War's Affect On People

One of the questions we were able to ask ourselves at the conclusion of reading The Iliad, was whether or not war can bring out the true nature in people.  Or whether war brings out the worst in people. 

I believe that The Iliad is a great example of a story that makes the reader seriously think about these questions.  The cause of this is the characters actions throughout the story.  Achilles is one character that you can look at when asked these questions.  While we do not really know how Achilles acted before the story, during it Achilles seems to be more concerned with himself than others.  I believe that in war, this can be seen quite frequently, this is because when one’s life is at risk people mostly think about themselves first and then others second.  While people can argue that this was only because of the actions made by Agamemnon and the death of Patroclus, I still believe that partially the cause was the setting.  War always seems to have different affects on people, some people love it and others hate it, yet one of the key rules remains intact for everyone whether they love the situation they are in or if they dread it and that is to watch your own back and then watch out for others.

Another character in The Iliad that seems to be affected by war is Patroclus.  To me Patroclus seems to have war bring out the best in him.  He convinces Achilles to let him wear Achilles armor in order to fight the Trojans and not have all of the ships destroyed.  In my opinion, the Trojan War brought out the best of Patroclus’ character.

While war definitely has completely different affects on each individual person, they are all there for similar reasons.  These reasons vary from fighting for the cause, representing their country, or fighting for glory.  Personally I believe that war brings out a person’s true nature because if you are about to die how you act shows who you really are. 

Right and Wrong Actions of Warriors

            In the past week we discussed many things, but one question that stood out at me was one of the big ones we reached.  The question was, ‘What are the right and wrong ways for a warrior to act?’  This question stood out at me not only because it brings up how warriors are supposed to conduct themselves in and outside of battle, but how the question is still relevant in modern times.

            Our class reached this question through the actions of a few characters in The Iliad.  One character that exemplifies the question being brought up through his actions is Achilles.  Achilles, in trying to defy Agamemnon’s authority, can be seen as a disobedient and untrustworthy warrior.  While his participation will vastly affect the outcome of the war, he is too self-concerned with his own matters to care or concern himself with the rest of his army’s struggles.  Achilles even permits Patroclus to wear his armor (it took much persuading) and enter the battle allowing others to falsely think that it was Achilles.   While Achilles allowing Patroclus to enter the war under disguise and disillusion to the Trojan army can be seen as a better alternative than Achilles doing nothing, it can also be seen as a lapse in his judgment and a poor decision made by a warrior.

            This problem of determining what the right and wrong ways a soldier should act is still evident in modern day society.  We have soldiers being discharged for varying reasons more often than you would like to think (whether they are discharged because of good or bad decisions).  I saw a movie a while ago called Stop-Loss and it directly questioned the way a soldier should act if they were being forced back into military action and it ties directly in with this question.

            One of the problems I see in questioning the decisions and actions made by warriors is that many people can justify (or see reason in) why the decision was made.  While there might be more people arguing that the decision was wrong or right, there will always be people who defend the decisions made.  Another problem I have with the question is that in a certain circumstance one decision seems like the best one to make, while looking back on it one can say that it was a poor decision. 

The Cause of War and Resulting Conflicts in The Iliad

One of the big questions that we came up with towards the beginning of our study of the meanings and myths of war was the question regarding what were the causes of war.  In The Iliad, Homer establishes that the war is a result of a selfish decisions made by one man.  This man, Paris, chose to bring Helen back to Troy for his own pleasure.  While we do not know for sure whether Helen was forced to go to Troy or whether she went by choice, it was very selfish for Paris to even consider sneaking off with the wife of a married man.  Paris must have known what the consequences of his actions would be; yet he decides that his heart and bring a woman he just met back to Troy.  Paris decides that this woman is more worthy than the lives of his own people because he knew that one of the consequences of his actions could lead to the death of some of his people.  Because of this decision, which was clearly not well thought out, the Trojan army ends up having to fight the Achaean army. 

While on the surface this is just a simple answer to how the war itself started, it also leads to the question of what the conflicts following the initiation of the war are.  The conflicts following the initiation of the war, other than the obvious conflict between the Trojans and Achaeans, are usually revolved around one person against another or others.  Because of Paris’ decision to bring Helen back to Troy, he is the one faced with the majority of the conflicts.  One of the conflicts that Paris is faced with is between himself and the entire Trojan community.  The Trojan community feels hatred and resentment towards Paris because they feel he is causing an unnecessary war for the Trojans to fight.  Because of these feeling established by the Trojans, it leads to the question of whether the cause of this war is “sufficient” enough for the loss of Trojan lives.  It also brings into question whether the war itself is just.  Another conflict Paris faced was that with the man he took Helen away from, Menelaus.  Menelaus was so furious once he hears that his wife had run away that he went to his brother, Agamemnon, for help.  Together they decided to go to Troy and fight, for the conquest of Troy and to win back Helen.  Finally, there was a conflict between Paris and his own brother, Hector.  Hector feels that Paris should take responsibility for his actions and fight Menelaus when given the opportunity.  However, Paris gets afraid and Hector has to insult Paris until he agrees to fight.  Paris and Menelaus end up dueling to try and resolve the conflict.  During the duel Paris runs away to his room inside the palace out of cowardice.  Paris was forced into the situation where he had to fight Menelaus because of the decisions he made.  All of these conflicts involving Paris are a direct result due to his immature and selfish decision to bring Helen back to Troy.