Iliad And Odyssey Essay - 1796 Words

The views and beliefs of societies are often portrayed in the literature, art, and cinema of a certain era. The epic poems, The Iliad and Odyssey, give scholars and historians an idea how the Ancient Greek lived their everyday lives. By reading the two quot;novels,quot; the reader is able to experience the three thousand years old society of Homer. The various similarities between our society and the societies depicted in the Iliad and the Odyssey are surprising profuse. To name a few: the superfluous violence in Iliad and Odyssey, the characterization of Odysseus, the obscure use of narcotics, the similarities between Catholicism and certain stories of the Odyssey, and the role of pets and animals. Despite the numerous similarities,†¦show more content†¦181. Then the description of the blinded of Polyphemus: quot;and when that stake of olive-wood, though green, it was glowing†¦and then they clasped the pointed stake, and drove it into his eye, twirling the burning hot point deeper and deeper into the eye.quot; Pg. 181. I could not help it, but when Odysseus returned to Ithaca, it reminded me of a Jerry Springer episode. Near the end of book XVIII, Odysseus is engaged in a verbal argument with Eurymachus; during the argument Eurymachus actually throws a stool at Odysseus! A scene like that has never happened on American TV before. In book XXII, Odysseus kills at least nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;seven men. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;In the Odyssey, the main character, Odysseus seemed to be quot;un-touchable.quot; Odysseus survived the Trojan War, shipwrecks, the raid on the Cicones, The lotus eaters, and the Cyclops. Not to mention the encounter with Hades and the battle with the suitors. Like American quot;popquot; culture, the hero is rarely killed, but rather slightly injured. Rambo, James Bond, Matlock, Magnum P.I., and Odysseus all have the same characteristics: astute, subtlety, self discipline, strong, but not necessarily adheres to the heroic code of conduct. All of these characters adapt their behavior to the circumstances in which he finds himself, although always retaining a realistic conception of his self-interest and his ultimate goals.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; All five characters haveShow MoreRelatedThe Iliad And The Odyssey1060 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"Hateful to me as the gates of Hades is that man who hides one thing in his heart and speaks another.† (The Ilia d pg.405) The quote is relevant to the stories Homer created during the period of the Trojan War. Homer orally performed two of his best works The Iliad and The Odyssey. Homer’s stories are old and probably translated differently than their original telling. Homer’s The Iliad and The Odyssey still show the basic human emotions and are an inspiration to other authors, poets, and oral presentersRead MoreThe Iliad and the Odyssey1510 Words   |  7 Pages The Iliad and the Odyssey are two classic stories told by Homer. Within these two stories the roles of the gods are very important to the story line and how they affect the characters throughout. In the Iliad, more gods are involved with the characters whereas in the Odyssey there are only two major gods that affect two major characters. The roles of the gods in the Iliad are through two different stances of immortal versus immortal and mortal versus immortal. The roles of the gods in the OdysseyRead MoreThe Iliad And The Odyssey1317 Words   |  6 PagesThroughout The Iliad and The Odyssey, both Achilles and Odysseus go through intense acts of heroism, internal and external hardships, and fluctuations in confidence. During the epic, The Odyssey, the main character, Odysseus, has to endure many hardships which show. He has to show tremendous amounts of heroism and confidence just to keep his crew and himself alive. He has to rival and face many gods that despise him along with many humans. This theme can also be reflected from Homer’s The Iliad, where theRead MoreThe Iliad And The Odyssey1297 Words   |  6 Pages2. The Iliad and the Odyssey were written by a poet or poets known as Homer. They were stories written about heroes in Mycenaeans times. Homer focused on one important event to base the stories after, the Trojan War. The story was about Paris Prince of Troy, taking Helen of Sparta from her husband. A war started to get Helen back to her husband because her husbands honor was hur t. The story told in the Odyssey is one of the king of Ithaca trying to return to his wife and son after being gone forRead MoreThe Iliad And The Odyssey977 Words   |  4 Pagesplot or storyline, or the theme of the myth. Homer’s The Iliad and The Odyssey are two prime examples of this. Within both epics, the gods constantly intervene in the lives and situations of the characters, molding them to the desired outcome. Without the influence of the gods in either of the epics, however, the ending might have been very different. There was a great deal more divine intervention in The Iliad in comparison to The Odyssey, however, as there were more godly characters in that textRead MoreThe Odyssey And The Iliad1060 Words   |  5 PagesHomer was one of the first great authors in Western culture. He was known for creating the two Greek epics The Odyssey and The Iliad, which. The Odyssey tells of the ten-year journey by Odysseus to Ithica from Troy to be reunited with his beloved wife. The Odyssey was written in a with illustrative language. The Iliad was written in a. It depicted the end of the Trojan War and the siege of Troy. This event occurred centuries before Homer was assumed to have been born. Although both epics were writtenRead MoreThe Iliad And The Odyssey1599 Words   |  7 PagesIn The Iliad and The Odyssey, Homer has different portrayals of the roles that women play in each epic. These d ifferences are so striking that some readers have even argued that there is a possibility that a woman could have created The Odyssey, modeled after Homer’s Iliad. In The Iliad we see women represented as war prizes and slaves, vulnerabilities to men, and in positions of limited power. In The Odyssey however, we see women capturing men and keeping them as prizes, rising from a status ofRead MoreThe Iliad And The Odyssey1657 Words   |  7 Pagesduring the Greek Dark Ages was Homer, who I believe was the most influential writer of his time, and a writer who had truly made an impact on the evolution of Greek Culture following the Dark Ages. Two of Homer’s most famous poems were the Iliad and the Odyssey, which were Ancient Greek epic poems which covered a couple of weeks during the Trojan War. Although there were plenty of influential authors inspired by the Trojan war, Homer was by far the most influential; Nevertheless, This paper arguesRead MoreIliad and Odyssey1825 Words   |  8 Pagesand cinema of a certain era. The epic poems, The Iliad and Odyssey, give scholars and historians an idea how the Ancient Greek lived their everyday lives. By reading the two novels, the reader is able to experience the three thousand years old society of Homer. The various similarities between our society and the societies depicted in the Iliad and the Odyssey are surprising profuse. To name a few: the superfluous violence in Iliad and Odyssey, the characterization of Odysseus, the obscureRead MoreThe Iliad And The Odyssey1730 Words   |  7 Pagesonce said â€Å"In youth and beauty, wisdom is but rare!† a very relatable quote to the story of the Iliad. But who exactly is Homer? For starters, Homer was a poet who lived from 800 B.C.E and died in 701 B.C.E. He was from Greece, and to be specific he had lived somewhere along the coast of Asia Minor according to biography.com. Also, he is most famous for his epic poems which were The Iliad and The Od yssey. Now as for whether he truly existed or not is still quite a mystery. Some scholars â€Å"believe him