“As is the generation of leaves, so is that of humanity. The wind scatters the leaves on the ground, but the live timber burgeons with leaves again in the season of spring returning. So one generation of men will grow while another dies” (6.146-50)
Homer in the Iliad tells of generation after generation fighting to bring glory and honor to not only themselves, but their families. Generations are connected by men who have fought before and men who have yet to fight. Diomedes, after being asked of his lineage, illustrates generations after generations coming and going by comparing them to leaves; one generation rises up while another blows away in the wind. He recognizes both the generations that have come before him and the ones that will come after him. The image is one of hope and optimism. He knows his place in his lineage. In the Iliad, Homer depicts Hektor as this type of warrior. However, as the epic progresses, Hektor’s death causes a break in the generation of leaves for both future and present generations. Future generations will no longer be as Hektor’s death causes a break in the string of generations connected to him. Also, Hektor’s death causes people of this generation, such as Andromache, to look presently at the isolation and despair caused by Hektor’s death. By the end of the Iliad, the generations of leaves show not a sense of continuity but rather one of discontinuity. Hektor embodies beautifully a warrior interconnected in the generations of leaves.
It is evident through this passage that Homer is building up this grand battle between two of the greatest warriors of this time period. Achilles, already regarded as the greatest fighter, speaks of Hektor not in a degrading manner, rather in a respectful manner, taking into account his numerous heroic feats.
The Iliad: Book VI is about the continued war for Troy but Homer focuses a lot of the book on Hector, Prince of Troy. The Achaeans were overwhelming the Trojans so they were forced back into their city. The Trojans were weakened so the Achaeans took full advantage and slaughtered as many as they could. However, the Trojans anticipated this weakness and Hector asked his mother to pray to Athena for the army. Meanwhile Paris, Hector’s brother, had withdrawn from battle because of the grief he caused. But his soon to be wife Helen and Hector convince him to return to battle. Just before they head into battle Hector pays a visit to his wife and child to say goodbye for maybe the last time. His wife is convinced that he is near his death and mourns. Hector then meets Paris on the way to the city gate and they prepare to fight.
In the “Odyssey”, Odysseus goes through obstacles throughout the book that a normal man couldn’t subside. One example is in book 9, his main obstacle that he is trying to face is to escape from being held hostage in a cave by a Cyclops better known as Polyphemus. Odysseus is a archetypal hero, he is also a role model, with an ambition to get to his homeland Ithaca. He goes through resisting temptation and using his intellect and physical strength to get him there, no matter the obstacle nor the negative flaws that he faces. Odysseus put himself and his men in that situation by being curious and wanting to know what kind of land his ship and the winds led him to. This was selfish of him because it cost him some of his men, but a leader and hero has to play that role and some lives will be dealt with on the way. Odysseus says, “The rest of you will stay here while I go with my ship and crew on reconnaissance. I want to find out what those men are like, Wild savages with no sense of right or wrong Or hospitable folk who fear the gods” (Homer 429). Saying this quote alone makes Odysseus a humble man due to the fact that not even a piece of land is going to slow him down on his journey back home.
The character Ulysses Everett McGill from “O Brother, Where art thou?” is a worthy representation of Odysseus from the “Odyssey”. Ulysses Everett McGill, or Everett, was the main character of the movie who was trying to get back home. Odysseus was a king and warrior who spent 20 years away from home due to obstacles and distractions. Both characters share many personality traits and events that make the movie a modern adaption of the epic poem
In the Epic, “The Odyssey", spoken by Homer, conveys a heroic tale of an epic hero named, Odysseus, who faces many challenges as he sails to get home. One of the tasks Odysseus faces is, "The Sirens", who challenge Odysseus 's will power. Another challenge Odysseus encounters is, “The Cyclops", who torments and slaughters some of Odysseus 's men due to his curiosity. One of the hardest threats he had to confront was, “The Land of Dead" which tested his self-restraint, and revealed his human weaknesses of sorrow. The Epic Hero, Odysseus, struggles with many challenges such as, the taunting Sirens, the brutish and cruel Cyclops, and one of the arduous territories Odysseus has ever crossed, The Land of the Dead.
Homer’s epic, The Iliad, highlights the influence and jurisdiction that beauty provides. The prizes and glory a man accumulates from war measure his power, while beauty measures a woman’s power. Since conquering a woman is the ultimate prize to a man, her beauty represents ultimate power. Though the beauty of mortal women has the power to turn men against each other, mortal women have no influence over this power and are instead objectified by men. Immortal women, however, have authority over their beauty and are able to control men with their power. Helen, on the other hand, though mortal, has the beauty of a goddess. Yet, Helen is bound by her fate to Paris, making her power obsolete. By presenting Helen’s hopeless power and supplying the reader with insight on her suffering through her thoughts, Helen is portrayed as a tragic hero.
