguousness present in The Iliad is not easily understood, but it is a question that enriches and helps weave an even greater significance of the results into Homer's masterpiece. I feel that the interaction between man, god, and fate can be shown to be one great fluidity that ultimately leaves life mysterious, giving much more depth and complexity to the bonds between the three.
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 tells the story of the Trojan War, which lasted 10 years. The Grecians eventually won the war, but the outcome could have very easily shifted due to a quarrel between King Agamemnon and Achilles. Pride and anger is what the two men were fighting about. This story is a very good example of how those two simple emotions can lead to tragedy.
In the Iliad, there seems to be relatively little storyline from the Trojan's side. We are regaled with story upon story of the Greeks, their heroes, and their exploits, while the Trojan's are conspicuously quiet, sans Hector of course. It could almost be assumed that throughout time most of the knowledge of the battle from the Trojan side had been lost. Considering the ability to affect feelings with similes, and the one-sided view of history, Homer could be using similes to guide the reader in the direction of his personal views, as happens with modern day political "spin". These views that Homer might be trying to get across might be trying to favor Troy. It could easily be imagined that throughout time, only great things were heard about the Greeks mettle in war, and that Homer is attempting to balance the scales a bit by romanticizing the Trojan peoples, especially Hector, and bringing to light the lesser-heard tales of Greek stupidity.