‘The portrayal of warfare and its effects are completely negative.

’ Discuss to what extent this is

true of the portrayal of warfare in the Iliad. (30 marks)

I mostly agree with the statement. Homer constantly depicts gruesome and undesirable deaths in
the Iliad, as well as showing the devastating reactions of characters when they find out their loved
ones have died as a result of the unnecessary war. However, I think Homer’s description of soldiers’
aristeia can often glorify the battlefield, presenting it not as a murderous and brutal place but rather
as an opportunity for soldiers to gain kleos.

Homer creates an extremely negative portrayal of war by describing, in detail, all of the gruesome
deaths that innocent men suffer during the conflict. In book 16, Homer graphically details Peneleos’
sword ‘slicing right through’ Lycon, resulting in ‘nothing holding but a piece of skin, and from that
Lycon’s head dangled down as he sank to the ground’. Not only does this visceral description make
us grimace, but it also evokes pathos, and forcing the audience to be confronted by the
uncomfortable reality of war. The idea of Lycon slowly ‘sinking to the ground’, reluctantly
succumbing to his defeat, is heart-breaking. Although Homer gives us no backstory for Lycon, he is
most likely an innocent man, having been forced to fight in a war which is meaningless to him. It’s
almost frustrating for the reader to have to imagine the horrific death of these men, who have
nothing to do with the conflict between Paris and Menelaus, and are only fighting for the sake of
their country and for a chance to gain kleos. The humiliating and painful death they experience for
such a meaningless cause not only highlights the bloodshed of war but also demonstrates the futility
of it, further explored with the death of Simoisius in book 4. Homer describes the death of Simoisius,
who is not mentioned elsewhere in the epic other than these brief few lines. In the moments before
his death, Simoisius’ entire life is summarised by the poet, from his conception to his death. Homer
describes how ‘his life was too short to repay his parents for their loving care, for it ended when he
met the spear of great-hearted Ajax’. These tragic lines emphasise how young Simoisius was when
his life ended, with Homer reversing the usual cyclical nature of birth and death – usually a child
would bury his parents, not vice versa. Homer’s technique of introducing Simoisius in such detail to
the reader and then immediately cutting his life short reminds us that, just like Simoisius, every
single one of the men that die in this war have real lives and have family and friends who will be
devastated by their deaths. This idea is reinforced in Sarpedon’s speech to Hector in Book 5, where
he speaks about the sacrifices he has made for this war: ‘I left my dear wife, baby son and great
possessions too’. This demonstrates how these soldiers put their entire lives on hold for this war,
risking death and potentially destroying the lives of their wives and children.

