The Achaean Cultural Framework - Literature review Example

Finding Common Ground in the Book “The Iliad” Translated by Robert Fagles The Iliad is a poem concerned with the Trojan War and more specifically the character of a warrior named Achilles. It details how the rage began, the way it crippled the Achaean Army and how it was finally directed towards their opponents, the Trojans (Fagles 77). It is Achilles’ rage as the greatest warrior in the conflict that provides the epic of the background while the Trojan War itself provides the subject matter. The poem does not describe the origins or the end of the war on which Achilles’ wrath is framed, but it comprehensively portrays the way his wrath is inextricably linked to the war. Although Achilles withdraws from the Trojan War, he ultimately has more in common than one can see from the first glance. By looking at his values of honor, his physical force and his finding favor with the gods, we can see that Achilles shares common ground with his culture. This essay will discuss the common ground he shares with his culture. The Achaean cultural framework was predominantly built upon heroic honor and especially the concepts of conflict, rivalry, alienation and reconciliation, as can be deduced from the poem’s key themes. Hence, they were known for their culture of cherishing success in war and their leader, Agamemnon, was characterized by his temper and pride. When they gained battle victory against the Trojans, he and his leading warrior, Achilles, rewarded themselves with beautiful girls and that was the first display of their values and honor associated with war. However, when the gods sent death to the Achaeans, a seer said that Agamemnon must return his beautiful girl, Chryseis, to appease the gods. He reluctantly agreed to give back Chryseis but also demanded that Achilles compensates him with the girl he had taken as his war plunder. Also known for temper and pride, Achilles felt insulted by Agamemnon’s demands and withdrew from the war. This was typically a manifestation of the value of alienation rather than being insulted and belittled by another man. The conflict resulting from Agamemnon’s demands provoked Achilles’ sense of honor and eventual self-alienation. This value is also contrasted and essentially emphasized by the manner in which Hector, his Trojan counterpart, became more aggressive in his attacks against the Achaeans once he learnt of Achilles’ withdrawal. While he has set himself apart from his own community due to the humiliation his leader has brought to him, Achilles learns of how Hector is slaughtering his tribesmen. He is both saddened and angered by the way Hector is killing his people and his sense of honor does not allow him to hide his anger any longer. Here, he again shows how he shares a common ground with his culture by reconciling with Agamemnon and agrees to fight for the Achaeans once again, which leads to his reintegration into the army. When one considers these three concepts of conflict, alienation and reconciliation as portrayed by Achilles, it also becomes evident that the poem is equally centered on character development based on culture as much as it is on war. War is predominantly documented in The Iliad, describing the armor and battle dress of the warriors and the chariots they use to get into battle. However, it is the aspect of the main character sharing a common ground with his culture that develops the background on which the theme of war is built. The Iliad portrays the suffering and loss caused by war, but Achilles’ wrath as a cultural value instigated by his sense of honor plays a significant part in the way the war progresses or changes. As the poem demonstrates, honor for the Greek existed on varying cultural levels and Achilles shared a common ground with them by first pursuing excellence by winning battles for his people. Then, he also showed nobility by treating others with humanity especially by reconciling with his leader for the sake of the Achaean people. The culture of nobility is even further shown by Achilles’ honor and personal regard for Patroclus, his peer who was killed in war by Hector. This is seen as his allegiance to the culture that honor and regard for others are necessary components for the society’s proper functioning. In this sense, the society had to be restored to proper functioning by stopping the killings caused by Hector. It becomes more apparent that the sharing of common ground with culture is used to develop the theme of war when Achilles seeks accomplishments in life as a courageous and victorious warrior. Ideally, his wrath is based on all the cultural values the Achaeans could use to achieve glory and fame. The Iliad portrays Achilles as a warrior that finds favor with the gods. Honor has already been shown to be a highly sought cultural value among the Achaeans, albeit through the controversial means of strife as demonstrated by war, conflict and rivalry. Essentially, the poem personifies the concept of strife in the god Athena and goddess Eris in a way that shows life for the Achaeans was based on the notion of strife and havoc. On the other hand, gods that avoided aggression, such as Artemis and Aphrodite, were mocked (Fagles 96). In sharing common ground with this culture, Achilles refused the quiet and calm life of staying at home and opted to join the war. The culture glorifies strife and portrays its avoidance as avoiding life and a demonstration of skewed priorities, fear and idleness. By critically analysing the theme of war, Achilles’ character and the Achaean cultural values, one can see that the poem attempts to communicate the idea that one could achieve a good life by reconciling the factors that led to strife. On the other hand, the personalities, nature and war in the poem were comprised of elements of strife that could not be reconciled completely, presenting more elemental aspects of strife that mostly led to evil. Once again, in showing how Achilles shared a common ground with his culture, these two types of strife were involved in his wrath. The aspect of strife can also be linked to the culture of the Achaeans and how Achilles shares a common ground with through the manner in which he is glorified and Paris is mocked. For example, on one hand, Achilles gains eternal glory when he openly rejects a dull and comfortable life at home in favor of joining the war. On the other hand Paris, who dislikes fighting and, consequently, is not only scorned by his lover but also family. Such judgment is encouraged by the poem and Achilles is in resonance with it through the fact that he decided to go back to war even after abandoning it for reasons associated with pride. It can be concluded that The Iliad is a poem that largely celebrates the culture of conflict, rivalry, alienation and reconciliation and glorifies warriors who slay their enemies on the battlefield. A clear indication that Achilles shares a common ground with this culture is the manner in which he seeks glory and is celebrated as the greatest warrior, glorifying him more than Agamemnon, the leader. To point out that strife is neither good nor bad but a “necessary evil” and should be viewed as destiny, Achilles says that irrespective of being cowardly or brave, all men will eventually come to the same death. Further, there is no point in the poem that the reader is prompted to question or doubt the legitimacy of the strife as a cultural value that leads to honor. It is not implied at any point that war is only a means of wasting human life but rather, each of the warring sides is depicted as justifiably being in the war. Works Cited Fagles, Robert. The Iliad: Translated by Robert Fagles. New York: Penguin Books, 1990. Print. Read More