Aashana Weekes

Professor Ahmad Kamal

Manhattanville College
16 April 2014
MVU-L-AYW-Iliad of Homer

THE ILIAD OF HOMER

INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this paper is to examine an epic poem about war known
as the Iliad by Homer. This tale tells of the anger of the great warrior Achilles
and the disastrous consequences his fellow Grecian warriors must endure
because of it. The epic poem illustrates the drastic measures mortals are willing
to take in order to achieve more lasting glory and immortality as well as their acts
of heroism exercised along the way.


FACTS
The important facts which are relevant to an examination of this case
study are as follows:
The background of this case study is set in the city of Troy in the midst of
the Trojan War; the Trojan War began over the controversy of the judgment of
Paris. Three goddesses, Hera- Queen of the Gods, Athena- the Goddess of
Wisdom, and Aphrodite- the Goddess of Love, declared themselves the fairest
in Olympus. They demand upon the king of the Gods who is also the husband
of Hera, Zeus to choose a winner; however he passes the butch to the Trojan
prince, Paris. Each goddess bribes Paris with lavishing gifts and promises.
Aphrodite is declare the winner as she offered him the most beautiful woman in
the world. Unfortunately, that woman happened to be Helen of Troy- the wife
of the Grecian king Menelaus- thus leading to the Greek seeking revenge from
the Trojans.
Upon the opening of the Iliad the Greeks have been renamed Achaeans,
for the sake of the tale have being camping outside the city of Troy for almost
ten years. With all hope seeming lost and patience wearing thin, tension arises
between the general, Agamemnon and Achilles, the best warrior which in turn
leads to Achilles withdrawing from the war. The essence of the conflict is
Achilles war prize, a beautiful maiden who is the daughter of a priest. As the
poem continues, Achilles wrath gets the better of his honor and though he slays
the Grecian enemy, Hector he forgets the Grecian ethics. In the end peace and
harmony is restored.


ANALYSIS
Based on the above facts, one can arrive at the following possible
opinions:
Achilles was a situational hero according to Ronald Heifetzs book
Leadership Without Easy Answers however he is not the ideal leader because his
emotions come into play before reasonable judgment. Agamemnon resembles
the poor leadership skills of Captain Bigh from the previous case study Mutiny
on the Bounty. As both exhibited strong leadership skills due to their position of
power but did not know how to govern a community without a power struggle
from as secondary source; in the case of the Iliad of the Homer the conflicting
source would be the Fletcher comparison, Achilles.

CONCLUSION
In conclusion, one can thus state that this case study is a fine example of
the struggles of internal war when a leader does not have an iron fist on his
subordinates. In war, it is important to maintain structure within ones
community or oneself in order to conquer the enemy.

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