These mythological stories will then be related to the events concerning Saddam Hussein during the Afghanistan war during the 1990s, The Vietnam war and also the recent Afghanistan war where the America was one of the main players. This paper will relate these wars using the two mythological stories of the Iliad and the Odyssey but will primarily focus on how they relate to the characters of Achilles and Hector.
Iliad
The Iliad of Homer basically is concentrated on the events that happened during the Trojan War where the main and pivotal character in the story is Achilles. He was the best warrior of Greece in the war second to none. As long as he was in the field of battle, the Greeks had the upper hand against the Trojans. The Greeks rallied behind him and the Trojans feared him.
After nine years when they first set foot to lay siege to the Trojans, there was a conflict between the chieftains since the god Apollo was angry at them for taking the daughter of one of his favorite priests. The argument came up when they found that the only way to appease the gods anger is by giving back the girl to her father. The problem was that Chrysies was the trophy of Agamemnon and he was greatly displeased by this that he wanted to take the Trophy of the Greek hero Achilles, the maiden Breisis. Achilles saw this as an insult and promised not to join in the battle and start heading home.
Without Achilles, the Trojans were winning the war. It was not until Patroclus died that Achilles returned to the battlefield in order to exact vengeance from the one who killed him, Hector. Hector knew that fighting Achilles would result in his death. He faced Achilles in a fight where he eventually lost. When Achilles won, in his desire to exact vengeance from the killer of Patroclus, he desecrated the body of Hector by tying his body behind his chariot and parading his body for everyone to see. This symbolized the beginning of the fall and ruin of Troy.
Eventually Hectors father, Priam, the king of Troy went alone to the Greek camp in order to ask Achilles for Hectors body back so that they would be able to observe the funeral right. The Greek hero agreed and also promised that there would be a stop to the fighting while both armies honored their dead. Achilles was then also killed when the battle resumed.
Odyssey
The Odyssey is the account of the journey of Odysseus after the Trojan War. It started from the desecration of one Athenas temple by the Greeks. The goddess went forth to tell Poseidon of the wrong that was done against her and Poseidon agreed to help her exact her vengeance. He created a storm that laid waste to the Greek army who were going home. Many Greeks died on that storm and those who survived were driven out of their course which made their journey all the more difficult. One of them was Odysseus who had to suffer long years before being able to get home.
After the storm Odysseus and his men landed on the land of the Lotus eaters where they were welcomed by its inhabitants. The only problem is that it seemed like their food was enchanted since those who have eaten it had lost all desire to go home and only wanted to eat the flowers given to them. Odysseus even had to drag those men back into the ships in order to continue on their journey. In their next destination, they encountered the Cyclops and son of Poseidon, Polyphemus. They lost a number of men there but in the end managed to escape by blinding and tricking the Cyclops. This again garnered them the wrath of Poseidon where he promised that Odysseus would not be able to get home until he suffered for a very long time and not until he has lost all his men. Next they traveled to the island where Aeolus, the keeper of winds, was where they were treated kindly and hospitably even almost assuring them a safe journey by trapping three other winds that might cause them disaster. The problem was that Odysseus crew opened the bag and set loose upon themselves the raging winds. Those that survived this ordeal had to suffer landing in the country of the Laestrygons, a people of great size and who also practiced cannibalism.
Odysseus ships were attacked by these people even before getting into the harbor where he lost all his other ships except from the one that he was on. They again travelled and reached the realm of Circe, a witch who was able to change the forms of the men who were under her spell. Odysseus, with the help of Hermes, was able to avert this disaster by eating an herb that made him immune to her enchantments. Circe, having her enchantment failed transforming Odysseus into an animal fell in love with the hero where she was even willing to change his men back and help them get home. She taught Odysseus party how to get home through the help of one of the dead Theban holy men named Teriesias. He instructed them how to call him forth from the underworld and they did so making them also able to talk with various other individuals. They decided to leave when they realized that more and more souls were coming to talk to them. From there, they travelled to the land of the sirens whose voices were able to victimized the poor sailors. They managed to safely get pass by putting wax in their ears in order for them not to hear their enchanting song. Odysseus ordered the men to put wax in their ears but also to tie him tightly to the mast so that he could hear the sirens song. After their ordeal against the sirens, they had to pass the passage of Scylla and Charybdis. They managed to get through but not without losing 6 other men. They landed in an island where the Suns sacred ox was. While Odysseus was away, his crew butchered the ox and ate it because they were hungry which directed into them the wrath of the Sun. Here Odysseus lost all his men and became shipwrecked in the island of the nymph, Calypso.
