...speculate about the life of the man who composed the Iliad and the Odyssey. The details are few. We do not even know the century in which he lived, and it is difficult to say with absolute certainty that the same poet composed both works. The Greeks attributed both of the epics to the same man, and we have little hard evidence that would make us doubt the ancient authorities, but uncertainty is a constant feature of scholarly work dealing with Homer's era of Greek history. The Greeks hailed him as their greatest poet, as well as their first. Although the Greeks recognized other poets who composed in Greek before Homer, no texts from these earlier poets survived. Perhaps they were lost, or perhaps they were never written down‹Homer himself was probably on the cusp between the tradition of oral poetry and the new invention of written language. Texts of the Iliad and the Odyssey existed from at least the sixth century BC, and probably for a considerable span of time before that. These two great epic poems also had a life in performance: through the centuries, professional artists made their living by reciting Homer, performing the great epics for audiences that often know great parts of the poem by heart. It is impossible to pin down with any certainty when Homer lived. Eratosthenes gives the traditional date of 1184 BC for the end of the Trojan War, the semi-mythical event which forms the basis for the Iliad. The great Greek historian Herodotus put the date at 1250 BC. These...
Words: 5074 - Pages: 21
...To begin, Homer employs thematic details to achieve the product of the Trojan War narrative in the Iliad by implementing impersonal characters and interchangeable details. Homer does not exclaim any date or year in any point of the text to link the Trojan War to reality. Nor does Homer acknowledge the connection to what is happening in Greece while the war is in progress. The lack of significant details relays that this story is in the realm of fiction rather than fact. Furthermore, Homer continues detaching the world of the Iliad from reality by using the names of characters and places interchangeably. As the author, Andrew Dalby points out throughout the Iliad, the name Paris and Alexandros interchangeably replace one another. These follies...
Words: 306 - Pages: 2
...The concerns and importance of basic human needs and emotions is deeply explored in Homer’s epic poem “The Iliad Book XXIV”, the key concerns shows the similarity between all people, and how humanity is the same at its roots no matter the difference of culture and time. The conflicts that arise in “The Iliad” all come back to the notion of honour and pride and how people want to be perceived; honour is an idea woven throughout personal, social and cultural beliefs. War is the motif of honour, it is celebrated in “The Iliad” and in Petersen’s film “Troy”; the men are measured by their bravery and honour towards their King’s and their country in war. The Imagery used in “The Iliad” and “Troy” is constantly made up of war related concepts; “battlefield”,...
Words: 876 - Pages: 4
...Emmett Oh Lyke 4:00 ESSAY 1 FATE IN THE ILIAD Fate is unavoidable, regardless of the effort one puts into changing or avoiding it. Fate in Homer’s ILIAD is depicted as a one way freeway with no exit ramps. No matter what the characters do, once they set foot on their path there is no going back. Dr. Harvey has brought forward the idea in lecture that any speech, simile, or any other small part in the epic can be a microcosm to a greater theme in the text. One of the greater themes that continued to appear throughout the text was fate’s inevitability superseded all other forces in the ILIAD. Fate is the most powerful force in the ILIAD because it shapes the events and decisions that occur throughout the epic. Fate shapes events and decisions by overpowering the will of gods and great warriors, as well as overwhelming characters to the point where they concede to their own fate. Fate`s power is also preserved by the very characters it acts upon. Throughout the Epic, the gods seem to be unable to change fate. For example, the gods are unable to save Hector and Achilles, despite loving them both, as fate has to run it`s course. The Homeric simile described below is a microcosm to these examples. In Book 11 of Homer’s epic, the Acheans are able to drive Trojan forces into a retreat caused by a strong charge put on by Agamemnon. During the Trojan retreat, Agamemnon knocks Isus and Antiphus off their fleeting chariot, killing them, and stripping them of their armor...
Words: 1457 - Pages: 6
...speculate about the life of the man who composed the Iliad and the Odyssey. The details are few. We do not even know the century in which he lived, and it is difficult to say with absolute certainty that the same poet composed both works. The Greeks attributed both of the epics to the same man, and we have little hard evidence that would make us doubt the ancient authorities, but uncertainty is a constant feature of scholarly work dealing with Homer's era of Greek history. The Greeks hailed him as their greatest poet, as well as their first. Although the Greeks recognized other poets who composed in Greek before Homer, no texts from these earlier poets survived. Perhaps they were lost, or perhaps they were never written down‹Homer himself was probably on the cusp between the tradition of oral poetry and the new invention of written language. Texts of the Iliad and the Odyssey existed from at least the sixth century BC, and probably for a considerable span of time before that. These two great epic poems also had a life in performance: through the centuries, professional artists made their living by reciting Homer, performing the great epics for audiences that often know great parts of the poem by heart. It is impossible to pin down with any certainty when Homer lived. Eratosthenes gives the traditional date of 1184 BC for the end of the Trojan War, the semi-mythical event which forms the basis for the Iliad. The great Greek historian Herodotus put the date at 1250 BC. These...
