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Homer
The Odyssey was set in Mycenaean Greece in about the twelfth century B.C.E., during the Bronze Age. Greeks believed that this period was a more glorious age when gods frequented the earth. The...
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Iliad
I would argue that the wrath of Achilles doesn't encompass the depth of The Iliad. To a modern reader, the Iliad is about how individual small actions lead to huge events and how no one person or...
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Homer
In Book 9 of the Odyssey, protagonist Odysseus relates to the Phaeacians his encounter with Polyphemus the Cyclops. He took twelve men ashore with him to the land of the Cyclopes and told the rest...
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Homer
Achilles' behavior in the Iliad, at least on first consideration, does not seem to warrant much empathy. Throughout Books 1 through 23, Achilles is, for the most part, a boastful, self-centered,...
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Homer
Scholar Dorothea Clinton Woodworth, in her article "The Function of the Gods in Vergil's Aeneid," has argued that Virgil's Aeneid essentially concerns the theme of destiny and that the gods...
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Iliad
I think that there is a complex view of immortality offered in the Iliad. There are aspects of characterizations where the pursuit of immortality is evident. Achilles recognizes that there is a...
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The Odyssey
In Book X, before Odysseus and his men encounter Scylla and Charybdis and the Sirens, they are warned by both Teiresias, the prophet whom Odysseus encounters in the underworld, and Circe, the...
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The Odyssey
Although the first sentence (using Samuel Butler's translation) of the Odyssey-- Tell me, O muse, of that ingenious hero who travelled far and wide after he had sacked the famous town of Troy--...
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The Odyssey
One of the most important episodes in the Odyssey occurs in Book IX when Odysseus describes his encounter with the Cyclopes to King Alcinous of the Phaeacians. The Cyclopes are a race of beings,...
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The Odyssey
One of the main elements of Book I of the Odyssey is the conflict between the suitors who are infesting Odysseus's house, on one hand, and Telemachus and Penelope, on the other. At this point in...
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Hesiod
Hesiod's Theogony concerns creation. More specifically, the title Theogony means birth of the divine, and Hesiod relays the creation myths concerning the birth of the gods. He describes the...
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Homer
When Plato writes that "there is an old quarrel between philosophy and poetry," it accentuates that a difference in world view that exists between both. For Plato, this difference in cosmology is...
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Iliad
Historians have now dug up enough facts to believe that something like the Trojan War may have really occurred. However, the story of how it began and what started it is part of Ancient Greek...
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Iliad
I think it is a common mistake of students to take on subjects that are too big. Unless you are specifically required to write about Homer's Iliad as a whole, you ought to choose a single character...
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Iliad
While it is difficult to identify “message” in classic literature, it can be said that the manner in which Homer tells this historical saga demonstrates to some degree his attitude toward the...
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Iliad
First, this kind of biographical approach to criticism is outdated, having decades ago been replaced by New (Chicago) Criticism and since then by Postmodern criticism, in which the author’s...
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The Odyssey
The obvious answer is that he employed the epic style of Poetics, by which is meant, according to Aristotle, he used multiple narrators; many characters speak as the story unfolds. More subtly,...
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Iliad
This is an excellent question that is complex on many levels. Homer does not give one picture of women in the Iliad. Women come in all “shapes and sizes” as it were. Here is a list of the...
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The Odyssey
While Odysseus (Ulysses) does only reveal his identity to Telemachus at first, it is not Telemachus who returns home in secret. Instead, it is Odysseus. Telemachus has been traveling to try and...
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The Odyssey
The main character of The Odyssey, Odysseus, is renowned for his cunning and intelligence. While he is not the strongest or the fastest of warriors, he is arguably among the smartest. As he...
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Iliad
Hector is a somewhat complex character. On the one hand, he is indisputably the finest warrior in the Trojan army, and he is noble and, for the most part, brave. He very nearly drives the Achaeans...
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The Odyssey
Clearly, Odysseus, the hero of the Odyssey, does not simply represent brute strength. Rather, he represents cunning and mental toughness. Throughout the Odyssey, he overcomes brute strength by...
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Iliad
I think that Agamemnon's motivations are more in line with his opportunity to take Troy more than in showing loyalty to his brother. Homer depicts Agamemnon as the type of leader who can seize a...
