The Themes Of Hospitality In Homer's 'Iliad'

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Question 1
In the poem ‘IIiad,' the poet discusses a quarrel between two characters which had started ten years after the Trojan War. This quarrel was caused by Agamemnon’s actions of taking away Briseis, Achilles’ slave girl. Agamemnon was revenging for what Achilles had done to him. He had asked the Greek army leaders to talk to Agamemnon and convince him to free Chryseis. Agamemnon was very angry because he realized that he was going to lose the girl. Consequently, Achilles was angry with the actions of Agamemnon to the extent that he decided to withdraw his services and the services offered by his troops in the war against the Trojans. Later, Agamemnon offered a bribe to Achilles in return of Briseis. However, Achilles refused to accept
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Hospitality was a law set by the gods which the Trojans and the Greeks followed strictly. Moreover, it was regarded as a tradition and custom in the Greek society. In Iliad, the author has used the theme of hospitality in various instances. For instance, Achilles portrays the aspect of hospitality by letting Priam give his son Hector some peace and a good Trojan funeral. Further, the Trojans show hospitality by allowing the Greeks to bury Patroclus and mourn his death for twelve years. Nevertheless, some characters in the narrative disobey this important custom. For example, Paris’ actions of stealing Helen from Menelaus and taking her to troy shows that he failed to follow the law of the gods. Further, Achilles actions of dragging Hector indicate that he did not observe the law of …show more content…
Hector served as the commander of the Trojan army whereas Achilles served as the commander of the Greek army. The two great warriors exhibit some similarities and differences. For instance, both of them had glory and pride, and they demanded respect from their juniors. Further, they were regarded as heroes by the other members of their troops. Nevertheless, Hector and Achilles were different in the sense that Hector had a family whereas Achilles did not have. By the fact that Hector was a family man, the poet brings him out more sympathetic to readers than Achilles is brought out. Further, Hector is portrayed as a more honorable person. He seems to understand his role as a defender of Troy better. On the other hand, the author portrays Achilles as an independent person and one who always wanted things to work his way. Zeus forced Achilles to return to war by executing a plan that made Achilles swear an oath to Agamemnon and forced him to accept the apologies made by

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