Discuss the value of Homers Iliad for the historian - Essay Example

lliad by Homer lliad is an epic Homeric poem that reveals the story of the Trojan War and the battle of Troy, an event in Greek mythology when the gods still visited mortals. It tells of Achilles and his immense fury towards King Agamemnon (Bryant, 6). In an attempt to get information to get from the poem, historians experience numerous challenges. First, the poem was written in Fitzgerald language when alphabetic writing was introduced to Greece, it therefore becomes hard to correctly translate the poem using modern alphabets as this leads to lose of originality.

Second, in narration of the poem, there exist inconsistencies pertaining to the authorship of it. For instance, in book five of the lliad, Pylaimenes who happened to be the king of the Paphlagonians is killed. However, in book thirteen, he reappears mourning the death of his son. This is controversial to historians. Lastly, there exist different and varying interpretations given to particular passages of the lliad resulting into several theories about how the poem was written (Bryant, 21). The poem teaches that, in Greek traditional culture, god and goddesses are literary figures that are involved in man’s life, predicting his future and regularly impeding any endeavor for man to entirely forge his own life.

Finally, characteristics of warriors as being courageous and fearless, is brought out. As to conclusion, Homer lived during the Greek Iron Age. However, throughout the lliad, he has made many remarks about weapons being made out of bronze. This clearly shows that the lliad took place during the Bronze Age, which was approximately in 13th century BC. Works CitedBryant, William Cullen. The lliad of Homer. Boston, N.Y.: Houghton Mifflin, 1898. Print.