The Iliad is an epic tale of war and hero’s within the Greek way of life. A
The famous Greek poet Homer was born sometime between the 12th and 8th centuries BC. He was born the illegitimate son of a woman from Aeolis, the Greek speaking region near Troy. There a seven possible places for homers birth, Smyrna, Chios, Colophon, Salamis, Rhodes, Argos, and Athenia, but no one truly knows. As a young man homer wandered as far as Ithaca. Unfortunately during these wanderings he loses his sight. which begs the question how did he right the Iliad. After years of wandering he returned to Ionia, a region near now day Turkey. He then spent the reminder of his days moving from city to city performing his great poetry.
In almost all instances of war the cause has been related to greed, or the gaining of land and possessions. Greed is presented in the very first book of Homer’s “The Iliad.” It isn’t displayed by the cowards, but the “heroes” of the war such as Agamemnon, Achilles, and Pandarus. The entire cause of the Trojan War is the result of the greedy and cowardly behavior of Paris. There are many factors that had sparked the war, including the interference of the gods; however, the main factor to be blamed for the war is greed.
The Odyssey is known to be one of the most famous works of literature in history. The protagonist, Odysseus, has gone through many hardships and obstacles to reach his final destination and homeland, Ithaca. Throughout his journey, Odysseus encountered various trials and overcame each one with utmost courage and sportsmanship. One of his most famous encounters is his journey to the Land of the Dead. The most important thing Odysseus learned in this episode is his prophecy from Tiresias, the blind prophet and essential information needed to get home.
The first book of the Iliad begins with the beginning of Achilles’ rage, the rage that will eventually cause his own people so much grief and is also the force for Homer’s version of the story of the Trojan War. Whereas the taking of Helen is the focus of the larger, traditional story, the feud between Agamemnon and the hero Achilles over a kidnapped girl defines the Iliad. Both feature a conflict over a woman, Helen and Chryses’ daughter, and a need for resolution as well as a breach of social contract: Paris steals the wife of Agamemnon, ruining the bonds of the guest relationship, while Agamemnon denies Chryse his right to ransom and invokes the wrath of the gods in the form of a plague. In both cases, however, it becomes clear that the conflict will not be resolved quickly, but will continue through the very heart of the story. By “singing of Achilles’ rage” from the first line, the narrator is clearly showing the audience that this Trojan war is not the war of Hector or Paris or Helen, but of the proud Achilles and his hero-sized enemy.
Throughout The Iliad, an epic poem written by Homer, there were numerous warriors and other characters that could be looked upon as heroes; some of these heroes included Achilles, Ajax, Diomedes, Hector, and Glaucus. All of these individuals were heroes because of their remarkable mental and physical strength: they were courageous and were better fighters in war than other ordinary men. The trade of battle was a way of life to the Greeks back in Homer’s time. Children were raised to become great servicemen to their country, and warriors lived to fight for and defend their nation with pride and valor. The heroic code was a strict morality that dealt with matters relating to honor and integrity in battle.
In the book “ The Iliad” by Homer the epic poem is made up of many strong and unique characters. The characters throughout the epic poem give the story plot a sense of vividness and pop out of the poem making it hard to skip over. In “ The Iliad” the reader stumbles upon many characters that make up the events before and after the Trojan War. Some of the powerful characters in the epic poem are Agamemnon, Achilles, Odysseus, Thersites, Menelaus, Hector and Helen are just a few of the many characters used in the poem. What makes these characters stand out are the vivid descriptions and actions Homer portrays in the poem.
The Iliad ranks as one of the most important and most influential works in terms of world literatures since its establishment. Between the underlying standard to which the Iliad offers us as audience members, along with the plethora of writers that have followed in the footsteps to which Homer’s Iliad paved, the impact that the Iliad has played is remarkable in itself. While the Iliad can be credited for much of present day literature we study today, Hollywood can be created for the plethora of world-class films and replication of iconic works of literature over its time as well. Wolfgang Petersons Troy is a prime example of a world-renowned poetic being transformed into a Hollywood production. While the 2004 American epic adventure war film, Troy was a huge hit in the box office, and full of world-class actors such as Brad Pitt and Orlando Bloom; it does lack many critical events and characters that play a key role in Homer’s Iliad.
In Homer’s The Iliad, we learn that the mother and father relationships within the family is very important, but we don’t want to overlook the brothers. For instance, in the Greek and Trojan families, it was one way to bring everyone together. The brotherhood of Agamemnon and Menelaus, and Hector and Paris illustrates their devotion. Book Six of The Iliad comprehends several illustrations of how honor strengthens the bond between both brother’s Agamemnon and Menelaus and Hector and Paris. Glory supports the brother’s relationship in three ways; by protecting the honor among each individual, defending individuals’ honor and lastly is respecting each other’s honor.