The Pursuit of Honor in Homer’s Iliad Essay -- Iliad essays

The Pursuit of Honor in Homers IliadThroughout history, people have pondered the question of gentleman mortality. In examining the issue, the Ancient Greeks, came to the conclusion that there are two spheres of immortality that which is reticent for the Gods and that which can be attained by mere mortals. The Gods are apprenticed to eternal youth and life however, for humans who are predestined to die, this organism is impossible to attain. Rather, humans must strive to gain everlasting honor, the plainly form of immortality available to them. It is this idea that Homer seeks to expound in his large poem, The Iliad. Throughout his poem, Homer depicts the degree to which honor plays a role in the lives of the Greeks, and the manner in which they are willing to sacrifice in prescribe to reach their goal. This theme manifests itself from the outset of the work, as The Iliad, is set during the Trojan war, a particularly long and bloody war, fought not over political differences, no t over boundary disagreements and not to protect the nation. Rather, it was a war fought to concord and uphold the honor of one individual, Menelaous whose wife had been stolen from him by the Trojan prince, Paris. This is the measure that suffuses the narrative of The Iliad. According to the axioms of Greek society, one must defend his attitude and prevent shame from being brought upon him, at all costs. ...My father, he send me to troy, and urged upon me repeated injunctions, to be always among the bravest and hold my head above others, not shaming the generation of my fathers... (VI 206-9) This is the Greek bible, the guide to proper decorum. A mans honor, and the honor which he brings his father, is paramount. Hektor, the bravest of the Troj... ... Hackett Publishing Co., 1994.Richardson, Nicholas. 1993. The Iliad A Commentary. Vol. VI books 21-24. Cambridge Cambridge University Press. Schein, Seth L. The Mortal Hero An submission to Homers Iliad. Berkeley University of Ca lifornia Press, 1984. Silk, M. S. Homer The Iliad. Cambridge, Eng. Cambridge University Press, 1987. Stanford, W. B. The Ulysses Theme A Study in the Adaptability of a Traditional Hero. Dallas, TX Spring Publications, 1992. Steiner, George, and Fagles, Robert, eds. Homer A Collection of Critical Essays. ordinal Century Views, ed. Maynard Mack. Englewood Cliffs, N. J. Prentice Hall, 1962. Van Nortwick, Thomas. Somewhere I have travelled the heros journey. New York Oxford University Press, 1996. Whitman, Cedric H. Homer and the Heroic Tradition. Cambridge, Mass. Harvard University Press, 1958.