Adversity In The Iliad Analysis

Adversity has the destructive capabilities of a wrecking ball. It can swing through our lives with little to no resistance and obliterate our will power. In the face of adversity is when one 's true character comes to light. We are left with the decision to either crumble before its weight or fend it off and establish ourselves as the gods of our own destiny. Adversity gives rise to heroism or cowardice. Achilleus confronts his adversities and overcomes them with the sheer power of his will as he challenges destiny and the will of the Gods. Achilleus ' response to adversity empowers his capacity to dictate his will upon the cosmos therefore setting him apart from all other mortals as the uncontested hero of the Iliad. In order to fully grasp the reality of a Greek hero, it is imperative that we dismiss

all modern day notions of what a hero is and fully submerse ourselves into Homer 's

ideology. What one might consider to be moral in modern times is of no consequence to

Homer 's world. Our morality has been cultivated by our modern society and our own

personal experiences. Leave those morals behind and step into the world Homer portrays

where heroes take on a different light. Homer praises many warriors throughout the Iliad,

but none so much as godlike Achilleus. Homer 's admiration for Achilleus is

demonstrated when he compares him to a wildfire:

As inhuman fire sweeps on in fury through the deep angles of a drywood mountain and sets ablaze the depth of the timber and the blustering wind …show more content…
Achilleus

is absent from the field of battle for a majority of the story yet Homer still refers to him

with words of praise despite the fact that he has not physically impacted the battle. He

has a looming presence over the battle that begs the reader to question how the