Personal Responsibility in the Iliad
The heroes of the Iliad as well as the characters and immortals were occupied in the conveying of personal responsibility on factors deemed outside of their control. What Homer was trying to create for the reader was the idea that a character in the epic was not responsible for their actions; rather an outside force regularly initiated action and thinking either directly or through another entity. If a character were perceived as having made a mistake it would obviously have been attributed to the will of the gods or Fate, rather than their own free will. Throughout the epic there is evidence that shows that both mortals and immortals acting upon the concept of personal responsibility in different ways; either by denying it, or attributing it to another area of Greek culture and Mythology.Certain dialogues between heroes, mortals, and immortals in the epic provide the best examples of rejecting personal responsibility. During the first book of the epic, in the dialogue between Achilles and Agamemnon, perhaps the best example of rejecting personal responsibility. It begins when Agamemnon takes Achilles' war prize, Briseis, as a result of losing Chryseis. While it is clear to us that Agamemnon is acting upon his own greed and need
199-201 Fagles)Even thought King Priam does not blame Helen for bringing the war, many other Trojans feel as if she were responsible for it and wish for her to go home (3. If a ransom were offered that would bestow more honor upon the individual, as it was in this case by Chyses, then it was customary to accept the ransom or fear the wrath of the gods. This idea of characters in the Iliad attributing their response to a situation on an outside force is not limited to the main heroes of the epic; rather, it can be seen in the duel between Paris and Menelaus. 242-247 Fagles)From the dialogue between the two heroes it is clear that neither Achilles nor Agamemnon accepts personal responsibility for their emotional and physical reactions to the situation. " The result of the actions that Agamemnon took against Chryses, a priest of Apollo, and for the burning of his temple, clearly shows that he is responsible for losing Chryseis. But I, I will be there in person at your tents to take Briseis in all her beauty, your own prize - so you can learn just how much greater I am than you and the next man up may shrink from matching words with me, from hoping to rival Agamemnon strength for strength! (1. 208-214 Fagles)This is not what Homer wants the reader to understand about Helen. In book three, the discourse between King Priam and Helen gives us an example of Homer transferring the blame of the war from Helen to the gods, even though in the epic, she accepts the thought that she was the cause for the war. For Achilles and Agamemnon, wrath was their mortal failure which was complemented and overpowered by the immortal gift of reason. To a hero in the Iliad, an external power compels a person to act and think a certain way; therefore, personal responsibility can not be justly placed on the heroes shoulders if they follow the command of the external power, just as it was in this case. " It is certain that Paris will lose the battle when Menelaus grabs his helmet and hauls him off into the Argive lines, with the chin-strap choking him, until Aphrodite intervenes and snaps the chin-strap thus saving Paris' life (3. Rather, they decide to explain the nature of their responses on the actions of the gods and their will.
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Acceptance Essays