He stayed there for a number of years until Athena, pitying and once again remembering how fond she was at him, implored the gods to help him get home. The gods sent word to Calypso to set him started on his journey home. They made a very strong raft and he went on his way. He was about to reach land but then Poseidon saw him and conjured up another storm to prevent him from reaching it. Luckily, another goddess was there to help him and gave him instructions on how he would survive the ordeal. When he reached land, he was tired hungry and naked. He made himself a place to sleep until a group of womens voices woke him. Incidentally, one of those women was the princess of the Phaeacian people. They brought him with them where he was treated kindly and hospitably and allowed to meet the king. The king, after hearing his story, arranged matters so that he could get home.
He reached Ithaca and there he was met by Athena who helped him plan how they could get him home. They decided to transform Odysseus into an old beggar so that he may be able to travel around without being recognized. He stayed with his swineherd and eventually made himself known to his son. They made plans to remove Penelopes suitors by force.
Penelope thought of how to choose from the suitors thinking that Odysseus might not be coming back ever. Her idea was to make them use her husbands bow and arrow and make them shoot it through twelve rings. Telemachus recognizing the opportunity that presented itself urged it on and made preparations for the battle that is to come. Eventually the one-sided battle was fought and Odysseus was finally home.
Character Analysis Achilles, Hector and Odysseus
According to accounts of Achilles in the Iliad, we can see that he was a person that is greatly controlled by his emotions, specifically those that of his pride and rage. His wrath was given the term Menis which shows that his wrath was different from those others. This was particularly shown in the way he reacted against Agamemnon and Hector who he saw wronged him. His wrath is one that could not be easily appeased. His wrath against Agamemnon caused the lives of many warriors who were depending on him he even lost the life of a good friend in Patroclus where his anger now was directed against Hector. His menis against Hector was shown by killing then desecrating his body and his memory by dragging and parading it in the presence of the Greek and the Trojan Army alike. The Iliad also tells us of accounts in which he sacrificed the lives of twelve Trojan men in the funeral of Patroclus. He is a character that is torn by his desire for glory and his desire to live a long life. He chose the life of glory and the immortalization of his name through accounts of his deeds but at the cost of some of his humanity since he was consumed by his pride, anger, bloodlust and wrath during the war. Some could even go so far that his menis was that of madness where it became more difficult to recognize whether or not his feats were acts of heroism or acts of barbarism.
Hector on the other hand was an individual that seems to be more composed and controlled but he was also proud and a little bit arrogant. There were also times in which he acted rash and impulsive that shows that he too has flaws as a leader and as a warrior. There are times in which he was shown to exhibit acts of cowardice but his decision to go back and face his fears is one of things that makes Hector an inspirational character. His fight was a fight unlike that of Achilles and the other Achaeans since his fight was to protect his country and his family rather than a fight to achieve glory or vengeance. He can be depicted as a man who, despite his own odds, fears, shortcomings and knowing of his doom, still fights for the country and the family he loves. He is a character torn between duty and cowardice where his choices to stay with his duty and fight for Troy where he was given various chances in which he could have escaped with his family.
Odysseus is a character whose nobility and cleverness stands out in most parts of the Iliad as well as in the Odyssey. His character was that of a person who is greatly attached to the idea of honor and resourcefulness and tragic happenings where hopelessness and powerlessness is usually seen. His ability to make it out of the various situations he was involved in which he could not have overcome by his and his mens own skill but rather through intellect is his most distinguishing factor. He is also a character torn between two ideas namely the idea that of Kleos or glory seeking and that of Nostos home seeking. Throughout the Odyssey this was shown as apparent since there are various things that would have made their journey easier but because of Kleos, his journey have become more difficult than it had to be. The idea of Kairos or the opportune moment seems to be greatly attached to him since he was a calculating and thinking character where time and opportunity was always created for him. Among the three characters discussed in this paper, he was also the one who enjoyed Xenia or the concept of guest-friendship the most. His Travels led him to different lands where he was either faced with the hospitality of Xenia or the dangers of Xenos, the vague concept of being a foreigner in a strange land or place where they are not supposed to be. In Xenia, there is a duty between the parties while in Xenos, there is none and individuals are free to do as they please.
