"The Iliad" Theme & Analysis

“The Iliad” is an epic poem which is written by the ancient Greek poet Homer. It is a long narrative work about heroic exploits that is higher in tone and highly formal in its language. It describes some of the significant events of the final weeks of the Trojan War. This poem is considered to be the earliest work in the whole Western literary tradition, and one of the best known stories of all time.

Themes

Glory of war

Glory is a strong occupation for Homeric heroes. A Homeric hero wins glory by performing great deeds, the memory of which will outlive him. Agamemnon displays his power that he thinks he has through disrespecting the gods. He has felt so much glory and fame from won wars that he seems to think that he is untouchable. There are other warriors such as Achilles that do not feel the same way, they realize from past mistakes and trials that you cannot always win. Achilles gave up many comforts that he could have had from staying home. He gave up a long and boring life that could have been spent with other people enjoying spoils. There is no comforting afterlife in Homer. Shades go down to the gloomy world of Hades. Emphasis is on the deeds of this life for the sake of this life, and a hero must win glory that will be remembered always by the living even after he is gone.

Pride

In the world of the Iliad pride is the main factor that drives action. Pride drives Greece to go to war with Rome. Pride also causes the gods to dispute their decisions during the times of war. Zeus causes many disputes with Hera over his pride. pride is depicted as a destructive force, as when it leads to the conflict between Achilleus and Agamemnon, or when it causes Hector to disregard the advice of Poulydamas and keep the Trojans camped on the plain. On the other hand, pride is shown as having some benefits. In battle, warriors are often reminded of their reputations to make them fight harder, thereby saving their own lives and those of their comrades.

Competition

With pride comes competition and in Homers version of rome the majority of people are willing to wage  war in defence of their pride. The competition for power and ultimate victory is continuous throughout the Iliad. Several characters including gods and men, attempt to assume authority and rule in order to fulfill personal endeavors and obtain self-gratification. However, it is often that by themselves, these strong figures cannot carry out the tasks that they wish to accomplish. Instead, they are quick to manipulate and beg in order to have the job completed by someone else. On both the human and immortal level, individuals constantly need the help of others in their struggle for supremacy.At first, discord arises due to the greed of Agamemnon, yet Achilleus prolongs the problem by holding on to his anger. He acts such as a tantrum-throwing child does when Pallus Athene disallows him from continuing his argument.

Love

Throughout the Iliad strong ties of love and friendship are central to the poem’s development. The friendship between soldiers can be a vital force that spurs them onward, whether in living friendship or out of revenge for the fallen. Two warriors, like Great and Little Ajax, can become a powerful fighting team because of their camaraderie. However, the desire to protect friends and loved ones extends beyond the battlefield. In some sense The Trojan War is a marital dispute over the beautiful Helen, who is caught between the desires of Paris and Menelaus.

Relationship

Parental love is also an extremely important force, including the gods who watch over their mortal children in battle. It is Thetis’ love for her mortal son that causes her to ask Zeus for the favor of glorifying Achilles. Because she loves him and knows that his time on earth is short, she is moved to ask Zeus for the favor of driving the Achaeans back against the ships. Similarly, Hector’s passion to defend Troy is shown in Book VI, a tender moment in which he visits his wife and child, assuring them that he will return from battle safely.

Perhaps the most important relationship in the poem is the intense friendship between Achilles and his comrade Patroclus. More intense than a normal friendship, when Patroclus is killed, Achilles’ grief is deep enough to trigger a massive outpouring of fury on the battlefield. The intensity of his love for his friend is transformed into ruthlessness in combat, causing him to desecrate Hector’s corpse. Finally, when Priam comes in secret to the Achaean camp to ransom the body of Hector from Achilles, it is a risk he takes out of love for his son. Achilles recognizes Priam’s love for Hector and agrees to relinquish the body.

Anger

Anger is a very important theme in “The Iliad”. Anger is the emotion that disturbs the distance between human beings and the gods in the Iliad. Uncontrolled anger destroys orderly social relationships and upsets the balance of correct actions necessary to keep the gods away from human beings. Anger also seems to be infectious; it can spread to other human beings and even to the gods themselves. But anger can and should be controlled, in order to preserve human society and protect it from the wrath of the gods. Homer writes about characters anger in parts such as when Achilles felt rage and anger against Agamemnon for taking Brisies, and as well as Apollo felt anger when Agamemnon refused Chryse’s ransom. This disrespect towards Apollo angered him and he came down to Earth from Olympus and killed many Greek soldiers as well as spreading plagues around to the soldiers. The use of anger as a theme really adds in drive for the characters to fight and create problems and to solve problems throughout the poem.

Fate and Free will

Greek literature and mythology rely heavily on the theme of fate and free will. Homer's The Iliad is no exception. Fate and free will is present in every book of the Iliad. At times it seems that men have no real freedom. The gods intercede repeatedly, altering events as they please. But Homer was no determinist, and there is a place in the Iliad for human agency. At key points, Homer makes it clear that mortals make important choices, and a few times mortals nearly overturn the dictates of fate itself. Zeus's will determines much of fate. The fates of Achilles and Hector are brought up throughout the poem. More importantly, the poem seems to rest on the notion that man does not have a choice in how his life will turn out because it has already been chosen for him. Thetis, Achilles' mother, laments the birth of her son, alluding to his coming death during the Trojan War. Thetis behaves as if there is no escaping what has been decided by fate. On the other hand Hector makes it clear to his wife, Andromache, that there is nothing anybody can do to prevent his death should it be slated to happen. According to this perspective, men have no say in the direction of their lives because fate has already decided the outcome.

