War brings out the best in Homer’s heroes, as they tap previously unknown reserves of strength, courage, and loyalty. But war also can bring out the worst in men. The theme of honor and masculinity is very strong that it overshadows the barbarity and unavoidable death or war. If they don’t battle it is considered an insult to masculinity. Achilles is driven by pride, anger and grief which leads him to go to war. “If that man takes my life with his sharp bronze blade, he will strip my gear and haul it back to his ships, but give my body to friends to carry home again, so Trojan men and Trojan women can do me honor with fitting rites of fire once I am dead” (illiad book 7). Women became objects of desire and pride for warriers to possess and
The book Odyssey is one of the oldest books in literature. In the book it teaches lessons about loyalty, hospitality, and vengeous. For example, the myth of Argos, Odysseus trains Argos as a puppy to make him brave and strong. Then, Odysseus leaves for war and gets lost for twenty years until he finally comes home to find out his dog was not taken care of or treated kindly. They only reunite for a short while until Argos passes away.
Pride and honor The suitors seem dangerously proud, especially when Odysseus returns. In the end, the suitors have dishonored Odysseus and must pay for this. Justice Odysseus, like Orestes, will eventually be a deliverer of justice. Justice takes time. Neither Orestes nor Odysseus can act immediately.
A boy from my second grade class boasted about owning the world’s highest jump and, once challenged by another student, proved it to us by leaping off the playground swing while it was at its maximum height. The results were a broken leg and the regrets of an act of arrogance. Guy de Maupassant's short story “The Necklace,” Edgar Allen Poe’s short story “The Cask of Amontillado,” and Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey, illustrate a shared theme on excessive pride resulting in self-sabotage. Arrogance stems detriment.
Misopeliades tell the men that he thinks it’s a bad idea for Achilles to go and fight in war because he never does anything right. Misopeliades feels Achilles will only make things worse than what they are already. Misopeliades thinks he is only thinking of going to the war because he wants to be seen as respected by his people. The whole war wouldn’t be as bad if Achilles didn’t become so enraged over such a little situation.
Lines 206- 303 Ethos: 207-214 I picked these line to represent Ethos. Athene is telling Achilles to obey her. “'I have come down to stay your anger--but will you obey me?-- from the sky; and the goddess of the white arms Hera sent me, who loves both of you equally in her heart and cares for you. Come then, do not take your sword in your hand, keep clear of fighting, though indeed with words you may abuse him, and it will be that way.
Ancient Greece was not a high point for gender equality in history. The duties and obligations of men and women were entirely different, and the rules were often much more complicated and stringent for women. For example, a female companion or the man who “owned” them had to accompany them, and if they wished to visit the theatre, the law forced them to sit in the back rows. The laws also banned them from watching any genre besides tragedy. However, even in an era of such gender discrimination, Homer includes many examples of strong, independent women, including both goddesses and mortal women.
At first sight, The Odyssey is an epic just like many others, but once you delve into this tale of murder and adventure you become engrossed into the literature and style of this book. The Odyssey has become by many literature enthusiasts and has been transcribed into the book that we read. The Odyssey takes us through a never ending story that has been translated over hundreds of years by many different authors, but was first written in Greek. The book was first written near the end of the 8th century by authors Robert Fagles and Homer. major themes that have stuck with the plot through the the book are excessive pride, hospitality and living up to parents expectations.
Equality Within the comforts of the modernized human civilization that we all experience on a daily basis, a person can easily forget how privileged they are to be existing in such a time of human equality. However, times were not always as pleasant as they currently are, as different diversities of people were not only shamed for their race, gender or ethnicity, but they were abused for it. That being said, if abusive behaviors like human trafficking and racial discrimination can still be found in today’s modern world, then discriminatory practices or rules back several centuries ago must have been a common part of daily life for ancient societies. In the Odyssey, the poem’s epic hero, Odysseus, finds himself and his crew in many horrible situations while he persistently sails across the seas in quest to find his long lost home in Ithaca, Greece.
Double standards exist everywhere you go. In society, women and men are held to different standards. Whether it comes to strength, leadership, or appearance, they affect everything and everyone. These contrasting principles also apply to sexual fidelity. Often, men are praised and looked up to to having many sexual relationships.
An individual 's characteristics are the key to their conduct and this is true in Homer 's Odyssey, which takes place in 700 BC in the Mediterranean, near Greece. The epic story is about a man who has left his home 20 years earlier to fight the Trojan War. The focus of the epic and his mission now is to make his way back home to Ithaca. On his way, Odysseus shows some great and bad strengths and qualities that influence the course of his journey home to his wife, Penelope.
1st paragraph- Mahatma Gandhi once said: “Anger is the enemy of non-violence and pride is a monster that swallows it up.” Pride is seen by many as a weakness but pride is what encourages many to prove themselves. Odysseus’ major flaw is believing he is greater than any other human, sometimes even the gods. Odysseus demonstrates this weakness when he encounters the Cyclops and enrages him by trespassing into the one-eyed beast's cave.
Margaret Thatcher once said, “If you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a women”. This statement may be true in recent times, but, in Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey, as translated by Robert Fitzgerald, it is far from it. The Odyssey focuses on the double standards of women and the ideal and unideal qualities of them. The ideals of women in greek culture are high, and most female leads in the poem don’t fit into them, and most often, are perceived as a nuisance or “Roadblock”. Only a few mortal or immortal women in Homer’s epic are shown as ideal, and these few are in a royal state.
In the epic poem, the Iliad written by Homer, several characters taking part in the warfare between the Achaeans and the Trojans are portrayed as embodying the heroic code of courage, physical strength, leadership, arete of value of honour, and the acceptance of fate. The heroic code is illustrated by the actions of the Trojan prince, Hector and the Achaeans strongest warrior, Achilles. Both of these characters display the Greek’s image of a hero, and can also let the reader discern what the society admires, looks up to and aspires to in its heroes. There are also characters who fail to be heroic, such as the Trojan “vivid and beautiful” prince, Paris. These characters in the Iliad illustrate the qualities that Ancient Greek society values.
The second example in which dominance of patriarchy plays a role and impacts the perception of justice is through the characterization and image of the Furies. The Furies try to achieve justice but an obstacle, male dominance or Apollo, prevents them from taking justice. The Furies mention, We are the Furies, yes, but now are rage that patrolled the crimes of men, that stalked their rage dissolves – we loose a lethal tide to sweep the world! (lines 514-517).
Iliad is recognized as one of the most famous ancient monuments of literature. The full understanding of this epic poem is hardly possible without thorough analysis of its main characters. Among all the episodes of the Trojan War, Homer chooses the moment of Achilles’ wrath and thus creates a poem in which he becomes the central figure. From the Ancient Greeks’ point of view, Achilles represents the ideal of manliness and pure heroism, for he is brave and fights for heroics, not profits. Today, one can agree with this interpretation, yet Achilles is probably the most controversial character because he combines various personality traits and acts in accordance with his ambiguous nature.