Book Twenty-Four of The Odyssey opens with an interesting scene between the ghosts of Achilles and Agamemnon, in which Agamemnon describes the death and the funeral of Achilles. In this encounter, in which Agamemnon relates the death as well as the funeral of Achilles, Agamemnon demonstrates the Achaeans’ value of honor and glory in death. Homer reveals this value through Agamemnon’s praise of Achilles death in battle as well as through the character’s disdain with his own murder at the hands of Aegisthus, which did not bring any glory to Agamemnon. Furthermore, this scene also demonstrates the importance of a proper funeral, as Agamemnon dwells on the games that Thetis held in honor of her son, Achilles, a privilege that Agamemnon did …show more content…
Agamemnon addresses the ghost of Achilles, saying “happy man, you died on the fields of Troy, a world away from home, and the best of the Trojan and Argive champions died around you, fighting for your corpse” (24.38-40). This line demonstrates Agamemnon’s value of glory in death, as he refers to Achilles as a “happy man” because of his fate in death. Also, Agamemnon discusses the funeral of Achilles, stating that “for seventeen days unbroken, days and nights, we mourned you—immortal gods and mortal men. At the eighteenth dawn we gave you to the flames” (24. 68-70). This scene depicting the death and funeral of Achilles demonstrates the Achaeans’ value of glory and honor in death, as well as the importance of a proper funeral, through Agamemnon’s praise of this memory. Furthermore, after Agamemnon recalls this glorious death, he mourns his own pitiful end at the hands of Aegisthus. Overall, this opening scene of Book Twenty-Four of The Odyssey demonstrates the importance of an honorable that results in glory, both for the character as his name will live on as well as for his
Odysseus is known as a very honorable man recognized as brave, noble, and a hero in the Odyssey. He is described one way, but his actions are contradicting towards his distinguishable character. In Homer’s The Odyssey, it can be argued that Odysseus is too deceitful, narcissistic, and pretentious to be considered an honorable hero. To support this, I will be analyzing the use of the word “honor” in situations where Odysseus was described as a man with great honor by the gods.
Different but Similar Both Homers’ epic, the Odyssey, and Aeschylus’ tragic trilogy, the Oresteia, tell the story of Agamemnon and what led to his doomed death. Both the poem and the play are similar in their plots except for few differences in their significance, presentation and details. This shows how flexible ancient myth is and how it can adapt to suit a particular author and audience. Agamemnons’ death in the Odyssey is a very good example of how people can be, through their own foolishness, bring destruction upon themselves. It also serves as an example of an epic hero failing to return home, which is known as nostos, thus for Odysseus, the epic hero, it delivers a foil for the successful voyage back to his home, Ithaca.
Through Patroclus, Homer presents to the readers how each individual in the Homeric world would perceive oneself being denied proper funeral rituals. He also presents the perceived importance of proper funeral rituals in the eyes of the Homeric society at large, as at the conclusion of the duel between the great Aiax and the Hector in Book VII, Nestor, whose “plans and tactics always seemed the best” (Iliad 7.373), makes the following suggestion to stop all battle on the next day to pay proper respect to their
The Odyssey by Homer is an exemplary story that teaches life lessons to those going on a journey for themselves. It illustrates how the challenges and obstacles one may face can help someone become a better leader. The Odyssey highlights one man, Odysseus, a man filled with excessive pride, experiencing the wrath of the god Poseidon. He expects to arrive at his home, Ithaca, safely to reunite with his wife, Penelope, but unfortunately faces many temptations and setbacks. Due to the challenges he faces, it prevents him from arriving home as early as he thought he would.
Agamemnon’s taking of Briseis enrages Achilles and spurs him to remove himself from the war, leading to a massive death toll in the Achaean forces. In stealing Briseis from Achilles, he is not only robbing of him of a material prize, but also a symbol of honor, his geras, in Greek culture. In retaliation, Achilles removes himself from the war and prays to his mother, Thetis, that she will ask Zeus to damage the Achaean forces. Achilles’ only goal is that “even mighty Atrides can see how mad he was to disgrace Achilles” (1.488-490). Despite having no true grievance against the Achaean army as a whole, Achilles’ rage blinds him from the potential harm that may befall his troops.
Achilles is maddened and appeals to his goddess mother saying, “If I am to die soon, shouldn’t I have what I want?” Feeling only sorrow for her son, Thetis requests Zeus to cause to Greeks to lose until Achilles fights again. Slowly the Greeks are pushed back farther and Agamemnon pleads with Achilles, offering Briseis back. Achilles declines due to his pride and the Trojans come close to burn the Greek ships. Even when a ship was burning, Achilles refused to fight and instead sends out Patroclus.
