The Iliad The Violent Mentality
The Iliad: The Violent Mentality
The Birth of the Violent Mentality
I must admit that Homer is a gifted writer. Homer?s selection of words and rhythmic poetry attract and take control of readers? minds. The attractiveness of Homer?s writing places his readers in a state of vulnerability. Readers may learn to accept principles that are not conducive to their intellectual or social well being. Should not this talent of writing be used to contribute to the progress or growth of worthwhile standards? In Homer?s epic The Iliad, war and death are littered throughout the entire piece. I believe that the Iliad is just another war story that promotes violence and has helped contribute to the violent and explosive social context that we live in today.
It seems impossible to go a single day without picking up a newspaper or watching the news that does not contain a violent incident. From Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, to the Palestinians clashing with Arabs in the Middle East, the fingers of violence stretch across cultural, political, and ethnic boundaries. White women clutch their purses as a black man walk past them on a street. People are afraid to drive their cars in certain neighborhoods in fear of someone stealing their car while the driver is still inside. Middle school and high school students are arriving at school with guns prepared to kill anyone. Violence has spread like a disease throughout American culture.
American culture was birthed out of the western civilization. The ancient Greeks are seen as the forefathers of our culture. Their mathematics, science and philosophy are seen as the origins of modern civilization. The ancient Greek culture had a mentality or paradigm that exalted beauty, brains, and power. Homer?s writing is exalted as the standard for ancient Greek literature. His epics The Iliad and The Odyssey are considered classics in western society. Why are his writings regarded as the standard for modern writing? Because Homer?s writings support the views and perceptions that ancient Greeks held. And since American culture is an offspring of ancient Greek culture, Americans hold the same views as ancient Greeks. Power meant everything to ancient Greeks. The ability to control people mentally, spiritually, financially, and physically motivated the Greeks to spread their empire...