Homer Hickam

Due to the nature of an epic, the epic hero will be given a task that most people wouldn 't survive. The epic poem of a nation or people must have a protagonist, and that protagonist must embody the best elements from the most important elements of that culture. As such, he must have an epic journey fraught with danger and trials that challenge these elements to their very core. As the epic hero meets these challenges, performs honorably, and ultimately succeeds, he affirms his possession of the…

The human-god relationships and their purpose in ancient civilizations often tell much about the beliefs and ideals of the culture as a whole. The connection between humans and their gods in both ancient Hebrew and ancient Greek culture are similar, but also vary in multiple ways. Both of these relationships can be seen between the humans and their gods in literature from the time period, specifically the relationship of Moses and God in Exodus, and between Athena and Odysseus and Telemachus in…

Few relationships encourage the motivation to take action as that of rivalries. The struggle to best a contemporary that seeks the same, or a similar, goal produces emotions that inspire rivals to go the extra mile; for better or for worse. In the best of situations, a healthy rivalry produces a system where the competitive nature of both parties influences the one another to better themselves in an attempt to gain the upper hand. Both sides are allowed to prosper and grow under these situations…

beginning of the epic, the King is seen as selfish and can even Pamela Witkowski Dr. Asma Sayed COMP 102 (AS05) 6 October 2014 Roles of Women in The Iliad and Gilgamesh Gilgamesh is the epic about a powerful King named Gilgamesh who searches for immortality after his best friend, Enkidu, is killed. At the beginning of the epic, the King is seen as selfish and can even be considered a cruel authoritarian leader; his people are not happy with him in power. The journey he forgoes is to look for…

was great, and at certain times he though the only way for it to end was death, as he had super-human strength, but suffered like any man. However, even though he felt this emotion to give up, he never did, he survived. This is another quality of Homers work, it has inspired people to this day to never give…

The gods in the Iliad control the plot line. In a very short summary of the Iliad, we can say it is the story of Achilles’ anger instigated by the gods. The Iliad is an epic where besides the anger of Achilles, and the Trojan War, the gods are a central emphasis in the book. Most of the events that occur are the result of the gods. For example, they use their power to persuade the Trojan soldiers of the battle of Troy to get the outcome they want. The gods and goddesses in the story are…

Telemachos decides that she should not be present in the bow and arrow competition, that only men should be allowed to handle those types of events. He defines the fact that he is in charge of the belongings of the house and the house is yet under his power but not his and Penelope’s unified power. As he claims to be categorized with the men he wants to certainly play the role of one which would include demands and receiving obedience from a woman. The repetition of Telemachos’ statements,…

played in the plot to exterminate the eye of the Cyclops Polyphemus. The reason Poseidon is so infuriated by this is because Polyphemus is Poseidon’s son. Therefore, Poseidon maintains a hatred of Odysseus and “will not let him end his exile”(200) Homer indicates that although Odysseus encounters a great deal of misfortune in his journey, the major misfortune was the disapproval of Poseidon and Zeus. The combined interference of Poseidon and Calypso prevented him from continuing his journey…

Greek king, Agamemnon. He is described by Homer as “swift footed” and “god like” on numerous occasions in order to emphasize his physical abilities. He was most likely an extraordinarily agile and strong fighter able to easily outmaneuver or overpower any opposition on the battlefield. Not only was he ‘god like’, he was in fact a…

Throughout The Iliad, mortal women are portrayed as property of man in the male-centric epic. They are confined to outdated gender roles; mortal women have little or no control over their own destiny. However, the immortal world creates a platform for Homer to exemplify and examine women personas thorough the Olympian goddesses. The three main goddesses presented in The Iliad are Athena, Aphrodite, and Hera. During the Trojan War, Athena and Hera fight with the Achaeans, while Aphrodite favors…