Violence In The Iliad

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Themes are very important to and type of text. Themes are presented to the audience in many different ways. For example, authors use emotional twists to present the themes of love and friendship such as William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Themes are also presented using violence. One literary work that is notorious for presenting themes using violence would be Homer’s Iliad. The Iliad is an epic poem that defines Greek culture as many have said. This epic poem recounts the events of the Trojan war in Greek history. Many themes are presented in this epic through scenes of violence. Many different themes can be identified in Homer’s Iliad, when Achilles and Hector battle. One theme identified in Homer’s Iliad when Achilles and Hector battle, …show more content…
Greeks believed that in order for a dead spirit to enter the land of the dead, certain ceremonies and a proper burial were required. During Achilles and Hector’s encounter, Achilles injured Hector. Hector, knowing that there is no chance for survival, pleads to Achilles, “I beg you, beg you by your life, your parents-don’t let the dogs devour me by the Argive ships! Wait, take the princely ransom of bronze and gold, the gifts my father and noble mother will give you-but give my body to friends to carry one again, so Trojan men and Trojan women can do me honor with fitting rights of fire once I am dead.” Hector begged Achilles to let the Trojans have his body after he was murdered so that he could enter the land of the dea. Achilles, in the end, ended up giving Priam his son’s body back and allowing men and women to do him honor with the proper rights.
Undoubtedly, many different themes can be identified in Homer’s Iliad, when Achilles and Hector battle. With the many different ways to present themes in a text, violence is definitely one of the top on the list.Many authors use this method just as Homer did in the Iliad. The Iliad, is perhaps, the most iconic literary work of Greek culture. Many different translations exist in the world today of the Iliad. This epic poem is being studied around the world by many different students and

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