...A Prize To Be Won One of the most ridiculous, expensive and disgusting wars is started over a woman and to whom her body belongs to. In the Iliad, Helen of Argos is the prize to be won. Helen’s appearance causes her to involuntarily be objectified, sexualized and made into a political issue to the point of the Trojan War breaking out. We’re talking about the Trojan War. The society is more responsible for the outbreak of the Trojan War than Helen is for having natural beauty. Although Helen is beautiful, there should not be consequences for having such beauty as it is not something she can help but been created with. An example of how she is viewed through Homer’s words is as follows, “Helen moved like daylight to the vaulted bedroom,”...
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...Iliad Essay Topic #1 Fate and actions of the gods all too much affect the characters of the Iliad. Surprisingly enough too there is an actual level of control the stories heroes have concerning their fates. These fates allude to being random happenings in the story. Instead it all begins with a choice that sets fate on its way to certainty. Even though the gods intervene in every way it seems throughout the story, they are only there to guide fate along its path making sure nothing happens too soon or too late. Homer’s Iliad illustrates the gods to having ultimate control in the end over any mortals existence, but not until the final requirements of that particular fate have been fulfilled. To begin with is perhaps the biggest character of the Iliad, being Achilles. This characters fate is to basically win the Trojan War for the Achaeans and make immortal glory for his name dying honorably in battle. Before any of this came about Achilles though, he was built up to acquire this everlasting glory. By fate determining him to be this great warrior, Achilles mother Thetis, takes action to avoid her sons predetermined death. Thetis dips her son Achilles in the river of Styx holding him by the heels. (Achilleid 1.1340). This decision affects Achilles by setting the stage for him to become the greatest of Greek warriors by making him invulnerable. Even though Thetis is just trying to protect her son from the inevitable doom, instead she subconsciously prepares him herself. Despite...
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...of war prevail; scenes of war, heroes are described in action, military leaders, and courage are depicted in such text. The story of the Iliad by Homer describes fifty latter days at the Trojan War. The book is a classical epic poem that vividly describes brass armaments and mortal blows in combat. It also glorifies battle, violence, bloodshed, relates vicissitudes of fortune and the prominence of god intervention in human affairs. The book is a great war book in a sense that the story takes place in a war environment, it has leaders, heroes, who demonstrate courage throughout the book. A-Presence of a war For a Great War text to exist, it must be a war. There was definitely a war in the Iliad by Homer: the Trojan. This War began after the abduction (or elopement) of Queen Helen of Sparta, spouse of King Menelaus, by the Trojan prince Paris. This was an insult to the king. Then all the Achaeans (Greeks) got together to fight the Trojans in order to take Helen back from the Trojans. Everything started because of a selfish act from Paris. Nine years of war, thousands of people dead from both sides, just because one person decides to please himself, regardless of the consequences. War is described in a complex way by Homer. On one hand he is condemning the war by painting a very morbid and perverse image of it. Indeed, Homer starts the Iliad by describing all the pain felt by the Achaeans and the deaths, of thousands of men in the war, as a result of Achilles’ anger who refuses...
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...When it comes to Greek Mythology, one of the most famous stories – is the Trojan War, the fight between Troy and the Achaeans. Throughout the years, there have been numerous representations about this grand tale, from a beautiful amphora portraying Achilles and Ajax playing a board game, created around 500 B.C. (Arts) and the epic poem, Homer’s Iliad describes in great details the last few weeks of the war, written in 800 B.C. A more modern take on the war is the famous movie Troy with actors Brad Pitt and Orlando Bloom, released in 2004. Here we have three different mediums, an amphora, a long poem and a modern film, yet they all tell the tragic bloody tale of the Trojan War. I will discuss the overall theme that these three pieces share,...
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...Readers of The Iliad may believe that the immortal gods of Mount Olympus respond to grief the same way as humans do. It is true that the gods in The Iliad express grief over the death of their children similarly to humans. The gods argue, forgive, and reason much like the mortals in the story. Their behavior is analogous to human behavior and subsequently facilitates the reader’s understanding. However, Zeus and Achilles do not respond to grief in the exact same way. Although they portray corresponding expressions, Zeus and Achilles have dissimilar reactions to grief. If readers misunderstand the capabilities of gods and humans then they will be unable to recognize the difference between gods and humans reacting to grief over the death of...
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...The Greeks are ambivalent about Heracles because he performed many heroic acts and good deeds, but he would also commit evil deeds without justification. The Greeks are unclear in how they should perceive him, whether to appreciate him as a role model or to fear him as an unstable and irrational being. The information from Theogony, The Homeric Hymns, The Iliad, and The Odyssey often questions Heracles’ greatness because there are heroic stories as well as disturbing stories of Heracles. From birth, Heracles had to exhibit his courageousness and strength, while overcoming struggles and obstacles that would potentially hinder his success. He is expected to hold divine status among humans and gods. However, Hera who is not accepting of Zeus’ adultery, plots against the success of Heracles. She conspires Heracles to serve Eurystheus, almost acting entirely as a slave (Illiad 19.96-132). It is unusual to have a hero placed in an inferior position than other respected beings. Heracles receives his eventual hero role described in Hesiod’s Theogony. His acts of bravery and ability to overcome adversity while performing labours is rewarded. Heracles fearlessly battles monsters such as Nemean Lion, saving many men in the process (Th 328-31). Heracles also showed support for humanity when he freed Prometheus from Zeus’ punishment (Th 528-31). At the time Zeus did not think much of humanity, so Heracles’ backing was important. Although it does seem as if Eurystheus was the reason for...
