The Wrap Up

As we wrapped up the Iliad in class, we constantly talked about honor. The idea that if you died in battle it was the highest honor anyone could receive and i was wondering how the mindset of war has changed throughout the years. Especially the evolution of war on a person's mind. I was doing some research and I looked up, in my opinion, the most important weapons in history.
1. Stick and Stones- Since the beginning of time
2. Swords- Bronze Age-(around 3300 B.C)
3. Bow and Arrow- 5th century B.C
4. Cannon-1132
5.Musket-1440's
6.Machine Gun-1862
7. A-bomb-1945 (when it was first used)
Now thinking of today, we are able to kill someone thousand miles away. Compare today's warfare with the Trojan war and it is incredible different. Now imagine you vs. an enemy, you both have swords in hand and a shield. Now you kill that person. You actually had that person die arms length away and you saw the life drain from him. Now imagine that you are fighting today, you are able to shoot someone from hundreds yards away and you might not even know if your bullet killed that person. So if you look at the development of weapons, each weapon has allowed a person to kill from a greater distance allowing them to have a better chance for their survival, but it has also taken away from the glory of defeating your enemy. Yes different cultures view war differently, but for the time of the Trojan war using your strength and will power to defeat your enemy was one of the greatest accomplishments a person could have. So with the development of weapons, the mental aspect of killing your enemy has changed over the course of history.

Achilles's armor

In class, we have been talking a lot about Achilles's armor and what it meant. It is more than just protective clothing, it is a symbol. People knew who Achilles was by what he wore and that is why everyone thought Hector killed Achilles, when he really killed Patroclus. When Achilles's armor was stripped from Partroclus's dead body Hector wore it. He believed that if he wore this armor he would be the best warrior that ever lived. The turning point in the Iliad is when Patroclus dies, and in this scene, Achilles loses his armor while Hector obtains it. After this scene Hector's ego starts to sky rocket while Achilles starts to think things through. I think that since Achilles lost his armor he is becoming Hector early in the book, while Hector is now becoming the cocky Achilles. I also believe that Achilles is dependent on a piece of armor, to feel that he is safe and protected. When he loses his original armor, the god Hephaestus makes him the famous shield and with this shield Achilles was able to defeat Hector and have his revenge for the death of Patroclus. Homer does a great job of making the armor more than just metal and in literature today, we still see that an object posses more than what meets the eye.

Conflict between armies

As we were looking at all the conflicts in class, we came across some really interesting points. The biggest ones were Conflict with the Gods, Conflict within the Trojan Empire, Conflict within the Achaeans, and Conflicts between the Gods and Mortals. The one that I thought was the most interesting was the Conflict within the Achaeans and also within in the walls of Troy. In Troy the conflict was with two brothers, Paris and Hector. If you were to look at Hector and Paris side by side, they would be the exact opposite. Now Hector did not want this war, but he loved him brother and understood why he took Helen. Also there is doubt with the people of Troy, wondering why they are fighting for this kid’s love? What really differs from the Trojans and the Achaeans was that the Trojans are fighting for there homeland and it was one city vs. independent massed together. With the Achaeans, it is a bunch of small independent providences that were concurred by Agamemnon and by defeat are forced to aid the Achaeans whenever they are call upon. So with a lack of central power and unification of the army, there is much diversity among the soldiers. As time goes on and they saw less and less progression the men start to wonder why they are here and what good does it do to fight a battle that has lasted for the last seven years. When Agamemnon tested the soldiers to see if they truly believed in him and wanted to fight, he was surprised to see the men flee to the ships. The only people that really have any leadership skills and the respect of the soldiers are Odysseus and Achilles. I was wondering if today it was the same way with the soldiers. Do most of them question why we are fighting in the Middle East? Is there a true leader who has the soldiers respect and can trust that person?  Also does much doubt and lack of respect and trust happen in modern times? I believe that the revolution on war has changed the mindset of it. Also it is the organization and structure of our military it does not allow one person to be command of everyone. So as we see in the Iliad every army in a war was conflict within that army and how they handle it could determine who the winner is.