Proving Ones Honor in The Iliad by Homer Essay - 835 Words

The Iliad is a story about the war between the Trojans and the Greeks. They believe that if you fight in a war, this is how you prove ones honor and integrity, but to not fight would show cowardice or fear. During this time, the males were trained from a young age to assume a major role in the war efforts (Rosenberg, 1999, p. 119). The most powerful warriors in this story were Hector and Achilles. Both men were given the title of heroes and displayed great power, skills and courage. But the values of Hector and Achilles were very different from one another and very different from the people of today’s society. Dignity, pride, honor, glory, fame, and revenge are very important to these people as it still is today, but it is achieved in a†¦show more content†¦Achilles then asks his mother to convince Zeus to honor him at the cost of the Greeks. He wants the Greeks to be defeated in battle so that they realize how important Achilles was to them and so that they will honor and respect him as their greatest warrior and most important leader. Zeus grants the wish of Thetis and the battle begins to change dramatically. In many cultures, honor and manliness go together. Honor lost was manhood lost. Because honor was such a central aspect of a man’s masculine identity, men would go to great lengths to win honor and not lose respect. In today’s society, honor means being true to a set of personal ideals, or being a person of integrity. Men are often told to â€Å"man up†, which means to show strength and courage. There are a few groups in today’s society that still consider honor to be a worthwhile goal. Our military, police departments and fire departments are all considered an honorable profession. Even our criminal gangs have a code of honor that they must live by. The Iliad is based solely on the Gods and religion and takes place during the tenth year of war between the Greeks and the Trojans. There is great emphasis on fate and the will of the Gods and it stresses the importance of showing great respect to the Gods. To not thank, praise and glorify the Gods guarantees destruction and ill fate. There is also the importance of statingShow MoreRelatedAchilles and Homer1298 Words   |  6 PagesGreek/ Roman 3 June 2011 Homer and The Impact He Has Left Behind Homer can be said one of the greatest poets perhaps even literarily genius of all time. If you can get past the part that Homer may or not even be a person at all. There is no concrete knowledge of even his existence but scholars would say that it is safe to assume if he did existed it would be around 8-9 century BCE. Most likely he would be from the Island of Chios due to the writing style of the Iliad. One thing we do know is thatRead MoreEpic Heroism And Values Of The Iliad1030 Words   |  5 Pagesimage of Aeneas killing Turnus classify them as epic heroes. In the Greek epic poem the Iliad, Homer portrays Achilles as an enraged warrior fighting for revenge for a woman he loved. In the Roman epic poem the Aeneid, Virgil portrays Aeneas as fleeing the city of Troy to establish a new city. Achilles and Aeneas are epic heroes because they both show courage, boldness, and embody the ideals of their nation. Homer portrays Achilles as individualistic, while Virgil portrays Aeneas as valuing the godsRead MoreAnalysis Of Homer s Iliad, Heroism801 Words   |  4 Pages​In Homer’s Iliad, heroism plays a major role in the two idols the reader will side with; Achilles or Hector. Society’s image of a hero demands for an altruistic, strong, and compassionate figure, but Homer refutes this idea of a hero. Homer’s Iliad demonstrates that in a realistic society, there is no such thing as a complete hero, and that true heroism does not exist. ​Achilles, the Achaean trophy soldier, was the creation of a mortal named Paleus and of a Goddess named Thetis. Because of his immortalityRead MoreMycenaean Greece : An Authentic Bronze Age Name1735 Words   |  7 Pagesis important. These names used in Homeric poems presumably reference, if not specific people, an older time when peoples names were different to the names in Homer’s time. Some story elements from the tablets appears in the Iliad, proving that this was either the origin or one of the origins of the tale. Hittite evidence: The Hittites were an Ancient Anatolian people who established an empire centered on Hattusa in north-central Anatolia around 1600 BC. The Hittite texts were first used as a primaryRead MoreAndromaches Lamentations In The Iliad Analysis1624 Words   |  7 Pages Throughout the Iliad lamentations provide eulogies of heroic figures, which praise their past deeds and individual traits, often through the expression of a speaker’s personal feelings and attachment. When Hektor dies, however, Andromache delivers lamentations that deviate from the trend of other lamentations in the Iliad. Andromache’s lamentations are future-oriented instead of being rooted in the past, and deliver narratives about the future of Hektor’s family and the Trojans rather than displayingRead MoreThe Timeless Truths of Homers Iliad1784 Words   |  8 PagesJames Hutchinson Ms. Spicer AP Literature 20 August 2010 Homers Timeless Truths Is Homers The Iliad relevant to todays society? Is this work a timeless parable depicting universal human truths transcending time and context or merely a superbly-crafted epic poem to be studied and admired for its stylistic brilliance? Has the text endured simply because of Homers dramatic verse or because of the timeless human truths it conveys? Was it written to persuade readers to question the moral implicationsRead MoreAnalysis Of Gaius Valerius Catullus s The Iliad 1489 Words   |  6 PagesThe one main difference between the gods and mortals is that mortals can die, making it difficult for a man to become truly god-like. Homer makes no mention of the afterlife in The Iliad, meaning that the only true way for a mortal to live on is through the remembrance of their life on earth. Many strive for immortality, but to achieve it, one must obtain Kleos, the glory a man receives in war. If a hero like Achilles or Hector were mentioned to someone today, chances are, the person wou ld know whoRead MoreLoyalty as Defined in the Odyssey Essay946 Words   |  4 Pagesconstant devotion to someone, the hopefully longing of their return and victory. Homer seems to value loyalty over many of the other human traits, as Eumaeus gets not only Homer’s famous â€Å"you† but his own book as well. The swineherd is not the only character that Homer uses to show loyalty, Penelope and Telemachus show unyielding faithfulness to Odysseus throughout the epic poem; as do many other characters even gods. Homer demonstrates the value he places on loyalty through the use of these charactersRead MoreThe Analysis and Comparison of the Themes of Beowulf, The Odyssey and Other Related Epics2553 Words   |  11 Pageshistorical hero. Epics like Beowulf and The Odyssey are perfect examples of this definition; they are each centered on the deeds and triumphs of their heroes, Beowulf and Odysseus. All epics are similar in a way that they are made up of elements. One major element of the epic is its themes. In all epics, the themes are what make and mold these narrative poems, they descriptively outline the story. Most epics, like Beowulf and The Odyssey, have themes like battles, homecoming, identity, recognitionRead MoreComparing The Epic Of Gilgamesh1779 Words   |  8 PagesPride The Epic of Gilgamesh was translated by Andrew George and the Iliad was written by Homer. These are both heroic epics that show some similarities in their stories. The Epic of Gilgamesh came to us in a fragmentary form and was written in some form we no longer have. It possibly influenced the Iliad because the Iliad showed some modification of the epic and was written later than Gilgamesh. Both stories show some similarities in theme, such as pride, morality, friendship, love, fate, and free