Words: 763 - Pages: 4
...Classic Cultures 1110 Q: Consider the role of the gods in the Iliad. Why are they given credit or blame for so much of what happens at Troy? Does Zeus have ultimate control over the fate of these mortals? To what extent do the mortal characters exercise free will in their choice of actions? Be sure to discuss at least three separate episodes from the text to support your argument. In Homer’s The Iliad, divine intervention is a recurrent theme in the epic. The epic portrays a world in which humans and Gods somewhat co-exist even though they are in very different worlds. We witness that heroes in The Iliad go through many troubles when “fate” and the Gods operate their lives. In Homer’s epic, the Gods intend to constantly change the lives of the people and manipulate events that take place on earth for their own self interest or any other reason. We see many recurrent patterns throughout the epic between the Gods, fate, and the heroes. For example, the Gods play a very important role in Troy. Certain gods are on each side of the war and they all have a reason, albeit petty, to help a side. Hera, the patron goddess of women, and Athena, goddess of war and wisdom, are opposed to the Trojans because a Trojan said that Aphrodite was more beautiful than them. Poseidon, the god of the sea, is also against the Trojans, because the king of Troy once enslaved him and made him build the city's walls and then refused to pay Poseidon. Although Apollo, god of poetry...
Words: 1282 - Pages: 6
...specific epic heroes for a reason. Achilles plays a key role in The Iliad, whereas Odysseus has an essential role in The Odyssey. Achilles and Odysseus are the same in a sense where they both are war heroes, they both sexually use women, and neither of them think twice before killing somebody that wronged them in any way. Yet, they are both different wherein Odysseus is smart in many different ways and Achilles thinks very linearly, Achilles doesn’t look to get in fights whereas...
Words: 597 - Pages: 3
....Homer’s life is a shadow in the mists of ancient history. All that we know for certain about him is that he composed two of the greatest epics in world literature, The Iliad and The Odyssey, as well as several hymns to the gods. The content, ideals, and style of his epics formed the basis of Greek education in the classical age of Socrates, Plato, Sophocles, and Aristotle and influenced the course of western literature for centuries to come. .......The Iliad and The Odyssey stand as two of the greatest works ever composed. They have influenced writers throughout the ages for the beauty and power of their imagery, for their character development, for the universality of their themes, and for their extraordinary stories. They take their place alongside the Bible, Sophocles’ Oedipus the Rex, Dante’s The Divine Comedy, Cervantes’ Don Quixote, Shakespeare’s Hamlet, and Tolstoy’s War and Peace as among the most popular and most highly praised literary works in history. Remarkably, Homer had no authors to imitate, no prototypical literature to guide him, for literature—indeed, civilization itself—was still in its infancy when he composed his works. He was the world's first great writer, a model for others to imitate. .......Scholars conjecture from scraps of evidence that Homer was a blind poet who may have been born on the island of Chios (also spelled in English as Khios) in the Aegean Sea; in Smyrna, a seaport in western Turkey; in Colophon, near Ephesus, Turkey; on Rhodes, an...
Words: 2682 - Pages: 11
...Foram Patel Writing Exercise 1 In the Greek epic, The Iliad, Homer shows a different side of love that exists between Andromache and Hector different from the erotic love, which exists between the many other characters in the epic, including Paris and Helen. In the Iliad, many instances of love are shown between multiple characters and in the majority of these encounters, love is shown as a merely a sort of erotic contract between a man and a woman; however, when Homer shows his readers the dialogue between Andromache and Hector, the true nature of love is revealed. In fact, Andromache speaks against Hector going out in the war, for the loss of him, to her, is not as great as him gaining honor and glory in the battle. To provide context, Hector is the only one left for Andromache in this world due to the bereavement Achilles has brought on her by killing her father, her brothers and leaving her mother to die by the arrows of Artemis herself. For Andromache, Hector is her mother, father, brother and her “blossoming” husband, and in this way Andromache would rather die before Hector does, so that she would not have to live in his absence caused her by his fall upon the battlefield as so many of her loved ones before him. In the Iliad, most characters display strictly the carnal aspect of love: for example Paris, after escaping from Menelaus with the help of Aphrodite, goes back to Helen and all that he wants from her is to go to bed with her. The love between Hector and Andromache...
Words: 427 - Pages: 2
...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 a godlike man of war. Also, the text jumps right in to the actions of Achilles, thus centering the text through his actions. In fact, the...
Words: 1326 - Pages: 6
...up at some point, however the ones who acknowledge their mistakes and strive to improve upon them are considered honorable, unlike those who ignore their mistakes due to a fear of tainting their prestige. Both epic poems, The Iliad by Homer and The Aeneid by Virgil affirm this idea because throughout each book, characters that learn from prior mistakes are successful when faced with challenges, whereas those who practice prideful thinking eventually reach a shameful downfall. In The Iliad, one prominent leader who fights during the Trojan War that demonstrates admirable qualities was Achilles. Seen in Book 18, this great Greek fighter acknowledges his arrogance for withdrawing himself from the war and sending his comrade Patroklos, to his death. Achilles and Patroklos shared a mentor-mentee relationship where Patroklos admires this great warrior, however by Achilles displaying such selfishness, his heroic status diminishes. After recognizing the disgrace of his actions, Achilles assures his fallen comrade, Patroklos that he will redeem his status by avenging Patroklos’s death. This decision justifies Achilles as an honorable person because after admitting his mistakes, he goes on to fix them. Achilles’s heroic redemption is seen in Book 24 of the text when he not only kills his comrade’s murderer, but he also goes on to return the enemy’s corpse. After dragging around Hector’s body for 12 days, Achilles comes to realize that the sorrow he experienced on account of his father’s...
