Achilles tendon

self-interest, whether it be through the maintenance of pride and honor, as seen in Homer’s Achilles, or for the security of a state’s position of power over others, as demonstrated by Thucydides’ Athenians. Unfortunately, as depicted in both texts, a loss of pity in order to protect one’s self-interest always yields the same fatal result: the demise of the party lacking pity and those around them. Within Homer’s Iliad, Achilles lives, eats, and breathes war. As a respected warrior, he relies…

Homer’s Odyssey outlines a hero’s journey back home from battles and encounters with troublesome Gods and powerful monsters. Throughout the poem, Homer indicates concepts of masculinity through not only the male characters, but the female characters as well. Masculinity is presented as strong and honorable, yet possibly unintelligent. The ideal man is one who is fit to fight as a soldier; therefore, intelligence is not necessary as long as a man can properly wield a weapon. The women in the…

The blind poet, Homer, brought about the worldwide known epic poems called The Iliad and The Odyssey in the 8th century; which narrates significant events of the Trojan War, Greek siege of the city Troy and its fall. These epics started a monomania for historians, archaeologists and others to contest and contend whether or not there was a historical Trojan War. There are many differing opinions on the subject matter, though it seems that the scenario of Homer's epic poem being loosely based on…

Do gods, goddesses, and monsters fascinate you? The epic poem The Odyssey written by the one and only Greek poet Homer consists of Odysseus’s journey home after the defeating Trojans. Odysseus runs into trouble and dangerous paths through his way and cannot manage to get back home to his land, Ithaca. Odysseus has to find his way out with or without their help. Odysseus uses his leadership to get his crew and himself through the rough travel. In The Odyssey, Homer not only captivates his…

To understand the lament of Thetis towards her son Achilles, we must first understand the relationship and connection between Achilles and Patroklos. In book 18 of the Iliad we can observe that Achilles begins to lament his fallen friend, Patroklos. It is easy to understand that Achilles feels responsible for the death of Patroklos because Achilles did not want to fight anymore battles as he was still angry at Agamemnon from the time he challenged his honor back in book 1 when Agamemnon took…

Greek mythology is the most mythological accounts of the ancient and modern world. They explained everything from religious rituals to the weather, and they gave meaning to the world people saw around them. Greek myths have contributed a lot to classic and modern literature in the form of symbols. in Greek mythology, We still study mythology today because it teaches the human nature and well being lessons that are still reached today in modern times. Another reason why we study mythology is…

seen as detriment to our successes. In Book XXII, Hector stands outside the city walls where Achilles finds him. Achilles chases Hector around the city three times before the gods intervene. Before they engage in battle, Hector requests that if he were killed that his body be respected. With so much anger, Achilles…

Demodocus sings about the love story during the war in Book 8 line 300 to 410. The song is about illicit affair between Ares, the god of war, the son of Zeus and Hera, and Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, the daughter of Zeus and Dione. And Hephaestus husband of Aphrodite tries to stop their adultery. The main theme here is that comparing with Odysseus his own experiences. Homer connected this story to Odysseus himself. First of all, Ares and Aphrodite meet secretly in Hephaestus’s…

"Men! The only animal in the world to fear" (Lawrence). This quote is talking about how the most dangerous and capable animal in this world is man himself. Without the restraints and expectations of society, man is capable of anything. Conrad illustrates these negative effects that result from taking man out of his environment in his novel Heart of Darkness. He shows that man has the ability to adapt to to new civilizations, however it may not be beneficial. In Conrad's novel, he uses the…

The story of the great artists of literature is glorified by history tells their tale. Homer is such one great poet. He is the author of the epic-tale of the Greek-Troy war entitled the Iliad. Homer immortalized it and its epic heroes .In this essay, I will examine the similes, that immortalize Homer as a poet, consider the canonization of his work, and end up offering a short poem as an example of how a literary work can become canonical. Homer’s similes characterized that they are long,…