War is sometimes adored, but the results and personal changes are not. This idea is best illustrated in Homer's The Iliad. Homer's writings were the first anti-war pieces in existence. This shows that not everyone in ancient times wanted war; in fact, most people wanted peace. These pieces were the inspiration that some people needed to no longer continue their foolish ways of settling disagreements. Homer's glorification of war, the disrespected outcomes, and the folly of men show how war is doubled-sided; one side is good the other is evil.
             The Iliad celebrates war. Characters emerge as worthy or despicable based on their degree of competence and bravery in battle. Paris doesn't like to fight, and likewise receives the disrespect of both his family and his lover. Achilles wins eternal glory by rejecting the option of a long, comfortable, uneventful life at home. The book itself seems to support this means of judging character and extends it even to the gods. The epic holds up warlike deities such as Athena for the reader's admiration while it makes fun of gods who run from aggression, using the timidity of Aphrodite to create a scene of comic relief. To fight is to prove one's honor and integrity, while to avoid warfare is to demonstrate laziness, ignoble fear, or misaligned priorities.
             The Iliad doesn't ignore the realities of war. Men die gruesome deaths. Women become slaves and consorts, separated from their parents. Even the mightiest warriors occasionally experience fear, and Homer tells the reader that both armies regret that the war ever began. Though Achilles points out that all men, whether brave or cowardly, meet the same death in the end, The Iliad never asks the reader to question the authority of the continuing struggle. Homer never implies that the fight constitutes a waste of time or human life. Homer reveals each side as having a reasonable reason to fight and illustrates warfare as a respectable a...