Words: 1247 - Pages: 5
...Angelica Adams Mrs. McMullen English 200: World Literature November 17, 2007 The Power of Woman Women are often thought of as mild, weak, and gentle creatures; with characteristics like these, how can a woman co-exist in the world of her more brazen counterpart and still be influential? The answer to that question is simple; by using their milder qualities women have been influential in the many bold feats of man. Women have made great impacts throughout history through the use their of intellect, sexuality, and passive demeanor. The women in the following works, “Oedipus the King”, by Sophocles, The Iliad, by Homer, and Confessions, by Augustine, were influential in politics, war, and religion all male dominated. Politics has always been a male dominated arena in which women have recently joined, or has it? While men have been in the forefront of many political accomplishments, it has been many times a woman’s idea that brought home such victories. One example of this is Jocasta. In the story of Oedipus the King, by Sophocles, Jocasta is the wife of the king, Oedipus. She is a very mild-mannered woman and gives no signs of being harsh and brash, yet and still she is the most powerful person in the kingdom. An example of her docility is when Oedipus is threatening to put Creon to death; she saves his life by asking Oedipus to believe him for her and the sake of the people of Thebes by being a voice of reason (635). Her influence is noted in the by a specific...
Words: 1937 - Pages: 8
...Overview of Prehistory and the Ancient World Subtitle: EP’s fast forward background This “mini-lecture” gives you a sense of the main points I would like to make before we study Hellenic and Hellenistic Greece . Our text is lacking some of the literary and philosophical examples I think you need – we are trying to have as “interdisciplinary” a study as possible, so I’m adding background I think is pertinent and is just fun stuff to know! Prehistory: The text discussed the period when man was still nomadic and groups subsisted as hunter/gatherers. There are two art works that are remarkable as “mirrors of mind” of those earliest people. Don’t be confused by the sequence of the illustrations in your book – the very earliest of the artistic works we have is the “Woman [or ‘Venus’] of Willendorf”. Was this a sculpture of a specific woman? Does it show details? Is its nudity indicative of a lusty sexual obsession of the artist? Why would this subject be a priority for early expression? Really ponder these questions independently for a moment before reading on. If early Mankind was aware of anything, it was that life is CYCLICAL. There are cycles of the moon, of rivers flooding, menstrual cycles, childbearing cycles, seasonal cycles, cycles of the day from sunrise to sunset, etc.. Woman is the source of life and the womb and breasts nourish new life. No, this is not a statue of a particular woman – the features are very abstract and generic. The artist pays homage...
Words: 2926 - Pages: 12
...Literature and Philosophy Ancient Greek intellectuals also made influential developments in literature. We owe most of our best selling novel genres to when they first defined in Greece, throughout the 400s B.C. where topics such as comedy, tragedy, poetry and philosophy were born. During the Archaic period of Greece writing, the earliest period, individuals told aloud stories in the form of legends or fables. The famous writer Homer emerged from this time frame and wrote epics inspired by events occurring in the Greece Dark Ages. Homer’s most popular poems were the Iliad and the Odyssey, creating a story, that has been modified throughout the years of retelling, taking place during and after the Trojan War between Greece and Troy. In 1795, Friedrich August Wolf came up with a contradictory idea, debating Homer's existence bringing forth the great Homeric...
Words: 925 - Pages: 4
...the middle ages to modernity, with motives of myth occurring sporadically throughout history. Starting from the middle ages, when Christian and ancient traditions started to mix together, forming the basis of modern western culture, Greek myth has been in the centre of interest. It is intriguing to note that Roman mythology is not as potent as Greek in modern art. Ovid’s Metamorphoses was the most influential text in the Middle ages, and it served as inspiration to writers, painters, musicians and other artists. However, Christianity did not accept ancient myths in their true, religious meaning. Myths were used to paint symbols, allegories and allusions to contemporary issues, mainly religious. Mythical beings and heroes were fitted – in a sense, into a medieval Catholic frame (Von Hendy, 2). Homer’s Iliad is probably the most frequently read of all the Greek myths. It tells the story of Troy, and its fall to Greek armies led by king Agamemnon. The war began when Paris, a young Trojan prince took Helen, the wife of Menelaus and ran with her. This led to a great war, which resulted in the destruction of Troy. This epic work has been a source of endless inspiration for artists throughout the ages. Since the beginning of Renaissance, and the rebirth of classical spirit in Europe, Illiad and the Odyssey became an endless source of inspiration. Countless writers, poets, painters and composers incorporated elements of Homer’s work into theirs, but the meaning was always different...
Words: 843 - Pages: 4
