Briseis

In the books The David Story, and The Iliad have connections that are similar but very different between humans and their god. In each case, we read the differences between their relationships with their god. In The David Story, David turns to Yahweh for advice, reassurance, and in some instances, desires Yahweh to intervene. Whereas in The Iliad, Achilles is overseen by the god of wisdom and military victory, Athena. The relationship between David and Yahweh was forever existing, while Achilles…

to be “wives in common” (457d). This is distinctly not the case when it comes to the protagonists in The Iliad. The dispute between Agamemnon and Achilles – at least on a surface level – is motivated because of a girl. Agamemnon’s decision to take Briseïs from Achilles is, in part, what keeps Achilles from making up with Agamemnon. The Greeks (and the Trojans, for that matter) place great importance on acquiring and keeping women. Reading of such a culture would lead the young guardians to…

Achilles and the stages of his anger. It begins with a betrayal of the code of honor. Agamemnon has to return his prize, Chryseis, because of the death that Apollo is causing to the Achaeans. In return, Agamemnon decides to take Achilles’ prize, Briseis, from him. This causes Achilles to stop fighting in the war which, as the passage explains, was detrimental to the Greeks. As the story continues, the anger of Achilles begins to settle down and Achilles even reconciles with Agamemnon after his…

remote for this dishonour done by you to the rarest of Achaeans (A 289-295) In this speech, it shows how much Achilles values honour and the amount of hatred he had towards Agamemnon who dishonoured him. This was caused due to Agamemnon who took Briseis, his symbol of pride. Because his symbol of pride was taken away, Achilles grew in rage and did not participate in the war. Overall, personal honour and excellence plays a main role in the warrior’s motivations, like Hector who fights to fulfill…

plead for his daughter back, but Agamemnon refused. The priest called upon Apollo to bring his wrath down upon them, causing Apollo to unleash a plague. The plague raged until Agamemnon returned the girl. Agamemnon then claimed Achilles’ ‘prize’ Briseis as compensation, despite Achilles threatening to leave the army. Achilles then asked his mother, Thetis, to procure the aid of Zeus for the opposing army. Thetis did this, and Zeus agrees to help. Zeus sent a dream down to Agamemnon…

The Immortal Mortal: Heroism in Pride and Glory We live in a world where we strive for permanence in an impermanent world, an overwhelming desire to be remembered after death shared by all humans. Author Ray Bradbury once said, “Everyone must leave something behind when he dies . . . Something your hand touched some way so your soul has somewhere to go when you die . . . It doesn't matter what you do, so long as you change something from the way it was before you touched it into something that's…

Franklin D. Roosevelt once stated: “If civilization is to survive, we must cultivate the science of human relationships – the ability of all peoples, of all kinds, to live together, in the same world at peace.” Roosevelt makes a robust statement here about the importance of relationships, which brings up the question ‘why are relationships important?’ People have a plethora of relationships, from the relationship with one’s family to their relationship with their God(s), and each has…

The Iliad translated by Robert Fagles, and Salammbo written by Flaubert, uses the main protagonists to depict messages about war, love, and women. Achilles is the main character in The Iliad and Salammbo is the main charter in Salammbo. Both of these characters were comparative in their qualities and interesting in their own particular manners. Both books examine the impacts of war and actions that elevate the characters to go to war. Both works show the extreme level of what people would do for…

What forces shaped the Greeks ' attitudes to competitiveness? Social performance played a crucial role in the life of any Ancient Greek and the result of this constant performance was that the agôn became essential to the social dynamics of Ancient Greece. Agôn had a variety of meanings throughout Greek history, at first the term was used to define a space in which people compete however later on it was used to denote any kind of competition whether it be in an athletic contest or a…

Although an amazing warrior, he is a bit childish and selfish in many ways. As the Greeks fight the Trojans, Achilles initially refuses to help because he felt that he was wronged by the commander in chief of the Greeks, Agamemnon. Agamemnon stole Briseis, Achilles’ prize, from him and thus, Achilles left and refused to help the Greeks as they battled the trojans. As such, he asked his mother, who was a goddess, to convince Zeus to let the Trojans win so that the Greeks realized their need for…