Iliad Rhetorical Analysis

Some of the most memorable stories are recorded in Homer’s epic tale, The Iliad. With action packed battles, heroes and mighty gods, these tales that are so incredibly detailed that the reader can picture the 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. Luckily, even she realized this end and urged Hector to fight on for his city illustrating that, Andromache’s role in the myth was more import than audiences remember.

Homer’s epic, The Iliad, highlights the influence and jurisdiction that beauty provides. The prizes and glory a man accumulates from war measure his power, while beauty measures a woman’s power. Since conquering a woman is the ultimate prize to a man, her beauty represents ultimate power. Though the beauty of mortal women has the power to turn men against each other, mortal women have no influence over this power and are instead objectified by men. Immortal women, however, have authority over their beauty and are able to control men with their power. Helen, on the other hand, though mortal, has the beauty of a goddess. Yet, Helen is bound by her fate to Paris, making her power obsolete. By presenting Helen’s hopeless power and supplying the reader with insight on her suffering through her thoughts, Helen is portrayed as a tragic hero.

Aristophanes exposes the dangers of Socratic philosophy and provides a direct solution in restoring customs and belief in Zeus. He does not directly critique Socratic philosophy on the grounds of truth, in fact he may even agree with some of the views of human nature, morality, and customs he attributes to Socrates. However, this does not stop him from portraying Socrates as a character who instead of being overwhelmingly concerned with objective truth is rather worried about winning arguments with the use of manipulative rhetoric. Aristophanes depicts Socrates as a sophist in this text and discredits him for his philosophy towards objective truth and the philosopher kings’ ability to identify it. Relativism is the view that truth and falsity

2. In Turn episode 7, Abraham attempts to defend his honor and portray himself as a gentleman by agreeing to a dual with captain Simcoe to settle their differences. After talking to Judge Woodhull and Major Hewlett, even though they were unaware of the dual. Abe went first and missed. Then it was Simcoe turn, just before Simcoe was about to shot, Anna and Judge Wooodhull interrupted, stopping Sicome from killing Abe. Abe still wanted to continue despite what Anna and he’s father was saying. He reloads his gun and points it at Simcoe. Abe wanted to prove that he was a gentleman and a man of his word. He wanted to follow through with his agreement being that they shook hands on it. He thinks about his son, friends and family, and lowers his gun.

To the American people of today, listening or watching the American President is an everyday occurrence and often does not merit a sideways glance from the public. To most people (including myself) not much thought goes into the preparation of political speeches. For most people it is just assumed that the speech writers for the president are just good writers and that they just convey the president’s intent with a little research. My goal is to relate to the audience in Young Scholars in Writing (YSW) what rhetorical qualities went into preparing the first fireside chat in 1933 and the effect it had on the text of the speech itself. I want to relate to my audience effective use of the rhetorical tools of kairos, Aristotle’s Textual appeal

Schools all around the country are reading books from the same author or from the same time. For example, Dover High School’s AP class is reading Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut Jr and Paradise Lost by John Milton. Our class has already read a Kurt Vonnegut Jr book, however, instead of reading a John Milton book, we are reading The Iliad. You’ll Grow Out of It  is a memoir about Jessi Klein’s transition from “girlhood” into “adulthood” though comical yet poignant real-life stories. If it was put into the curriculum, the books that we would be reading will be more diverse. This is because the book offers an insight into the mind of a woman. Which differs from the normal curriculum because all the books we read come from a male perspective or author. In 2010 The New York Times interviewed 365 authors, and of that group 83 percent were male while only 17 percent were female.

Thus did the Trojans watch. But Panic, comrade of blood-stained Rout, had taken fast hold of the Achaeans and their princes were all of them in despair. As when the two winds that blow from Thrace- the north and the northwest- spring up of a sudden and rouse the fury of the main- in a moment the dark waves uprear their heads and scatter their sea-wrack in all directions- even thus troubled were the hearts of the Achaeans.

The number 12 was central to Greek stories and Mythos. Examples of this are the 12 main deities, and Hercules’ 12 tasks. This number was also deeply relevant to the plot of the Iliad, and appears at almost every major plot point. The first appearance is the number of days until Zeus will return to Mount Olympus and Thetis can approach him with Achilles’ plea (1.449)—and the last is the number of days until they will resume war after the return of Hector’s body to his people (24.717). This gives the book another level of closure and symmetry, with the same amount of time passing as the story begins and ends.

In the beginning, Eris, the goddess of discord, cunningly left a deceitful apple engraved with “To the fairest” at the wedding of King Peleus. Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite all immediately clashed over this pseudo-gift. Towards the middle, the three goddesses (Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite) became weary of their argument and, spying young Paris, found an end to their bitter rivalry. Together, they presented the apple to the herder and bade him to pick she who most deserved the gift. Each goddess offered him something different- her own exchange gift- but in the end, Paris chose Aphrodite. The Goddess of Love won his favor by offering Paris a woman who far surpassed any other in sheer loveliness.

In the Iliad it is an interesting piece of literature, that gives the reader more than just a story, but also gives a sense of close connection with the story. One of the tools used in the book is the Epic Simile, which are sentences used to describe with more detail previous lines. This gives the reader a more intense point of view of the book. In many cases, those lines are described with lions representing the warriors that were fighting the many battles present in the Iliad. It is safe to say that the epic simile puts the reader in the book and adds even more drama to what is an Epic war.

The one main difference between the gods and mortals is that mortals can die, making it difficult for a man to become truly god-like. Homer makes no mention of the afterlife in The Iliad, meaning that the only true way for a mortal to live on is through the remembrance of their life on earth. Many strive for immortality, but to achieve it, one must obtain Kleos, the glory a man receives in war. If a hero like Achilles or Hector were mentioned to someone today, chances are, the person would know who the hero was. This is how immortality through Kleos works. When the poet Gaius Valerius Catullus describes how he wishes for his poems to last for many generations, even when he has long since passed, he is explaining that, through his poetry,

The eruption of the Trojan War might stand as one of the most relevant events in Greek mythology. A raging war between kings and gods alike shed blood bath, eventually bringing Troy to a crumble. Was the war intended to be a battle between the mortals? Throughout the epic of Homer’s The Iliad, the gods take on human characteristics, allowing their feelings guide them, intervening, through the war.

A major theme seen in Homer’s The Iliad is one of war and the politics that play a role in it. A key part of politics is the interactions that take place between people when determining policies and courses of action. The focus of this paper will be on the interactions between the Greek leaders and the army in the opening of book 2. There will be a section where I will analyze these interactions and provide evidence showing what degree I believe the Greek leaders care about their army. The way that the leaders negotiate with one another also plays an important role in the war and story.

The Iliad, Book I, Lines 1-14 Homer Achilles’ wrath, to Greece the direful spring Of woes unnumber’d, heavenly goddess, sing! That wrath which hurl’d to Pluto’s gloomy reign The souls of mighty chiefs untimely slain; Whose limbs unburied on the naked shore, Devouring dogs and hungry vultures tore.

In the first part of the Iliad, some details of war are presented, what continues happening while Héctor enters Troy. Menelaus kills Adrasto, although he almost did not do it, since he was moved by his plea and was going to accept the reward that Adrasto offered him, but Agamemnon, king of men, arrived and persuaded him to kill him. While Nestor encouraged the Achaeans with such words that they excited all the courage and strength. Helene Priamida came to Aeneas and Hector to tell them to revive all his troops and Hector to go to the city to give instructions to him. Helene Priamida came to Aeneas and Hector to tell them to revive all their troops and Hector to go to the city and comply with what was said.