Character Development In Homer's The Iliad And The Odyssey

Throughout the history of literature and storytelling, character development has always been one of the most necessary aspects of a successful story. Homer, author of The Iliad and The Odyssey, is considered one of the greatest storytellers of all time and utilized this practice quite well. In both of these epic poems, a plethora of characters grow in some regard or another. Agamemnon is the quintessential developing character in ancient Greek literature as seen through his change of character and evolution of leadership. Agamemnon’s shift from a failed leader whom few men would follow willingly to a charismatic leader of much improved ability is one of the strongest character developments in historic literature. This demonstrates Homer’s ability …show more content…
A younger Agamemnon inherited the throne of Greece after the passing of his father, and the people of Greece had high standards and expectations for the new ruler (Grethlein, 2006). At the time of his rise to power, Greece was in a state of moderate disarray. Society was relatively unstable, disputes were ever present, and the Mediterranean world looked towards Greece as what was close to the peak of civilization in that region at that time. Agamemnon was expected to be able to solve these issues while also maintaining the government as a whole and serving as commander-in-chief of the entire military (Cook, 2003). This was a lot for him to take on, and his arsenal of skills left much to be desired. Thankfully, however, he was not alone in this endeavour to achieve and maintain political and socio-economic order. Nestor and Odysseus, commanders in Agamemnon’s army, knew that order would only occur if the people supported him, so they worked to make this happen both by acting as advisors and by attempting to keep his authority present in society (Cook, …show more content…
He waivers in decision making, makes poor decisions when under any emotional stress, and often lacks fairness in his choices. He also shows a total lack of perception of the inherent need of a good ruler to put his people first and himself second and that he cannot let his emotions or personal avarice get in the way of achieving success for his kingdom (Stourman, 2004). He also shows that he does not know what his limits are with his power, such as when he chooses to keep Chryseis, even though her father pleaded. This lack of understanding is what caused him to greed over her and eventually lead to a terrible plague being sent down by Apollo. After this occurs, he instructs odysseus to return her to her father, and it seems that it is here that he slowly starts to understand the consequences of his actions, which is the first step of improving as a person and as a leader (Stourman,