Ancient Greek was never a homogeneous language like many modern “standardized” languages. The language of Homer’s poems was not the same as that of Leonidas of the famed 300. These different dialects were used not only by separate political entites, but also within each state, they were used for different genres of literature. The main ...
Talking about fate as about the only force that determines the human actions means to refer to a term that vexes and limits the human condition. The fate is given by the reaction of gods, but it is placed above people and gods. The gods participate to the human existence to help or to oppress ...
Three of the main characters in the books of the Iliad and the Odyssey are Achilles, Odysseus, and Hector. Achilles and Odysseus are both Greek warriors that fight in the Trojan War. Hector, on the opposite side, is the best fighter on the Trojans’ side. All three of these characters are respected and revered as ...
There is a degree of controversy regarding whether book 10 of Homer’s Iliad was part of the Iliad’s original composition, and if it really belongs in Homer’s epic. I believe that book 10, though in some ways a significant departure from the majority of the Iliad, is nevertheless a valid part of the story, composed ...
From the beginning of the epic to its finish, the distinguishing element that was most prominent in the Iliad was the concept of honor which is held by Greeks. Honor in the Iliad is not viewed in the same way as it is in western society; rather honor is won through gaining victory and exacting ...
In book nine of the Iliad, Odysseus emphasizes to Akhilleos the two paramount values of the Grecian warrior society, Areté and Timé, and Akhilleos affirms these values as important to their culture but also states (most clearly in the Fitzgerald version, correlating with lines 400-403 in the Lattimore) that “No riches can compare with being ...
The approach of historiography requires an approach through the records that outlast the events that take place, namely the literature, archives, human memory (when applicable), and physical evidence related to those events. In the case of the historical Trojan War we have a well-preserved and translated piece of literature, The Iliad, but the question brought ...
To define “hero” is not to define the substance of a culture, but rather the projected ideals of it. Whether these heroes are farmers with pitchforks, gentlemen with books, warriors in battle, minorities with a dream– segregated from the world, or scholars with humble beginnings, we cannot look at these men without catching a glimpse ...
The epic poem is one of the earliest and most enduring forms of literature in our history. The first works of fiction in recorded history are almost entirely epic poems; Beowulf, Gilgamesh, The Odyssey, The Iliad, The Aeneid (and soon to be Theodore the Wonder Duck). The list goes on and on, all of them ...
In Homer’s “The Iliad” and Virgil’s “The Aeneid,” the epic heroes Achilles and Aeneas are each gifted with a mighty sword. In “The Iliad,” Achilles receives a sword that is made by the god Hephaestus, while Aeneas in “The Aeneid” is bestowed with a sword that is crafted by Vulcan. Both of the swords are ...