Essay on Private Motivations for War in The Iliad

Private Motivations for War in The Iliad Wars are often complex in nature and are fought for diverse reasons. In the Iliad, powerful gods, great nations, and heroic people all fight for different reasons. Each has private motivations to fight the war. These private motivations are of special interest, because they help define the consequences and outcomes of the war. The universal war of the gods, social war of the Greeks and Trojans, and the war for Achilles honor are private motivations of the Trojan war. These private motivations seem to influence and shape each other in many distinct ways. The universal war between the gods over the apple of discord†¦show more content†¦This intervention by Zeus lead to another outbreak of war between the Greeks and Trojans. The universal war of Athena and Hera versus Aphrodite had Zeus so caught up in it that he did not want the social war to end. A god in the universal war once again created the social war between Troy and Greece. The universal war was the cause of the social war of Greece and Troy. The private war of Achilles honor was an outgrowth of the social war between the Greeks and the Trojans. During the social war, Apollo grew angry at the Greeks for the abuse of his priest, Chryses. The Greeks had abused Chryses when Agamemnon took Chryses daughter, Chryseis, during the raid of the town of Thebes. Agamemnon wanted a replacement for Chryseis, so he took Briseis from Achilles. This deeply wounded the honor of Achilles, and he decided to stop fighting in the social war until his honor was amended. Achilles was angered by an event that occurred in the social war, thus providing the need for Achilles to reclaim his honor. The social war was the cause of the private war of Achilles. The opportunity for Achilles to carry out his private war came after the death of his comrade, Patroclus. Because Achilles would not fight, Patroclus asked him if he could wear his armor. Patroclus thoughtShow MoreRelatedThe Iliad Or The Poem Of Force1472 Words   |  6 PagesIn her essay, The Iliad or The Poem of Force, Simone Weil argues, â€Å"The true hero, the true subject matter, the center of the Iliad, is force,† (152). â€Å"Force† is defined as, â€Å"that x that turns anybody who is subjected to it/ into a thing,† (153). Weil perceives force as an active entity that is capable of profound, negative, influences on the lives it touches (153). For a hero, force replaces his rational sensibilities by an uncontrollable urge to slaughter his opponent in an animalistic fashion,Read MoreHistory of the Development of the Short Story.3660 Words   |  15 Pagesa result, definitions of the short story based upon length splinter even more when the writing process is taken into consideration.[41] Short stories date back to oral story-telling traditions which originally produced epics such as Homers Iliad and Odyssey. Oral narratives were often told in the form of rhyming or rhythmic verse, often including recurring sections or, in the case of Homer, Homeric epithets. Such stylistic devices often acted as mnemonics for easier recall, rendition and adaptationRead MoreHistory of Theatre Lesson Notes Essay5401 Words   |  22 Pagestombs for the pharaohs and in the temples dedicated to the numerous Egyptian Gods (many pyramid texts exists-depict dramas enacted by priests, death and resurrection of Osiris and the coronation of his son, Horus). Temple was usually considered the private residence of the god (through much of year, ordinary people participated in major religious rites only at second hand through the ruler and his priest-assistants). Egyptians maintained an advanced civilization for some 3k years and never developedRead MoreTraditional and Contemporary Issues an d Challenges14128 Words   |  57 PagesDIRECTOR, COCA-COLA chapter 2 At the peak of Coca-Cola’s dominance of the soft-drink industry, about 1996, the company seemed invincible. Coke’s then-CEO Roberto Goizueta and many industry observers dismissed PepsiCo as a loser in the cola wars. Goizueta convinced stockholders that cola purchases were steady through both strong and weak economic conditions, and that cola drinkers were willing to pay a premium price for the number one soft drink. Yet over the last ten years, Coca-Cola’s taleRead MoreStudy Guide Literary Terms7657 Words   |  31 Pagespresented to King Herod on a platter 5. ambiguity-A statement which can contain two or more meanings. For example, when the oracle at Delphi told Croesus that if he waged war on Cyrus he would destroy a great empire, Croesus thought the oracle meant his enemys empire. In fact, the empire Croesus destroyed by going to war was his own 6. analogy- A comparison of two different things that are alike in some way (see metaphor and simile). Analogy is the comparison of two pairs which have theRead MoreAmerican Literature11652 Words   |  47 PagesEffect: ï‚ · ï‚ · ï‚ · ï‚ · patriotism grows instills pride creates common agreement about issues shows differences between Americans and Europeans Historical Context: ï‚ · ï‚ · tells readers how to interpret what they are reading to encourage Revolutionary War support instructive in values American Renaissance/Romanticism period of American Literature - 18001855 Content: ï‚ · ï‚ · ï‚ · ï‚ · ï‚ · ï‚ · writing that can be interpreted 2 ways, on the surface for common folk or in depth for philosophical readers sense