Term Paper on "Homer Is the Famous Greek Poet"

Term Paper 5 pages (1584 words) Sources: 4 Style: APA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Homer is the famous Greek poet and author who is believed to have written two famous plays entitled "Iliad" and "Odyssey."

Both of this plays are very famous which have transcend over time and characterization plus the setting and the plot itself can still cater to almost, if not, all readers. Both of the plays reflect the development of Western Civilization.

Ironic as it may sound, but it is a fact that Greeks, such as Homer, had a profound effect to the mere development of Western Civilization and culture. Just like Homer, who had made his contributions felt through the use of his carefully and meaningfully written plays or novels.

Many of the characteristics elements of the Western culture were sourced out from the Classical Greece (Mackay, 1999). It is the Greeks who initiated and/or mastered democracy, philosophy, tragedy, poetry both epic and lyric, history writing, aesthetic sensibilities specifically in architecture, sports and ideals of athletic competition, judiciary and labor system and a lot, lot more (http://www.teach12.com/ttc/Assets/courseDescriptions/323.asp.,1999; par 1).

This is the reason why the Greeks are being respected by many up to this modern time.

Greek's Influences to Western Civilization through Homer's Literature

On Education

The Greeks have given tremendous impact on the style and system of education in the Western civilization. Greeks started the use of alphabet that is now being used by the all of the western populace. Greek philosophers also initialized the idea of writing various forms of literature - such as poems and epics - and putting up a play. Various researches revealed that Greeks are a firm believer that there is a pattern to the development of human affairs, and that if one studies the story of that development one can learn from the past and apply that learning to human affairs, hence the start of history writing (Mackay, 1999).

Just like any other classical Greek poetry, the setting of Homer's novel, particularly Iliad, is based on the ancient belief or history. The novel, as what Homer strategically planned to do, uses vivid descriptive words that any ready could imagine exactly what is being discussed in the novel. Moreover, the very theme of "Iliad" is one of the most common themes used in classical Greek poetry. It talks about events that happen in real life. It talks about religion and how people believe in the words of God. It talks about doing good deeds to receive good karma in return - a typical Greek literature theme that had been widely used as the development of Western Civilization started.

On Form of Governance

The idea of a democratic governance also started from the Greek civilization. The Greeks were the first to enjoin the "commoners" or the "common" people in electing a leader for their government. It is evident that even today that this form of governance and electoral process is still being used, especially in the Western civilization. The Western world may have modified the process a bit, but the very idea undeniably came from the Greek civilization.

Greek's judicial system and processes was also the foundation of that in the Western world. Greeks were the first one to have a "court" trial with an actual jury or juries who belong to the common populace.

People from the Western civilization found this to be fair and morally upright, hence they started to follow the process.

By reading Homer's "Iliad," it can be reflected that the characters used in the novel showed the form of governance of the Greeks that was followed in the Western Civilization. More so, Homer's "Iliad" gives the reader a vivid description of the kind of people a certain society of government normally has. It then shows that the Greeks' influences run not only on the form of governance, but also on the kind of thinking that people in the Western Civilization has.

Characters of Iliad

Achilles

Achilles is known for his superhuman strength and close relationship with the gods. He has all the marks of a great warrior, and indeed proves the mightiest man in the Achaean army (Homer, 1998), but his deep-seated character flaws constantly impede his ability to act with nobility and integrity. But despite all these, he is also considered as a not so heroic being in the land for he maintains one negative attitude. He cannot control his pride or the rage that surges up when that pride is wounded. This characteristic poisons him that he abandons his comrades and even prays that the Trojans will slaughter them. Achilles is driven primarily by a deep desire for glory. He is willing to sacrifice everything else so that his name will be remembered.

As the story continues, bloodlust, fury, and pride continue to consume Achilles. He mercilessly attack his opponents, shamelessly takes on the river Xanthus, dishonorably desecrates the body of Hector, and savagely sacrifices twelve Trojan men at the funeral of Patroclus. He does not relent in this brutality until the final book of the epic, when King Priam, begging for the return of Hector's sullied corpse, appeals to Achilles' memory of his father, Peleus (Homer, 1998).

All these Achilles' acts give him not glory but shame. This resulted for him not being fully honored by his fellowmen but rather, a feeling of guilt in the end for the lives he has sacrificed just because his pride and ego was slightly injured by some.

Agamemnon

Meanwhile, Agamemnon has a slight resemblance to Achilles. Achilles decision making process and impulsive characteristics are very muck alike with that of Agamemnon. Like for example when Agamemnon's insulting demand that Achilles relinquish his war prize, Briseis, causes Achilles to withdraw angrily from battle, the suffering that results for the Greek army owe as much to Agamemnon's stubbornness as to that of Achilles (Homer, 1998).

The difference between these two is the fact that Agamemnon's pride makes him more arrogant than Achilles. While Achilles' pride sparkles up after it is injured, Agamemnon uses every opportunity to make others feel the effects of his. He is always expecting to get the largest portions of the plunder, even though he takes the fewest risks in battle. Also, he keeps on insisting to be the leader of the army despite the fact that he is younger than his brother Menelaus. Agamemnon also differs from Achilles in his appreciation of subtlety. If Achilles is known for being firm and devoted to those who love him but vicious to those who do him harm, Agamemnon is only concerned with himself and he can manipulate people and situations for his own benefit. He does not give his full trust to his troops, he demonstrates a deft ability to keep himself and others under control (Homer, 1998).

Hector

Hector is the mightiest warrior in the Trojan army. He is the first and the only Trojan to set fire to an Achaean ship. But, like the other two characters analyzed above, Hector also maintains attitude which ordinary people would never be proud of. He demonstrates a certain cowardice when he flees Great Ajax. He is able to recover his courage only after receiving the insults of his comrades. Moreover, he can also become emotionally carried thereby enable him to treat other people with rash cruelty. He also has the tendency to do foolish judgments like when he ordered the Trojans to camp outside Troy's walls the night before Achilles returns to battle, thus causing a crucial downfall the next day (Homer, 1998).

Clearly, the characters and personalities that Homer used in "Iliad" are reflections of the kind of people that the western Civilization has. Brave, courageous, dominant, God-fearing, leaders, warriors and much more are just some of the human attributes that the people of Western Civilization learned from the ancient Greeks literature like Homer's Iliad.

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