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Iliad
The original question had to be edited. Hector's motivations as both a warrior and man of family help to illuminate his truly tragic condition. His motivations in both realms are extremely...
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Iliad
One reason why Homer's work is considered significant is because it is believed to be "the first work of true literature in the Western tradition." The Iliad establishes the capacity and the...
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Iliad
I think that it's tough to not consider Homer's work an example of the epic genre. It meets so many of the established criteria for what makes an epic. The epic hero is evident in the work. One...
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Iliad
I think that it is deliberate on Homer's part to show how the Greek Gods treat the humans in the Iliad. It is evident that the Gods have little care for how their actions will impact the humans....
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The Odyssey
I would say that one of the most striking example of Greek values displayed in Homer's work comes when Odysseus tours the underworld. The Greek value of honoring the dead as well as the immense...
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The Odyssey
I tend to think that Odysseus' understanding of self regarding mortality is brought out in his discussion with Achilles. Throughout his journey in the underworld, Odysseus had been privy to many a...
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The Odyssey
I think that this becomes one of the most important elements in Homer's work. The destination is critical, as Odysseus seeks to go home. Yet, the destination is what defines humanity. Homer...
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Iliad
The issue of respect and disrespect is tied to honor. This is a major force for so many of the characters in Homer's work. It is essential to their state of being in the world, and represents a...
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Iliad
The courage shown by Hector and Andromache lies in their refusal to abdicate their duty. Both characters are shown to be victims of the duty that is placed upon them by the gods or by society....
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Iliad
I think that his initial decision to flee makes sense with his character because it shows his honor. Hector is fundamentally different from Achilles because he recognizes the horrors of war....
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Iliad
I think that Homer is seeking to bring out how human beings, unlike the Gods, can change in a worthwhile and meaningful manner. Achilles' evolution is a reminder that the horrors of war can be...
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Iliad
This is a tough question. It strikes at the essence of what Homer, and classical literature, in general, is all about. Homer's statement about the soul is that it can only find some level of...
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Homer
This is a good question. There are several reasons why the works of Homer (Iliad and Odyssey) were used in education. In light of this, let me name a few of these reasons. First, to study Homer...
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Homer
Perhaps the best way to look at this question is to analyze some of the underlying assumptions. First, the "Homeric" works that have been transmitted to us, including Iliad, Odyssey and the Homeric...
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Iliad
Like so much in Homer, there is no easy answer here. The dynamic of fate vs. free will is something that defines consciousness in the Trojan War. Everyone understands its presence, but few, if...
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Homer
One word that could be used to describe Penelope is "pragmatic." While she is certainly honors her husband's memory, which is part of the reason that she refuses to marry any of her many suitors,...
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Homer
This is a great question. To understand honor in the Homeric world, you have to know something about the cultural code of ethics. In other words, you should know something of what this culture...
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Homer
I certainly think that there are different approaches to take with this question. If we are looking at who experiences more of the emotional range that defines "heroism," Odysseus might receive...
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Homer
T The individual who has been traditionally credited with putting the ancient Greek legends into writing is Homer. About him, nothing certain is known. The later historian Herodotus (5th century...
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Homer
This concept of arete that is highlighted in #2 is very important in my opinion. You might want to think about the legacy of Homer's work on Greek society at large. It is clear that his two poems...
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Homer
The article makes very clear that the vales to be taken away from Homer's works are the notions of honor and glory. The fact that Greek society placed such a high value on these attributes is...
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Homer
Based on the article, the answer is that the narratives of Achilles and Odysseus are used in our own educational settings. Just as these works told much about Greek society, these texts are used...
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Homer
Clearly, Homer's two very famous epic poems cannot be purely factual. At least, we have no reason to believe that there once existed creatures such as the cyclopes or Scylla. Therefore, these are...
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Homer
If we use the article as a reference, the stories' primary impact on the listener is to suggest that Homer's works went very far in defining the Greek culture. The article asserts this at several...
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Homer
Simply put, Homer's texts were seen as tools of education of Greek males because they represented the very best that Greek males were meant to epitomize. The article makes specific mention of...
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Homer
Penelope is to Odysseus as Odysseus is to his destiny, in other words Homer created two sides of the same coin. Penelope waits for her husband's return and to do so must use, adapt, and...