THE SHIELD OF ACHILLES

THE SHIELD OF ACHILLES described in a passage in Book 18, lines 478–608 of Homer's Iliad. The Shield of Achilles is the shield that Achilles uses in his fight with Hector. The shield is supernaturally strong, but it also contains a supernatural level of detail. Using many metals, Hephaestus creates a picture of the entire world, starting from the cosmos and working down to the everyday details of human experience. The shield is a symbol of the inextricable link between warfare and all other parts of life. Because the rest of the world is contained in the shield, warfare can be thought of as the key to every other part of life.

From the centre of the shield to the outer area, the scenes depicted in each circle contains,

 the Earth, the Sky, the Sun, the Moon, and the star formations,two cities; one in which a wedding took place; another which was besieged by an army,a thrice-ploughed field, a king's field during the harvest season, a vineyard, a herd of cattle, a sheep farm, people dancing, the stream of Oceanus.Thus, the shield depicted the entire world and life in general.

The shield of Achilles is a finely detailed and intricate piece of craftsmanship suitable for a god. The details within the cities themselves and within the King’s estate are evidence of this. Not only do they hold beauty in the intricacies, they also serve to represent the larger story of the Iliad and the war between the Achaeans and the Trojans. It serves to remind the reader of what has taken place, as shown in the battle scenes, while setting the scene for what is to come. It acts as a pause for the reader to step back and absorb the meaning of the events prior, and foreshadows the fall of Troy.

The Shield of Achilles can be read in a variety of different ways. One interpretation is that the shield represents a microcosm of civilization, in which all aspects of life are shown. The depiction of law suggests the existence of social order within one city, while feuding armies depict a darker side of humanity. The imagery of nature and the universe also reinforce the belief that the shield is a microcosm of Greek life, as it can be seen as a reflection of their perception of the world. Also, the sun and the moon are shown shining simultaneously, which some consider representative of a general understanding of the universe and awareness to the cosmological order of life.

Role of Women ''The Iliad''

To understand the role of the women in ''The Iliad'', we must first understand the role of Greek women in Homer's time. Considered equals under the law, women nevertheless lived separate and segregated from men, performing domestic work and avoiding male spaces unless invited and accompanied. Women were regarded as extensions of their husbands, fathers, or captors. This is often the case in The Iliad as well, where most women are either indistinguishable as persons from their husbands, or treated as spoils of war. That does not mean that the female characters in The Iliad are one-dimensional or unimportant. In fact, many of them are shown to have a range of emotions and opinions, and women are often central to the plot of ''The Iliad''.

The first thing we notice about the women of ''The Iliad'' is that they are all, by birth, marriage, or location, allied with the Trojans. The Greeks, as invading soldiers, consist entirely of men. Among the Greeks are legendary warriors like Achilles, Ajax, and Odysseus. While Hector, the Trojan prince and general, is celebrated as a tactician and fighter, the Trojans are outclassed and outnumbered by the far more skilled Greeks and must rely on the impenetrable Trojan wall for protection. So Homer distinguishes between warlike Greek masculinity and passive Trojan femininity.

The most important woman in ''The Iliad'' is undoubtedly Helen, the wife of the Spartan king and general Menelaus. It was Helen's escape to Troy with the Trojan prince Paris that caused the war. Although she is famous for her beauty, Helen is much more than a trophy. In fact, Helen is one of the most complete and complex characters in the story. In Book 3, we see Helen arguing with Aphrodite. Here we learn that not only does she neither hate her husband nor love Paris, but she did not want to go to Troy at all. Cursed by Aphrodite, Helen continues to love and follow Paris against her own wishes. Helen is blameless, but she knows she is blamed and hated by Greeks and Trojans alike. While her husband, brothers, and brother-in-law fight for her return to Sparta, she has no choice but to stay with a family that despises her. Like all other characters in ''The Iliad'', Helen is a victim to the whims of the gods. This lack of control is an overarching theme. But Helen's frustration with her lack of agency makes her a unique character and, in some sense, an early literary feminist.

Helen has a parallel in Briseis, the Trojan priestess held captive by Achilles. ''The Iliad'' itself is specifically about how Achilles refuses to fight in the war when Briseis is taken away from him by the Greek general Agamemnon, and how he is later drawn back into the war. Just as Helen's abduction by Paris leads to the Trojan War, so does Briseis' abduction from Achilles lead to the events of The Iliad. And while she is almost never mentioned (and only mentioned by name in certain translations), Briseis serves, like Helen, as a woman who is treated as a trophy by two man and whose role in the conflict is beyond her control.

''The Iliad'' is remembered as a story of war between the Greeks and Trojans, where fierce and heroic men slaughter each other by the thousands. This warlike depiction of The Iliad leaves little room for the female characters who, while scarcely seen on the battlefield, prove crucial to the story of this bloody ancient conflict.