Homer as One of the Greatest Poets - Essay Example

?Homer’s Heroic Homer is one of the greatest poets of not only ancient Greece, but also he is one of the most influential and powerful the world has ever produced. Not only this that his heroic characters in Iliad and Odyssey maintained distinguished place in the list of most dominant protagonists of the global literature, but also the portrayal of the same characters had been imitated for the last several centuries. It is this great blind poet of ancient times i.e. Homer that gave new meanings to the stupendous heroic deeds through producing thrilling and exciting adventures and challenges accomplished and performed by his heroes. On the one side, his great hero Odysseus appears to be fighting against the mighty kings, ruthless monsters, cunning intriguers and cruel hypocrites; and on the other side, his extra brilliant, prettiest and most delicate heroines appear to be expressing unabated emotions of love and affection through gorgeous coquettes and alluring mannerism. Consequently, the outstanding performance made Achilles, Hector and Odysseus make them heroes of all ages and all regions of the globe at large. One of the most distinguished characteristics of the Homeric heroic code includes that the heroes contain exceptional physical strength and mental capabilities. Hence, even humans, they enjoy some traits attributed to Greek gods. Thus, Achilles, Hector, Odysseus, Patroclus, Ithaca and others perform such marvelous deeds that arouse astounding wonder and invite shocking surprise of the readers and spectators alike. Hence, Iliad serves as “an expansive poem of enormous scope, composed in an archaic and superbly elevated style of language, concerning the wondrous deeds of heroes; these deeds were meant to arouse a sense of wonder or marvel is difficult for the modern mind to comprehend, especially in a time when even such words as wonderful or marvelous have lost much of their evocative power.” (Nagy, 1991) Furthermore, another unique trait of them is that they never surrender on the way to gravest challenges, either they are being challenged by the enormous monsters, or fighting against the floods, famine and any other natural calamity. For instance, Hector did not the prophecy of his being killed in the battlefield, and left his beautiful wife Andromache and innocent son Astyanax in order to display gallant deeds against the foes of his Trojan nation fighting under the commandership of Greek Achilles. Hence, he strictly observes pride, prestige and honor in his behavior, and his feet never waver or tremble even when he was at the verge of his inevitable death at Achilles’ hands in the war. The same was the case with Achilles himself, who forgot his resentment he had maintained for Agamemnon because of his injustice towards him in the case of Chryseis, the Trojan lady, who became captive during the war and was taken by Achilles but was snatched by Agamemnon. Thus he displayed unconditional and unflinching dedication and valor during the Trojan War and killed Hector in the battlefield. "Oh Father Zeus, people say for wisdom you exceed all others, men and gods alike. Yet all this comes from you. . . ." (13.744) [13.631] Similarly, Odyssey concentrates upon the long and challenging journey of Odysseus, which was meant to return home in order to reunite with his wife, son and father. During the journey, he has to undergo severe trials and hurdles on his way, and every time he manages to crush these hurdles under the chariot wheels of his astounding determination, extraordinary commandership and exemplary intellect. He loses his companions in the Island of Cicones and is captured in a cave in the Island of Cyclopes. The race of cannibals stops him from proceeding on the one hand, and bad winds prove unfavorable towards Odysseus on the other. In addition, he has to spend many years as captive of the goddess Calypso. But he remains as firm as rock in the face of hardships and obstacles and subsequently comes out successful and triumphant in all ordeals and trials. Hence, he is successful in reaching his land and rejoining his family after performing heroic deeds and showing gallantry to his opponents in his city as well as outside his state. In the nutshell, Homer’s message appears to be universal, where the principles of dynamic leadership, unique intellect, matchless courage and superb valor have been portrayed. In addition, Odysseus’s son Telemachos is also a great hero portrayed by Homer. He also shows great determination while his will power to discover the whereabouts of his father. He even pays deaf ear to her mother’s advice regarding his venture and consequently meets problems and difficulties on his way. Telemachos is the representative of the characters of future literatures, and even giant playwrights like Marlow, Shakespeare and others imitate this character in order to portray the ambitious and determined roles. His interaction with Athena is highly beneficial in respect of discovering the identity of his father is really challenging. Homer’s talent is not confined to portraying male characters only. Rather, his female characters are also powerful and dominating ones. The same is the case with heroic personality Athena. Athena is an important figure among the ancient Greeks, whom Homer views as an outstanding beauty, superb intellect and brilliant thoughtfulness. Though Athena is the goddess of war, according to the ancient Greek mythology, yet she won great popularity and respect because of her exceptional wisdom, foresight, vigilance and sacrifices rendered to various gods and goddesses particularly during the course of war. She was the confidant of her father Zeus, the king of the gods and goddesses, and assisted and advised her throughout his campaigns in both war and peace. As Zeus mocked them, they [Athena and Hera] huddled together to continue plotting Troy's destruction" (Iliad, line 146). Homer states him as the grey-eyed goddess in his epic. Athena maintains deep feelings of kindness for Odysseus, the king of Ithaca and the protagonist of Homer’s great epic Iliad, and supported him time and again particularly during his campaigns in the battlefield. Athena had developed deep attachment for Odysseus and sought the permission of her father Zeus, according to the Iliad, to provide Odysseus with unconditional support and services. She undergoes hunger, thirst and pains in order to help her beloved King Odysseus accomplish his tasks of winning the battles and overcome his rivals and enemies. Not only this that she protected the great warrior, from calamities, disturbances and problems, during his war campaigns, but also, she guises herself many times in the form of a bird, a shepherd boy, a little lass and others to help him reach his destination safe and sound. Her valuable counsels turned the tables in favor of her beloved and the opponents had to lick the dust during bouts and fights. Her utter feelings of unabated, unwavering and unconditional love and affection have been described by Homer in his Iliad: “Two of a kind, we are, contrivers, both. Of all the men alive you are the best in plots and story telling. My own fame is for wisdom among the gods - deceptions too. Would even you have guessed that I am Pallas Athena, daughter of Zeus, I that am always with you in times of trial, a shield to you in battle” ((Odyssey line 240: quoted in richeast.org). The depiction made by Homer in his Iliad is really matchless and remarkable. Even Macbeth, Othello and Hamlet cannot mitigate the charm and magnificence of these characters. Somehow, his character is not as tragic and miserable as Sophocles has depicted Oedipus in his “Oedipus the King. But misery and tragic end of such kind has never been the trait of Homer. On the contrary, his characters are proud, honorable and ambitious, which contain sublime objectives and iron will and do not pretend weakness of any type, as Hamlet adopts after the disclosure made by the ghost of his father. In addition, Homer’s character face opposition in the battlefield on the one hand, and also become victim of conspiracies and intrigues in the royal courts. But when the time comes to render services for the national cause, these characters forget their differences with one another, and give priority to the national cause. It is therefore the people have waivered these characters by giving them the status of national heroes as a tribute to their sacrifices, bravery and courage. “The Odyssey is the most extended narrative about immortalization. But it happens only on a symbolic level. The Odyssey makes it clear that Odysseus will have to die, even if it happens in a prophecy, beyond the framework of the surface narrative.” (Nagy, 1991) References: Graves, Robert. The Greek Mythology Penguin Books Volume I 1960 133-182 Homer. The Iliad. (Retrieved from http://library.thinkquest.org/19300/data/etexts.htm) Nagy, Gregory 1991 Heroes and the Homeric Iliad Quoted in http://www.uh.edu/~cldue/texts/introductiontohomer.html http://records.viu.ca/~johnstoi/homer/iliadessay4.htm Read More