The Iliads Ending Essay - 895 Words

Homers Iliad is commonly understood as an epic about the Trojan War, but its meaning goes deeper than that. The Iliad is not only a story of the evolution of Achilleus persona, but at times it is an anti-war epic as well. The final book proposes many questions to the reader. Why not end with the killing of Hektor? Most stories of war conclude with the triumphant victory of good over evil, but in the Iliad, the final thoughts are inclined to the mourning of the defeated Hektor, which accentuates the fact that good has not triumphed over evil, but simply Achilleus triumphed over Hektor. Ending with the mourning of Hektor also brings to center stage for the first time the human side of war and the harsh aftermath of it. We see that war†¦show more content†¦The pain is exemplified even further with the speech of Andromache, wife of Hektor. With this we see for one of the first times the importance of family to the Trojans. Andromaches suffering is extreme and harsh. When she say s, But for me passing all others is left the bitterness and the pain, it shows the importance of the husband to the wife. This speech is very pivotal in depicting the bleak future for the widows whose husbands left them behind to die in search of honor. Now that the husbands are dead, the once noble wives and children must go work as slaves, once their city is sacked. Andromache and Astyanax are doomed to lead a wretched life, because their protector is dead. Such is the nature of war. Were Homer to end with the killing of Hektor and Achilleus triumph, the melancholy aftermath would be totally neglected. Another effect of Homers final book of the Iliad is it affirms the thought that neither Achilleus nor Hektor are the bad guy, but both are worthy of glory and praise. A fair generalization about heroic stories is that the good guy always win. It is clichà ©, and very common, but it is a fact. The Iliad goes beyond this commonplace, by pitting two forces against each other, none of which can be characterized as the good guy or the bad guy. While the entire poem is about the glory of Achilleus and his god-like superiority to all men, Hektor needs someShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Homer s The Iliad 966 Words   |  4 Pagesthe battles like they were happening right in front of them. The Iliad’s legends are so infamous that even after hundreds of years they are still being told in the 21st century. Between the fighting and the glory however, there are scenes with the hero’s wives and families pleading with their loved ones to cut these stories short. If the hero of Troy, Hector, would have listened to his wife, Andromache, there would be no dramatic ending to his life and he would have lived out his days in shame. LuckilyRead MoreSimilarities Between The And The Epic Of The Iliad1570 Words   |  7 Pagesnot staying true to portraying the epic poem, Troy was presented in an interesting way. In the movie, thousands of warriors and ships were shown along with the special effects and graphics which gave the movie an authentic feel. For instance, the Iliad’s fighting and battle scenes are incredibly gruesome such as†Patroclus put his heel; on Sarpedon’s chest and pulled out his spear. ;The lungs came out with it, and Sarpedon’s life.† This image would be close to impossible to display on a movie theater