The Iliad by Homer is an epic poem, that is set in the time of the Trojan War. The Epic retells the battles of the Greeks, and Trojans, during the invasion of Troy. Achilles is the greatest warrior, and hero in the Greek army. Agamemnon, a Trojan king, steals Achilles female slave. Achilles is in so much rage, he withdraws from fighting for a majority of the battle. During this time, Greek Prince Hector, drives the Trojan army back to the beaches.
Hector Kills Achilles closest friend Patroclus, prompting Achilles to rejoin the war. The Trojans, push the Greeks back to their city walls. Achilles kills Hector out of revenge. He then drags and mutilates Hector’s corpse all the way back to his camp. Priam the father of Hector and King of Troy sneaks into Achilles camp begging to return Hector’s corpse. Achilles lets Priam return Hector to Troy for a proper Burial out of compassion (Homer). Homer’s Iliad greatly influences literature, Theology, and the History of Greece and in the entire western world.
The Greeks are not sure where homer lived, where he was born, or if he was actually a real person (Williams). The word “Homer” may just be a term meaning, one who fits a song together (Williams). Homer was an epic who was expected to create and sing a poem on a hero to an audience (Williams). The amazing task was made possible by generations of epic poets had developed traditional language, that helped tell the stories of Greek heroes (Williams). Greek Epic poets would have performed their songs at dinner parties of the rich, as well as their own artisan class. The Iliad’s first English translation was not until 1611 and was first written around 750 B.C. E (Williams).
127 our experts are availableright now
The transformation of an oral performance to its final written form is a mystery (Williams). The language of the Poem is Aeolic and Ionic Greek, indicating the poem could be of East Greek origin (Williams). The first written form was written on Papyrus (Williams). The evidence inside the poem shows that Homer was writing in the eighth Century, about a war in the Mycenaean era, more than four hundred years earlier (Williams). Homer employed various styles of epic writing in a flexible and skillful manner, which satisfied the fluent oral composition and aesthetic expectations (Williams). The major plot type is generic of epic poems, which utilizes “withdrawal-devastation-return” frame with a revenge motif (Williams).
The Iliad focuses closely on the role of an individual in the Greek society. The theme is based on the roots of the eighth century, the very start of classical Greek society. The Iliad drew much focus on how an individual’s proper behavior(Williams). Homeric poems are distinctive in their organization around one important theme (Williams). The first line of a poem creates a summary for the rest of the poem, and Homer utilizes the same technique. “Wrath—Sing, Goddess, the wrath of Peleus’ son Achilles, murderous, doomed, that cost the Achaeans countless losses, hurling down to the House of Death so many sturdy souls, great fighters’ souls, but made their bodies carrion, least for the dogs and the birds, and the will of Zeus was moving toward its end. Begin, Muse, when the two first broke and clashed, Agamemnon lord of men and brilliant Achilles” (Homer). The poem portrays how the war is affected by Achilles wrath (Murty).
Rosemarie Deist character analysis states “Achilles is a hero of epic, a lover of war, and a bearer and conveyor of strong emotions. These qualifications endow Achilles with capacities for intense anger, grief, and love; the power of such experiences is the essence of his character “. Achilles is the protagonist in the poem. He is forced to give up his concubine after Agamemnon loses his. Achilles responds by laying down his arms and refusing to fight which was the honorable response of that time period(Williams). Hector, who is the Antagonist, kills Achilles closest friend. This catastrophe forces Achilles back into battle, ending with Achilles revenge on Hector.
Achilles kills Hector and drags his body back to the Greek camp. He is not fighting for the Greeks but for his personal Revenge. He abandons the heroic code and is not fighting in an inhumane frenzy (Williams). Priam sneaks into Achilles tent and begs for his so to have a proper burial (Williams). “Yet, despite the many differences visible between Priam and Achilles, Book 24 of the Iliad brings them together in a remarkable fashion. In one of the most intimate moments of the Iliad, we find Priam and Achilles crying together – and thereby seemingly identifying with each other, thus overcoming their multiple differences.” (Oele).
Countless works been influenced and inspired by Homer’s epics which may have founded the seed of tragedy, comedy and narrative. The pure genius of the Iliad becomes evident comparing other epic poems that lasted from ancient Greece. Homer bestowed to the Western world the beginning of its literature(Williams). Homer’s Poems contained restraint, integrity, courage, honor, intelligence, worldliness, secularism, and reason, this is what individuals in the Greek civilization would have hoped to embody in the lives(Williams).
Alexander the Great was fascinated by Homer’s Iliad. Alexander modeled himself after Achilles, the standard of all manly virtues. Achilles played an important role in influencing Alexander’s public persona, and his personal motivation. Alexander loved Achilles so much he carried a copy of the Iliad with him wherever he went (Robin Lane fox). Homers heroes have been long prominent and popular in today’s culture as seen in the Movie Troy. Today a large part of the English curriculum study’s Homer. He influenced a lot of important authors including, Walt Whitman, John Keats, And Shakespeare(Williams).
Homer, The Greek Epic Poet influenced the Greek civilization. The Iliad has an impact on theology, focusing on the role of an individual’s proper behavior in a Greek society. Achilles is known as a great warrior in the Greek culture and his heroism is a major part of Greek History. Today Homers impact can be seen everywhere, in books, movies, and school. His works of art are thriving in modern society. Countless art has been influenced my Homer’s works and impacted important authors and warriors from all over the world. Homer’s Iliad contributed to the History, Theology and Literature of the Greek people and the entire western world.
