Rage. Rage is the first word that starts the Iliad (1.1), and as beginnings go it is a substantial foundation for the story told, however leaving the question "Which Rage?". The rage of Achilles at the death of Patrokles, the rage of Menelaus at the theft of Helen, these are the conventional, simple answers. There is, however, one more place that this rage can be found; namely, the rage had for the absurdity and futility of war. There are those that disagree, but there is much evidence to be found supporting the theory of Homers' disdain for war, mainly in the Iliad, but also other Greek and Homeric sources.
[...] The destruction of that great city is also an example of Homer describing the futility of war, just as Coppola did with the destruction of Kurtz' tribe. Troy is destroyed utterly ( 14.282 Odyssey) but also unconventionally, with the trick of the Trojan horse. Through the culture of present era, this clever trick is held as brilliant and heroic, but here is where the first difference in our culture and ancient culture appears. Strategies, trick maneuvers and ambushes were all looked on with disdain as vehemently dishonorable acts. [...]
[...] Nearly every single major character shown to glorify war and death speaks out against the Trojan assault or other forms of war at points during the epic cycle, some even multiple times just during the Iliad itself. Whether these heroes are showing these feelings out of empathy or self-pity, or even mutual humanity, all of their words are coming not just from their character but must be seen also as ultimately coming from Homer himself. Menelaus was the cause for war, if not its entirety than at least he was the spark for action against the wealthy city of Troy. [...]
[...] The evidence here proves that Homer had no intent on glorifying war and may have been using The Iliad to discuss his problems with war, but the effect on the entirety of the reading doesn't stop at a simple anti-war protest. Using this thesis it is possible to read the entire Iliad as a critique on heroic and stately values of Ancient Greece and opens up other interesting theories. Were there real historical events Homer intended to comment on? If even one work of the epic cycle could be read as specific commentary on actual history, the entire thing may be littered with [...]
[...] Willard's mission was to kill Kurtz, by himself, in total secrecy ergo by resorting to the air strike Willard's mission was not only completed disobeying orders, or dishonorably, but also rendering the death of Kurtz futile. This has absolutely nothing to do with the Iliad directly literal but summed together indirectly these events portray the gruesome futility of the war and of the mission and each has its own parallel in Homer's Epic. Hector and Achilles stature as characters in the Iliad can be easily compared to the stature of Kurtz and Willard, and these too both die during Homer's telling of the Trojan War, although Achilles death only told of and not played out. [...]
APA Style reference
For your bibliographyOnline reading
with our online readerContent validated
by our reading committee