Homers complex writing is devoted to the extend he gives on the perspective into the Greek underworld, stories in which were prevailing in the Greek society. The numerous conditions of the reality of the afterlife are deeply described rather than the setting of the underworld. The underworld is described as the House of Hades which is where your death and inevitable fate lies. It is signified in The Odyssey Book XI, concretely in the scenes of Odysseus mother’s death in the Cimmerians, the Greek culture expresses a depressing but inevitable view of death as a complete dichotomy of the fate but shows the indication of more than just one afterlife.
While Odysseus’ actions taken to punish the suitors may appear immoral in modern society, by considering the ways in which modern society differs from Homeric society, Odysseus’ actions are just in the context of the poem. As violence has an extremely negative connotation in modern society, the use of the death penalty is morally ambiguous, and is a highly debated topic; however, violence is far more legitimized in the society of the Odyssey, and therefore, death is a far more acceptable form of punishment. This idea is exemplified by the way in which violence is discussed between characters within the Odyssey. In particular, this general acceptance of violence is demonstrated through the fact that many of the characters within the Odyssey share an almost unanimous belief that the suitors should be put to death to pay for their crimes.
In Greek culture, honor was immensely important and the Cyclops has none. In contrast, Odysseus brags about the great feats of Agamemnon yelling, “So great a city he sacked, such multitudes he killed”(9.298-299) That Odysseus sees pride in killing, shows that the Greeks valued killing, but only if honorable. There is a stark contrast between the killings of the Cyclops and those of King Agamemnon. In the eyes of the Greeks, Agamemnon’s killings were for his country, his people, and the greater good of society. These murders had a selfless purpose.
Despite such darkness and brevity, both Creusa and Achilles are not shocked or daunted by the appearance of their loved ones, but instead comforted. In both Homer’s, Odyssey and Vergil’s, Aeneid, the presence of Creusa and Achille, create a link between the living and the dead. Despite Creusa and Achille conflicting views toward death, Odysseus and Aeneas given emotional guidance in coping with death and learning what life is like after
Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey, chronicles the homeward bound voyage of the main character, King Odysseus of Ithaca. After Trojan War which lasted ten years, Odysseus sets foot on another adventure, which also spans ten years, to return to Ithaca. Odysseus is gone from his home for a total twenty years, but upon his arrival back to Ithaca, he finds that his title has been defended by his wife Penelope and his son Telemachus, who have been awaiting his return this entire time. Odysseus and Penelope are meant to be a model couple, so people often argue about which of the two is more admirable. To be admirable is to have faced a struggle with honor and dignity.
In the Iliad, Achilles is responding to Odysseus’s speech attempting to convince him to return to the war. Achilles’ main argument against returning is his incalculable rage against Agamemnon for “the prize of honor / The warlord Agamemnon gave me / And in his insulting arrogance took back” which is not only an insult to Achilles’ status, but also to his honor as a warrior (Il. 9.378-379). In addition to focusing on the main argument of Achilles’ speech, it is worth noting the contradictions present within his speech as well.
We see this taking place when Achilles is trying to convince Agamemnon to give the girl back to her father. He says in line 150, “We Achaeans will pay you back…if Zeus will grant us the gift, somehow, someday, to raze Troy’s massive ramparts to the ground.” Achilles is offering to repay for his honor later on, when they conquer Troy. Agamemnon refuses again, however, this shows
A major theme in the Odyssey is reciprocity: people getting what they deserve. Reciprocity is an important theme in the Odyssey because it explains why Odysseus’ journey was very long and treacherous. Eurylochus, Antinous, and Odysseus all suffered consequences due to poorly made actions. Each of them made the wrong decisions which lead to death and a long/adventurous journey. Eurylochus was the first to be killed by Odysseus and his men due to his actions.
Iliad is recognized as one of the most famous ancient monuments of literature. The full understanding of this epic poem is hardly possible without thorough analysis of its main characters. Among all the episodes of the Trojan War, Homer chooses the moment of Achilles’ wrath and thus creates a poem in which he becomes the central figure. From the Ancient Greeks’ point of view, Achilles represents the ideal of manliness and pure heroism, for he is brave and fights for heroics, not profits. Today, one can agree with this interpretation, yet Achilles is probably the most controversial character because he combines various personality traits and acts in accordance with his ambiguous nature.