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World Civilization I (HIST 111)
Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana
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The Importance of Homer in Ancient Greek History
Dylan Wilson
Hist 111 World Civilizations
Jeffery David Ewen
December 9, 2018
The period of chaos and extreme instability in the ancient Mycenaean culture that marked the transition from the Mycenaean civilizations of Greek history to the first signs of Greek city states is known as the Greek Dark Age. During this period of time characterized by migrations of civilizations and the loss of written language, there were many captivating wars that were distinguished so much for their grandness and heroism that the stories were told repeatedly and often with great variety. Narrating these stories decades after they took place communicated the underlying values and ideals presented in them for civilizations to follow. More specifically when the societies returned, and reincorporated writing and literature, experienced story tellers titled “bards” would adapt the stories of old to writing that could be preserved and disseminated. One of the most important figures in ancient Greek literature was a legendary author named Homer. Homer’s composition of the stories told regarding the Trojan war, the Iliad and the Odyssey, gained widespread notoriety for both embodying the defining philosophical values held by the Greeks, as well as for providing one of the few remaining accounts of the events that may have transpired between the ancient city of Troy and the divided ethnic groups of ancient Greece. In analyzing the societal impact of Homer’s written epics, one can recognize how his writing influenced a collective identity for the Greeks as well as an explanation for why the Trojan war was such a defining moment for the creation of the Greek character. To understand the writings of Homer and the impact of these stories on Greek society, the history of the Dark Age and the political setup of their cities must be clarified. The fall of the Mycenaean civilization was mostly obscured from view due to an extreme scarcity of records from the time. The volatility of the era forced their focus to be placed on military efforts and farming, thus creating a period of illiteracy and poverty. Without written records or the creation of monuments, the culture of the period is unclear. What is known is that the individuals ran
orally. Early Bards began to combine stories into larger narratives which they would proceed to memorize with marked exactitude, while later bards recounting older and longer stories most likely began improvising. Homer was a renowned and successful bard who communicated the stories of the past in a series titled the Troy Cycle. The Troy Cycle was composed of ten epic poems that were related to the story of the Trojan war, however, unlike the Iliad and Odyssey the rest of the poems of the cycle did not survive and only exist in fragments and summaries. Each piece of the Cycle covered a small part of history, and it is believed that the two surviving epics are composed by several of the individual stories. At Homer’s time with the reemergence of writing, the composition was decided and the Homeric poems were committed to writing quickly. Although with time and diffusion of the stories extra details were added to the storyline, the general outline and character stick to the original compositions. In the Iliad by Homer, the story covers the events that transpire during the ninth year of war against the Trojans. Achilles, a great warrior withdrew from battle when Agamemnon the leader of the Greeks seized a slave girl Achilles was granted. This idea of leaving war and forsaking your legacy was very dishonorable in society at the time but it was a choice Achilles was presented with. His decision did not change until his close friend who remained in battle is killed by Hector a great Trojan hero. At this point, Achilles decides to delve into battle again in a direct attempt to fight Hector who he eventually kills. With this accomplishment, he drags Hector’s limp carcass around the walls of Troy as a celebration of his victory. Although Achilles’ story continues from here until his untimely death, the Iliad poses an important moral question that the future of the Greek civilizations had to contemplate. Achilles was given the choice of choosing to continue to fight in battle like a valiant warrior who will ultimately die but
in an honorable and famous way. Or in comparison, he could make the choice of living a long life without danger or tragedy, but also without any lasting fame or honor. Comparatively, in the Odyssey, the storyline focusses on the victory in Troy that the cunning and deceitful Odysseus performed by incorporating creative and logical tactics in warfare. His return home after the final Battle in Troy is delayed by ten years due to his irreverence for the many gods. For a majority of his time on his extended quest home, he spends time on island with the goddess Kalypso who turns out falling deeply in love with Odysseus. When granted leave he contemplates his option of staying with Kalypso, but ultimately decides to begin his quest to return to his wife in the country. Upon his journey, he meets many obstacles that try to derail his goal of returning home, one being the ghost of Achilles in the underworld who brings up another great moral question for the people of the time. Achilles, who’s story was told in the Iliad, brings up a question regarding the nature of mortal human life, and the value that is associated with life rather than death. More precisely, Achilles questions Odysseus on the value of an anonymous mortal life, which ties in the values of fame and honor in Greek society. Achilles is adamant about how after his death he recognized the value of living, and how even the life of someone who will be forgotten in the end is better than a glorious death. Similar to Achilles’ choice, Odysseus must choose between being given the chance to be a god by staying on the island with Kalypso, or returning to his simple mortal life where he can live happily and quietly. This situation poses the question that if offered the chance to be immortal who would still choose to live normally. This requires Odysseus to interpret for himself the advice of Achilles’ judgement in the value of the Greek ideal of “Kleos” or fame, that is associated with the bold acts performed by some to die in a justified way in comparison to a life that will be forgotten. Achilles’ conclusion in the Odyssey is that he would rather be alive and the most
attributes, and the unification of cultural identity by having several separate societies all related by a common narrative story.
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Course: World Civilization I (HIST 111)
University: Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana
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