The Iliad 3 Essay Research Paper The — страница 3

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his vessel with piles of gold and bronze and choose for himself twenty of the finest Trojan women and I will honor him as if he were my own son, Orestes (105; Book 9). Yet, Achilles refuses all of these temptations because he knows the only way he will return to battle is for King Agamemnon if he swallows his pride and gives Achilles a personal apology. In Book XVI, Achilles reaches the stage of abyss during his heroic journey. Patroclos pleads with Achilles to let him wear his armor so that the Achians might have a chance. Patroclos cries that the Achians will crumble if you will not save [our] nation from destruction (188; Book XVI). After some debate Achilles gives in and grants Patroclos permission to use his armor in battle, but soon Apollo and Hector kill Patroclos.

Achilles is stunned by this event and has a moment of revolution. At this moment Achilles realizes that his friends honor is more important than his own and determines that he needs to return to the fighting in order to avenge Patroclos death. Once Achilles returns to battle he has completed the transformation phase of his heroic journey as well as the stage of atonement. Achilles has acted upon his decision to avenge Patroclos death and has given up on fulfilling his own honor in hopes to regain that of his friends by killing Hector. The boon that Achilles will receive for completing his journey is the new armor. Achilles return to battle symbolizes his return to society with his enlightened mind and new found determination. All of the events that Achilles undergoes throughout

The Iliad are actually steps in completing one cycle of a heroic journey. However, the heroic journey is a cycle that is completed many times throughout a person s lifetime. Achilles is definitely the hero in the story of the Iliad because he is the character who underwent the greatest amount of change, and this great conjecture is only apparent to the reader because of the application of the circle to the important themes of the story. In society, the circle is considered to be a symbol of continuous motion. In literature these common concepts can be related to events and trends in the story to convey a much deeper thematic message. Therefore through the analysis of these relationships found in the text, it is easy to see that the importance of these relationships to convey

meaning is vast. With comparisons such as these, the reader can understand bigger picture that is being presented in the story. In Homer s The Iliad the concept of the circle is applied to multiple aspects of the story including the heroic cycle, the circle of life, and the heroic journey. Each of these cycles provides the reader with a more comprehensive knowledge and richer experience after they have finished the book. Without these relationships many of the underlying themes and morals that convey meaning may be lost and, therefore; The Iliad might not be considered one of the greatest pieces of classic literature, as it so rightfully deserves.