Essay/Term paper: Structural levels of the iliad

Essay, term paper, research paper:  College Term Papers

Structural Levels of The Iliad


Wars are often very complex in nature and are fought for many diverse
reasons. The school boy may fight in order to get money for college, the
patriot may fight to bring life, liberty and justice to some poor soul, and a
coward may fight because he was drafted by force. In the Iliad, powerful gods,
great nations, and heroic people all fight for many different reasons. This
wide variety of fighting results in unique situations, problems, and structural
levels to the war. These structural levels are of special interest, because
they help define the consequences and outcomes of the war. The universal war of
the gods, social war of the Greeks and Trojans, and the private war of Achilles'
honor are structural levels of the Trojan war. These structural levels seem to
influence and shape each other in many distinct ways.
The universal war between the gods over the apple of discord
consequently lead to the social war between the Greeks and the Trojans. For
example, Aphrodite promised Paris that he could have the most beautiful woman in
the world if he gave the apple of discord to her. He did so, and decided to go
and get his reward. Unfortunately, the most beautiful women in the world, Helen,
was the wife of the Greek King Menelaus. The abduction of Helen by Paris lead
to the Trojan war. The promise made by Aphrodite to Paris in order to get the
apple of discord resulted in the abduction of Helen and the start of the Trojan
war. Therefore, Aphrodite, in the universal war, set the stage for the social
war of the Greeks and Trojans. Another time the gods influenced the social war
was when the Greeks and Trojans had a one on one battle to decide the outcome of
the war. The Greeks chose King Menelaus and the Trojans chose Paris. Menelaus
and Paris fought, but when Paris was about to be killed he was whisked off by
Aphrodite. Both sides agreed that the Greeks had won. Zeus decided to start
the war again, and he sent Athena to trick Pandaros to shoot at Menelaus,
breaking the truce between the Greeks and Trojans. This intervention by Zeus
lead to another outbreak of war between the Greeks and Trojans. The universal
war of Athena and Hera versus Aphrodite had Zeus so caught up in it that he did
not want the social war to end. A god in the universal war once again created
the social war between Troy and Greece. The universal war was the cause of the
social war of Greece and Troy.
The private war of Achilles' honor was an outgrowth of the social war
between the Greeks and the Trojans. During the social war, Apollo grew angry at
the Greeks for the abuse of his priest, Chryses. The Greeks had abused Chryses
when Agamemnon took Chryses' daughter, Chryseis, during the raid of the town
of Thebes. Agamemnon wanted a replacement for Chryseis, so he took Briseis from
Achilles. This deeply wounded the honor of Achilles, and he decided to stop
fighting in the social war until his honor was amended. Achilles was angered by
an event that occurred in the social war, thus providing the need for Achilles
to reclaim his honor. The social war was the cause of the private war of
Achilles. The opportunity for Achilles to carry out his private war came after
the death of his comrade, Patroclus. Because Achilles would not fight,
Patroclus asked him if he could wear his armor. Patroclus thought that this
might make others think he was Achilles, so that the Trojans might be scared and
the Greeks might gain courage and confidence. Achilles consented, and during
the ensuing battle Patroclus was killed by Hector. Achilles now had a way to go
out and fight gloriously, in order to avenge Patroclus' death as well as to mend
his honor that was so wounded by the ransack of Briseis. The social war then
influenced the outcome of the private war of Achilles. Events that occurred in
the social war created and influence the private war of Achilles to reclaim his
honor.
The universal war of the gods was deeply impacted by the private war of
Achilles. In some instances, the private war of Achilles fueled the universal
war of the gods. An example of this was when Achilles was killing Trojans left
and right in the river Scamandros. All of the dead Trojans in the water made
Scamandros angry, and he chased Achilles with a huge wave. Athena and Posiedon
both saw this, and they called on Hephaistos to burn the river with fire. This
massive conflict between the gods was fueled by the result of Achilles' private
war. Essentially, Achilles' private war was a source of major conflict between
the gods. The universal war of the gods was also resolved by some of the effects
of Achilles' private war. The universal war occurred mainly because Hera and
Athena felt that Aphrodite should not have received the apple of discord. This
resulted in a symbolic social war that mirrored the war of the gods. Achilles'
effect on the social war, during his private conquest, caused the social war to
come to an victorious end for the Greeks. In a way, the victory of the Greeks
was a reward to Hera and Athena, in order to compensate for the fact that
Aphrodite had received the coveted apple of discord. The private war of
Achilles swayed the social war to the extent that it effected the resolution of
the universal war of the gods. The private war of Achilles motivated the gods to
fight and to resolve the universal war.
All of these examples show the numerous consequences and influences that
the structural levels of the Trojan war had on each other and the outcome of the
Trojan war. The universal war of the gods over the apple of discord created the
social war between the Greeks and Trojans. This social war lead to Achilles'
war to redeem his honor. Achilles' private conquest then had a enormous effect
in giving the Greeks victory of the social war. The resolution of the social
war eventually lead to peace on Mt. Olympus. The three structural levels of the
Iliad thus created, carried out, and concluded the Trojan war.