The Development of My Morality

At the beginning of my second semester of junior year, my professor told my class that he wanted us to, “not only be able to analyze a great epic but to learn about ourselves and our morals”. Granted, I thought that was weird and I did not understand how analyzing a book was going to do that, but being twenty-one books in into the Iliad, I can say he was right, and that the Iliad has impacted how I feel about myself and my relationships.

The Iliad, as discussed before, is a narrative about tested love, fated deaths, and the tethering of relationships. The characters in the book have had internal and external conflicts with one another that will lead to the same conclusion, the Fall of Troy. I find it so interesting that I have seen myself in these characters, questioned my morals, and imagined what I would have done in their situations. As much as my class discusses these conflicts, these decisions are not easy ones to make. Many factors go into making game-changing decisions, but what you believe, your morals, stand at the heart of it.

I have learned that the Iliad is more than just a story, more than a folktale told by Greek poets for entertainment; it is a test of morality and a challenge of personal interpretation. Throughout my readings, I have found myself questioning my character and who I am as a person as it relates to the narrative’s mundane and divine obstacles. For instance, do I believe Achilles was justified in his anger? Can Agamemnon fix the trust he has broken? Was it Hector’s pride or the courage that got him killed? Do you think Patroclus has a martyr complex or was his downfall just bad luck? How strong is love in the face of death? Are all fates predestined or do we make it up as we go? How much divine influence do we have in our everyday lives? These questions are just examples of how I interpreted and challenge the Iliad to reflect upon myself.

Having these characters go through very similar incidents that we go through in real life brings a sense of humanity and humility to these characters. For example, I recall reading in Book 2 the selfish actions of Agamemnon and the relationship he strained between himself and Achilles. I do not identify with Agamemnon’s character, but I have identified with a few things he has done. In Books 4–9, we are shown the complexity of Agamemnon’s character. A prideful man, who can be bought to his knees at the fear of losing his brother; a selfish king, who dreads the outcome of this war he helps start. A strong man, willing to give up the fight to spare not only himself but the army forged by his demand. Only after his mistakes have been made, Agamemnon understands the consequences of his actions. We have all been there. We have all made mistakes that we thought we could never bounce back from, and in some cases never do, but we try our hardest to make amends where we can. Agamemnon’s character displays the behavior of someone who has never had to consider other’s needs above his own. Due to this mentality, he has lost his best warrior, his pride, and, soon, his life. There is a time when we do not even notice that we can put our needs before someone else causing there to be a consequence that follows our actions. I know I have done something to hurt a dear friend of mine and as much as I wish I could take it back, I can’t and had to make amends where they permitted it. It was heartbreaking, but only after the situation happens, I understood why we had a strained relationship and that the only way to bounce back from it was to take responsibility and move on. Something Agamemnon tries to do but doesn’t succeed, because he is more concerned with saving his reputation, than genuinely taking responsibility. Second chances are only given to those who deserve it, not to those who feel like they are obligated to have it.

Where there is love there is hate, where there is grief there is happiness, where there is peace there is war; this is the balance of the world, a world Achilles holds in his hands. A shield forged by Hephaestus, the God of Blacksmithing, to display all the great aspects of life and what it means to live is given to Achilles at the request of Thetis. A shield was so mighty that warriors have to turn away because of the way it glistens with glory beyond mortal comprehension. Hephaestus managed to create something that captured the valor and vigor of the greatest warrior, Achilles.

On the shield, there is a variety of these that can be described as one of the most intricate detailed pieces of the Iliad. It was forged to depict the daily life activities of people, Gods, and nature. Hephaestus accomplished crafting what could be considered the balance of life onto the shield. The shield is a symbol of Achilles’ overpowering dominance on the battlefield. By establishing the heavens, the earth, and the sea on the armor, Hephaestus illustrates how Achilles defines the levels of the mortality. The heavens on the shield represent that Achilles is no mortal man, with divinity running through his veins, he is granted direct contact with the Gods on Olympus. The earth represents the impact his presence has on the men walking the among the dirt. The sea represents the relationship he has with his mother of the sea. Furthermore, the two cities on the shield signify the balance he offers to wars. One city is serenity; a place at peace, with harvesting, marriage, and shepherding. The other city is pure chaos; a place at war, with battles, duels, and blood prices. Achilles fights for valor and wins spoils that are shared with his comrades. He provides resources to those he cares about. The city of peace could represent the good attributes of Achilles. Good attributes such as the aftermaths of the victories of war considering that Achilles is the deciding factor of what happens to the team he is fighting for. Despite Achilles good attributes, the city of chaos could represent the bad attributes Achilles can bestow on the world. He is a prideful and stubborn man. He will hold a grudge against someone who has wronged him once, will let his comrades die to prove a point, and who will kill anyone who gets in the way of his ultimate goal. The city of chaos is the consequence of wronging the demi-god. The man Achilles manages to become by the end of this narrative shows the fragility of his heart and the strength of his mind. Although he has remained constant with his emotions, he has experienced grief, anger, guilt, happiness. He is displaying emotions that make us human and happen to be emotions that we experience throughout life. Hephaestus manages to capture aspects of life that inflict emotional tides that humanize Achilles. Having marriage, harvest, animals, battle, shepherding, etc. demonstrates the human side of Achilles. The side that makes him a powerful warrior because he fights for his people and their needs rather than his own.

My feelings for Hector can be compared to falling out of love with your partner. In the beginning, Hector was one of my favorite characters. A strong-willed man, who loved his wife, his child, fought with valor and honor and respected the rules of war. I was in the “honeymoon phase”. Everything he did was great, and he could do no wrong. That was until he started becoming blind to his pride and started experiencing divine foolishness to the highest degree. With Hector allowing his pride to outshine his courage, he is enabling his downfall. Back in Book 6, Hector expressed his need to fight at the walls rather than stay behind them. He could not stand behind the mighty wall of Troy and let his troops die in the name of his home alone. Hiding was against his character. He refused to accept cowardice, despite his wife’s wishes. He wanted to die a warrior, someone his son and wife could be proud of. He wanted to fight with honor and to die with honor. Hector hasn’t lost sight of the fight, but he is letting his victories make him act out harshly, extremely brutal against his enemies. In Book 16, we witness the harshness of Hector in battle against Patroclus. Despite, delivering the last blow to the mighty Patroclus, Hector was the last one to attack, meaning he killed Patroclus only because he was injured. Also, in battle, Hector has ran away from Ajax (twice) in fear of dying. The fight between the Trojans and the Achaeans has bought out a different side of Hector, the one who is willing to run away from danger, execute petty deaths, and allow other opinions to influence his actions. Although Hector is getting on my nerves, I do not believe he deserves to die, I think he deserved a punishment other than death, especially not by the hands of Achilles. The death of Patroclus was a causalities of war, something Patroclus knew before joining the battle. Also, if Achilles wishes to seek revenge on Patroclus’ killer, he cannot just blame Hector. He needs to seek vengeance for Apollo and Euphorbos. Hector deserves better than what is going to happen to him in the following books of the Iliad. He was just complete his goal, which was protecting his home, trying to kill him for something the majority of those in the battle are doing is hypocritical.

I am finally coming up on the final books of the Iliad and I excited to see how it ends. I look forward to the descriptive language the poet will use to describe the downfall of Hector, the lamentation of Priam, and the aftermath of the war. A good story always ends with the protagonist seeking personal redemption. I am interested to see how Achilles laments his character and will it be a factor in his demise. Moreover, I am looking forward to seeing the development of my morality at the end of this journey. The Iliad has shifted some of my ideas and I will be reflecting on myself to see if these changes have been for the better.

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