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...In book 22 of Homer’s Iliad, the character Hector made a decision to fight the brilliant Achilles who is a mighty warrior, even mightier than Hector. Hector is portrayed as a tragic hero. A tragic hero typically has five major traits-- they go through an internal conflict, have excessive pride, recognize and accept their fate, are noble yet imperfect, and suffer more than they deserve. To start, Hector’s nobility, while still being imperfect conveys he is a tragic hero. He works very hard to protect his country not only for the spoils of war, but also for glory and to not “‘die of shame to to face the men of Troy’” (22.126). Not only that, but he also refused to not go to battle when his family told him not to. His bravery and loyalty...
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...There are many lengthy descriptions of the rather cruel or odd ways they get punished for their sins. Tantalus, for example, has an extremely cruel one where he has, "pear trees and pomegranate trees and apple trees with fruit shining," and when Tantalus, “straighten up and reach with his hands…the wind would toss them away.” (Homer 183). There are vivid descriptions of people Odysseus knows like Achilles, a man he knew to be one of the greatest warriors in history, loathing his history in the war and loathing everything he did. Vergil, however, never mentioned someone that Aeneas never interacted with and rather skimped details on the suffering of other people. Vergil focused on the horrifying aspects of the world of death, but Homer focused on the people who are sent to the Underworld, and while both focused on the same exact location, they both follow different aspects of it more...
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...1. Theology. the study of the nature of God and religious belief. Religious beliefs and theory when systematically developed 2. Theodicy. in its most common form, is the attempt to answer the question of why a good God permits the manifestation of evil. Theodicy attempts to resolve the evidential problem of evil by reconciling the traditional divine characteristics of omnibenevolence,omnipotence, and omniscience, in either their absolute or relative form, with the occurrence of evil or suffering in the world 3. Theomorphism, The term literally means "God-shaped", corresponding to the Hebrew name Michael. 4. Theophany. This term has been used to refer to appearances of the gods in the ancient Greek and Near Eastern religions. While the Iliad is the earliest source for descriptions of theophanies in the Classical tradition 5. Religion. A religion is an organized collection of beliefs, cultural systems, and world views that relate humanity to an order of existence. 6. Atheism, is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities.[1][2] In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities. 7. Polytheism. refers to the worship of or belief in multiple deities usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses, along with their own religions and rituals. 8. Monotheism, as belief in the existence of one god or in the oneness of God. 9. Mysticism. is "a constellation of distinctive practices...
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...The Character of Achilles The Iliad by Homer is an epic poem that tells us about the famous Trojan War. Throughout this poem, Homer presented every character with their specific characteristics such as the role they played in each other lives, their flaws, and strengths and emotions that they evoked at particular settings in the course of this tremendous story. Achilles, the great Greek Warrior and principal character of this epic all along said things, did things and made choices that essentially took the story to a different direction. However, the question that still remains is if any of those choices changed Achilles himself. An analysis of books one, nine, sixteen, eighteen and twenty four from the Iliad will help us bring more clarity to this assertion. In book 1, Achilles expressed various types of feelings. As the greatest warrior of this whole war, he felt strong, powerful, proud and all mighty because he always came back victorious from battles with his army of Myrmidons for the past nine years. On the other hand, he also felt disrespected and concerned because Agamemnon decided to take possession of his “Timé” and members of his troops were dying. For all those reasons, Achilles decided to leave with the remaining members of his troops and go back home: “So home we sail…if we can escape our death-if war and plague are joining forces now to crush the Argives.” (68-70) In book 9, a delegation of 3 people (Odysseus, Phoenix and Ajax) was formed by Agamemnon to convince...
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...The first known writing of Greek mythology was dated back to around the time of the Trojan War. Homer and Hesiod were two of the most well-known writers of Greek mythology and epic poetry. Although a lot of information is debatable about him, Homer was the first known person to write Greek literature. Homer has many claimed birthplaces. Among the most popular are Smyrna and Ionia. His main theme was the Trojan War between the Greek and Trojans. Even though he may have been blind, Homer is considered responsible for two of the most well-known books of Greek myth; Iliad and the Odyssey and Homeric Hymns which were short poems celebrating the various gods. The Iliad is a story of the siege of the city of Troy during the Trojan War. The Odyssey is the story of Odysseus, a warrior, and his ten year journey from Troy to Ithaca after the fall of Troy in the Trojan War (“The Life and Work of Homer”). Hesiod is along the side of Homer when it comes to the creation of the Greek gods. He was said to be born after Homer. He was a shepherd who worked in the mountains of Helicon. He got his inspiration to write epic poetry from an experience he had on the mountain where he met the Muses that appeared before him in a mist after the death of his father. Two of his most famous works were Theogony and Works and Days. Theogony is the story of the creation of the Greek gods and their evolution. His second story, Works and Days, was about the struggle between him and his brother over the property...