Homer also shows the misery of characters when they lose their loved ones. In book 18, as soon as
Achilles finds out the news that his beloved companion Patroclus is dead, a ‘black cloud of grief
engulfs’ him. He proceeds to lay on the ground, clawing his hair, covering himself in dust and letting
out moans of grief. The people around him are afraid ‘he might take a knife and cut his throat’. This
depiction of grief creates a harrowing image of losing a loved one due to war. Achilles is so
devastated by this death that he genuinely wants to die to be reunited with Patroclus. The grief
manifests itself by distancing Achilles from typical activities, like eating, and limiting his ability to
sleep - when he does sleep he dreams of Patroclus. Both eating and sleeping are essential to staying
alive and Achilles’ refusal to do so again shows his carelessness for his life – no matter whether he
lives or dies, he just wants to be with Patroclus, confirmed when he says to his mother ‘I have no
wish to live and linger in the world of men’. This is definitely Homer showing the extremely negative
effects of warfare – there is no attempt here to glorify Achilles’ grief and instead we see his heart-
breaking tortured reaction. Shay diagnoses Achilles with PTSD and compares him to soldiers fighting
in Vietnam, who will most likely carry the traumatic memories of war with them for the rest of their
lives. I would agree with this analysis, and think that Achilles would have been consumed with grief
for the remainder of his life if he had not been killed so soon after Patroclus.
Homer describes the effect that warfare has on women and children, who are constantly at risk of
being captured and taken as slaves, or the male children killed. A perfect example of this is
Andromache’s reaction to her husband Hector’s death. Again, she is ‘distraught to the point of
death’, similar to Achilles. Alexander says ‘at every turn the poem is evoking the blighting effect of
war on every single participant of it’, and I consider Andromache and Astyanax to be perfect
examples of this. Although they never directly partake in battle, this war still wreaks havoc on their
lives, and they, like the rest of the women and children, are participants who are hugely affected by
it. Andromache, in her speech about her future, describes the imaginary fate of her son and the
effects that this loss will have on him for the rest of his life. She creates a miserable image of an
orphaned Astyanax, ‘cut off from his friends’ with ‘tear-stained cheeks’, and bullied for having no
father. Homer evokes pathos from the reader, showing the now-miserable life that innocent
Astyanax will have to endure because of this war, through no fault of his own. It is also heart-
breaking because we know that Astyanax will not even have the chance to grow up as Andromache
imagines, as he will be violently killed by the Greek soldiers, and this fantasy that Andromache is
having will not happen. Although she does not state it here, earlier on Hector had expressed to
Andromache that he was worried she would be captured by the Greeks and taken as a slave - now
that Hector is dead we know that this is exactly what will happen, and Andromache probably knows
her fate now too that the Trojans have lost Hector. By describing the grief of Andromache and the
imaginary fate of Astyanax, we see the tragic effect that warfare has on women and children, who
are completely powerless to help themselves. Another example of the powerlessness of women is
Briseis, who has had her life completely ripped apart by this war. She watched Achilles destroy her
hometown and kill her husband and three brothers, and was then forced to become his and
Agamemnon’s slave, being passed from man to man like an object. The first and only time we hear
her speak, she laments that her life is ‘an endless chain of disaster’. Homer clearly presents the
effects of the war on the women and children who aren’t soldiers but are arguably equally as
affected.

However, to some extent the Iliad glorifies the heroes. The ultimate hero of the epic is clearly
Achilles, who is known as the ‘best of the greeks’. Achilles sees this war as nothing more than an
opportunity to gain kleos, and that is the only reason why he is fighting – the reasoning behind the
conflict means nothing to him. Achilles is the most revered soldier because he is the best fighter, or
in other words, the best murderer – he can kill men with ease. Homer tends to glorify the violent
rampages of Achilles, without really touching on the morality of Achilles’ actions. An example of this
is book 22. Achilles commits a number of inhumane and immoral deeds, seeking his revenge for
Patroclus, like taking 12 Trojan men to sacrifice for Patroclus’ funeral, men being ‘hacked to death by
his sword’ and worst of all, killing a supplicant, Lycaon, who begs for mercy from him. The river god
has to ask him to stop killing Trojans because he is polluting the river with so much blood. Although
these actions are terrible, they are all seen as Achilles’ aristeia. These are his ‘finest moments’ in
battle, and are what makes him so ‘amazing’. The killing of countless innocent men is seen as
Achilles’ most ‘excellent’ moments, and this presents the battle as positive rather than negative.
There are many more examples of these aristeic moments from soldiers like Diomedes and Hector,
and again this sees them ruthlessly kill without morals – in book 5, Diomedes kills numerous men in
quick succession, and Homer uses graphic descriptions like ‘the spear-head passed clean through to
the bladder under the pubic bone’ and ‘the point came through between his teeth and cut out the
roof of his tongue. Allan says ‘the poem delights and celebrates battle prowess even as it
foregrounds the miseries and losses of war.’ I completely agree – whilst Homer presents a very
effective portrayal of loss and death, he still ‘celebrates’ the heroes in their most disgusting and
immoral moments. These aristeic episodes are, in my opinion, Homer glorifying horrific death on the
battlefield.
In conclusion, I mostly agree with the statement. The gruesome deaths on the battlefield, the loss of
loved ones, and the effect of war on women and children are definitely hugely negative portrayals of
war. However, the idea of a hero’s ‘aristeia’ presents a more glorified view on the battlefield.