Homers works and the American Conflicts Gulf War, Vietnam War and the Afghanistan War
The Vietnam War was the oldest war among the three. It is also called the Second Indochina war and it was fought during the cold war (1959-1975). The war was between North and South Vietnam where the North was supported by communist allies while South Vietnam was supported by the US and its allies. This war was won by North Vietnam with South Vietnam accusing the US for not being able to follow through with their promise of support. This war was fought in order to contain the spread of the communist influence in Asia. This event could be compared to the idea of Xenia of Greek culture where the US owed South Vietnam a certain responsibility especially since it had promised security, protection and aid. Apparently, South Vietnam would not have fallen if only the US continued their support. The role South Vietnam as the host of the Democratic ideals should have been enough to have garnered for them the support of the individuals who they were supporting. Also, during the fall of South Vietnam, many of those who supported the American Ideals were left there to suffer without being given help. They were essentially left to their fate. Only a number of the southern Vietnamese that were employed by the Americans were able to escape with them.
The Gulf war in the 1990s is a war which aimed to remove Saddam Hussein and Iraqi Troops from Kuwait and prevent suffering further damages. This operation was headed by the US in which they were able to successfully achieve their objectives. There were several points of conflict in this event and one of them is the violation of the Kuwaiti territorial integrity. Another is the question of the control of the world oil reserves in which the whole world was depending on that moved the world into action. Another is the apparent human rights violations by Saddam Hussein and his regime. The war started when Iraq invaded Kuwait and began to threaten to invade Saudi Arabia. Two military operations were important in this conflict and that was Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert storm. These two operations were central to the victory of the coalition.
The recent Afghanistan war was a reaction against the events of 911 where the US World Trade Center and Pentagon were attacked and caused numerous casualties as well as exposed security gaps. They justified this war as destroying terrorist haven and breeding ground as well as to continue the search for the mastermind of the 911 bombing, Osama Bin Laden.
These three events we can relate the US to the Greek idea of Kleos or its attempt to look for glory as well as Menis especially in the recent Afghanistan war. The US can be better compared to the character of Achilles and Odysseus whose search for Kleos has become their most driving factors. We can compare US to Achilles in terms of military might was far surpassing that of the countries they have faced and the reaction of their people during the times of war. They might have seen the events of the three wars as insults to them where they were wronged and have responded in kind. They lost the Vietnam War because of the anti-war sentiments from their own country which we could attribute the concept of Nostos that can be found in the character of Odysseus. Also, like Odysseus they capitalized on the different opportunities, Kairos, which was presented to them. It seemed as though the three wars discussed in this paper could all have been avoided if the US did not instigate or aggravate matters more. We can see that their search for Kleos have had positive effects especially in the Gulf War. The Vietnamese war was primarily a fight for glory and the recent Afghanistan war is the manifestation of the Menis of America.
The idea of Hector can be seen better in the Vietnam war where the Vietnamese people are just protecting themselves from outside influences. They were protecting themselves from the threat of being invaded by the bigger, stronger powers around them. The Afghanistan war on the other hand might have been closer to the idea of Hector especially in when the US had already won the war and US refused to call back their troops which results in conflict between the two countries. Like the Vietnamese and the Afganistan peoples, Hector was fighting for his homeland and his right to live peacefully. The US was fighting for glory, power, conquest and control. The writer could not say the same for the Gulf war since they were fought with Kleos in mind, Saddam Hussein, being that of the conqueror who wanted to control the Holy places of Medina and Mecca but whose real motives seemed to be that of the control of the worlds oil reserves.
The US Achillean leaning have caused both good and harm. The wars that US instigated had produced numerous casualties in both their side and those that they have chosen to intervene on. They search for their Kleos and certain fabrications of events and information to create for themselves Kairos pushed those with them to act, otherwise, some of these conflicts could have been avoided. The US, arrogant and powerful as it is, has caused unneeded suffering for themselves and also for their enemies but without which would not have gained its place as a world superpower.
If only the US practiced more Hectorian principles they might not have needed to go through and inflicted so much suffering. If only they had chosen to protect those that are important, where they chose to be more defensive rather than offensive, many lives could have been saved but they would have lost their glory. Perhaps if only the US did not care so much about glory and power, these wars could have been avoided.
Categories:
0 comments:
Post a Comment