The Role Of Religion In The Iliad And Troy

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Throughout the span of human existence numerous cultures have come and gone, however several of their stories have stood the test of time. One era in particular that has has had a myriad of different epics and stories, is that of the ancient Greeks. Many of the epics, such as The Iliad by Homer have been re-created by modern directors to illustrate the values of the time in which the story is currently being told. In this essay I will argue that the role of religion has drastically changed in the time that has passed between Homer 's The Iliad and WolfGang Peterson’s Troy. Particularity pertaining to the God 's as well as how certain characters are depicted, and the many situations in which they interact.

While the role of the God 's …show more content…

Achilles for example is son of the Goddess Thetis and was dipped at birth by her into the river of Styx, which made him invulnerable everywhere except for where he was held by his heel in the Iliad. However, In Troy his mother is not portrayed as a God at all and Achilles is simply born to be a great warrior. While, Achilles is shot in the heel in both the epic and the film it is not his ultimate downfall in both. In the Iliad, Achilles is flawed and killed because of a mistake made by the gods who had given him a flawed ankle. However, in Troy, Achilles 's ultimate flaw that gets him killed is his love for Bresies. Both of these instances are significant because they show what theme each culture holds in very high regard, the Gods in the Iliad and Love in …show more content…

One incident in particular that clearly shows this incident is when Paris challenges Menelaus to fight for Helen. The difference being when Paris is almost defeated in the Iliad Aphrodite breaks the strap on his helmet and then whisks him away back to his castle. This compared to Troy when he crawls back and Hector is forced to save his life. This again shows how the ancient greeks as a culture valued the Gods and how we today view family today. The difference in the situation shows more of a difference in terms of our look at the gods, than on how the greeks viewed family. While the ancient greeks did depend on family to protect them, they also placed a lot of what happened to them on the Gods. As previously stated we do not face nearly as much unexpected danger as we previously have. Which means we expect the ones closest to us to protect us. Another example in which we see a difference in the two works is at any point in which Achilles interacts with his mother. This difference shows how that in todays culture we don’t look up to a multitude of Gods but rather we look up to our parents and trust there advice as if it was define truth.

The role of religion is different in the Iliad and Troy for many different ways, whether it be the role of the Gods, the role of the Demi-Gods and the way they interact with each other. The

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