In The Iliad, the author sets warfare as the most important aspects of the society. It is necessary to note that the current war in the poem is not at the action and plot in the text, but war is one of the detectable social forces in the poem. Men in the poem who fail to respect the warrior character of the society or fail to take part in the ongoing wars are ostracized and criticized. Declining to engage in battles or war or being labeled a coward are the worst ways that a man can be defined, since the man in this picture goes against the notions that are used to define men. In The Iliad, the crux of action and backdrop is war. It seems like the author as glorifying war in the poem by giving so much focus on elevating fighters as heroes, where he minimizes tragedies and losses. As suggested by the thesis statement of the author in the text, the Iliad presents a warrior culture that revolves around the honor, bravery, and duty of a man in the society. In this society, a man is more likely to gain more respect if he dies for a noble reason or in battle, especially if the reason for his death is during the protection of his family or homeland. In The Iliad, the author sets warfare as the most important aspects of the society. This essay discusses how the author glorifies war in the text.
There is one particular instance in the text where the author shows the importance of war in this community, which is when Diomedes tries to encourage and rally behind his fellow fighters. Diomedes tells them “ only cowards depart from wars and battles. A real warrior does not lose his ground, whether he is attacked or whether he attacks (5: 300)”. The wisdom offered by this quote makes it one of the best quotes in the text. The quote defines how the author glorifies war in the text. First, the author shows that the word coward as one of the worst labels that a man could bear in the community. Additionally, this community respects and values the idea of bravery versus cowardice, which shows the importance of being a brave warrior in this society. The author attaches the trait of being a real warrior to men in the text. The text explains how a man can be faced with many difficult situations, such as fatalism and death. However, according to the text, a real man should never quit, but should remain engaged regardless of the outcomes(Thomas 42). The author uses the idea of fatalism and notions of bravery and masculinity to shape several events and encounters in the poem. These notions are also used to define characters as heroic or weak. Fatalism is used to explain how men will face their deaths, which aims at increasing their bravery and making them fight harder.
There are several events in the text where the author has used wars in the text, which shows how the author glorified war. In the text, the author uses the Trojan War as a central plot of the poem. The Trojan War was set in the ancient times, and it involved the armies of Troy and the collective Forces of the Greeks. These wars were fought because the prince of Paris, Trojan, had run off with the King of Greek’s wife. The war had been going on before the author set the plot of the poem. However, in the poem, the author does not show the audience the side to support, the characters to like, and the characters to hate. The author leaves this to the interpretation of the reader. One can argue that in this case, the author glorifies war. Not only is the poem used to describe war, but also there are various sections in the poem where characters such as Achilles and Diomedes go on a killing spree, which show them that the need to be courageous and strong when facing death. The epithets in the poem celebrate combat in equal magnitude, where the descriptions such as warlike and matters of the war cry are used. The author uses these elements to show how honorable it was for once to be considered a professional warrior (Louden 257). When Achilles refuses to fight, all the other Greek characters in the text are not impressed by his decision. The poem was told to a captivating audience, which shows the capability of the poem to reinforce the good and positive sides of the war, such as adventure and bravery. In the latter part of the text, the author gives us a detailed analysis of the shield that Hephaestus gave to Achilles to use in the next war. The shield was forged by the gods, an element that the author uses to show that the gods were also of much support of the war. Thus, this gives an implication that the war was a good thing.
However, although the text signifies war throughout the story, a deeper analysis of the poem shows that the war had an insignificant effect on the involved societies, with this effect based on the different relationships among people in the poem. In the early stages of the poem, Homer uses the word rage, which acts as a metaphor that the author uses to establish violent acts and war as the central theme in the text. Such an introduction can give the reader what the poem is all about, which means that there are high chances of people associating war with honor and glory. A reader from outside the poem may assume that war was part of the society that was well embraced and respected. In the setting of the text, the author makes the great warriors of the society live with the kings, with people looking upon them as an extraordinary breed (Winkler 156). Some people viewed them as people who were in-between the gods and man. However, taking a deeper reading reveals that all the wars and battles in the text are fought out of greed and jealousy.
In this text, the author also shows how people had many expectations of men in the society, especially warriors. This is done by showing how men dealt with families and women in the text. While the author shows that it was heroic and noble for a man to defend his family and honor without ceasing, the author also shows the expectations of women in the society. Women were expected to respect and support the culture of men that involved war, where they were required to respect and allow their men to follow their honors of battleship. There are several instances that the author uses to show how some women hated the idea of their men going to war. A good example is when Hector’s wife, Andromache, pleaded with the husband, trying to stop him from going off to war. According to the wife, there were many horrible things that awaited him in the battlefield (Myrsiades 121). In this text, the author shows that not everybody in the society was pleased with the idea of men having to go to war, especially women who felt that they were the one who would suffer most. In this text, Hector tries to soothe his wife, ensuring that everything would be alright. However, instead of using soft words on her, Hector justifies his reasons for going to war, claiming that it's the culture expected him to do so. Hector defends his position to go to war, saying, “But my shame before the Trojans and their wives / With their long robes trailing, would be too terrible / If I hung back from battle like a coward. / And my heart won’t let me. I have learned to be / One of the best, to fight in Troy’s first ranks, defending my father’s honor and my own (6.465- 469)”. The author uses this passage to show that at times men were more focused on defending their honor and respecting the culture than the women in his life.
In conclusion, we can say that the crux and backdrop of action in the poem is war. There are many instances that suggest glorification of war in the text by the author. For example, there are several moments that the author minimizes tragedies and losses, while elevating fighters as heroes. During the time of war, the author shows that the gods were also not equal. The author attaches the trait of being a real warrior to men in the text. The text explains how a man can be faced with many difficult situations, such as fatalism and death. However, according to the text, a real man should never quit, but should remain engaged regardless of the outcomes. The author uses the idea of fatalism and notions of bravery and masculinity to shape several events and encounters in the poem.
Works Cited
Gittings, John. The Glorious Art of Peace: From the Iliad to Iraq. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012. Print.
Louden, Bruce. The Iliad: Structure, Myth, and Meaning. Baltimore, Md: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006. Print.
Myrsiades, Kostas. Approaches to Homer's Iliad and Odyssey. New York: Peter Lang, 2010. Print.
Thomas, Jacqueline Kay. Aphrodite unashamed. [Austin, Tex.: University of Texas, 2007. Print.
Winkler, Martin M. Cinema and Classical Texts: Apollo's New Light. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2009. Print.