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...Anthrax: Bacillus Anthracis Outline I. Introduction II. Definitions and Symptoms A. Bacillus anthracis B. Zoonosis C. Transmission: spores 1. Three types of entry 2. Three main types of anthrax D. Classified as a biological weapon 1. Biosafety level three 2. Anthrax not contagious between humans E. Cutaneous anthrax Symptoms F. Inhalation anthrax. G. Gastrointestinal anthrax. II. Origins of the Disease A. Ancient Mesopotamia B. Mention in The Iliad III. Ancient Manifestations, Views, and Causes IV. Ancient Treatments of Disease Symptoms A. Figs B. Anthrax control 1. Burning in Ancient Athens 2. Burning in 1600s 3. Burning Laws in Late 1600s V. Social Effects on Victims and Socioeconomic Impact on Society A. 2001 U.S. Postal Service anthrax incident B. Projected economic impact of a bioterrorist attack VI. Epidemic Outbreaks A. 1500 B.C. -- Fifth Egyptian plague B. 1600s -- "Black Bane" C. 1770 -- Haiti D. 1978-80 Human anthrax epidemic in Zimbabwe VII. Modern Causes of the Disease VIII. Current Treatments A. Historical Development of Modern Treatment Methods 1. 1877 Robert Koch 2. 1881 Louis Pasteur 3. 1937 Max Sterne 4. 1944 First use of penicillin to treat anthrax 5. 1979 Modern vaccine developed B. Treatment of Today IX. Anthrax as a Biomedical Weapon A. Modern threat B. 1916-1918 Mesopotamia...
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...Thomas Elliott Professor Greg Decker Foundations 111-I 10-3-12 In Search of A Hero What’s so interesting about heroes? Thousands murdered by thousands of murderers-war, the place where heroes are born through impossible acts or even death. The battle of Troy was a war in which the most famous of heroes were born. The battle, depicted by Homer in his epic poem the Iliad, gave birth to one of the mightiest of all heroes in history-Achilles. Achilles, renowned for his skills in combat and his blood lust for war, was a hero among the Greeks for his actions. Many considered him a demi-god, for his physique and skills in combat were similar to the of the war god Ares. He was a warlord, an expert in the profession of murder, who’s skills were considered unmatched by any mortal on earth. Achilles himself is the definition of interesting. Although heroes like Hector were mentioned, Homer depicted Achilles as the most ideal hero in the Iliad. Homer puts more emphasis on Achilles than any other character in the text. In fact, it was his name that was mentioned in the very beginning of the text. Homer starts his epic poem with, “Rage: Sing Goddess, Achilles’ rage, Black and murderous, that cost the Greeks incalculable pain, pitched countless souls of heroes into Hades’ dark, and left their bodies to rot as feasts for dogs and birds, as Zeus’ will was done. Begin with the clash between Agamemnon-the Greek warlord-and the godlike Achilles.” (CR, 39) Right away Homer depicted him as...
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...Book 1 That night, Agamemnon puts Chryseis on a ship back to her father and sends heralds to have Briseis escorted from Achilles’ tent. Achilles prays to his mother, the sea-nymph Thetis, to ask Zeus, king of the gods, to punish the Achaeans. He relates to her the tale of his quarrel with Agamemnon, and she promises to take the matter up with Zeus—who owes her a favor—as soon as he returns from a thirteen-day period of feasting with the Aethiopians. Thetis makes her appeal to Zeus, as promised. Zeus is reluctant to help the Trojans, for his wife, Hera, favors the Greeks, but he finally agrees. Hera becomes livid when she discovers that Zeus is helping the Trojans, but her son Hephaestus persuades her not to plunge the gods into conflict over the mortals. Analysis But while the poem focuses most centrally on the rage of a mortal, it also concerns itself greatly with the motivations and actions of the gods. Even before Homer describes the quarrel between Achilles and Agamemnon, he explains that Apollo was responsible for the conflict. In general, the gods in the poem participate in mortal affairs in two ways. First, they act as external forces upon the course of events, as when Apollo sends the plague upon the Achaean army. Second, they represent internal forces acting on individuals, as when Athena, the goddess of wisdom, prevents Achilles from abandoning all reason and persuades him to cut Agamemnon with words and insults rather than his sword. But while the gods serve a serious...
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...cultural and religious beliefs of the people. 6. Has no superpowers, but is smart, brave and has fears too; which he must overcome to protect his friends, family and / or nation. 7. Can also be a warrior of some sort who performs extra-ordinary tasks that most find difficult. 8. Is also a polished speaker who can address councils of chieftains or elders with eloquence and confidence. Literature is replete with examples of epic heroes. Classical Greek literature in particular has produced some of the most famous epic heroes. The epic hero in Greek literature is best defined in the contrasting characters of Achilles and Odysseus, the principal figures in Homer’s grand epic poems The Iliad and The Odyssey, respectively. When Achilles is presented to us in the beginning of The Iliad, we see him as callous and stubborn with an almost child like temper, but his eventual...
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