Friday, August 12, 2011

Insights in Iliad and Odyssey


Homer’s two masterpieces are Iliad and Odyssey. These epics are full of adventure and mystery and are still known throughout the world.
When I first watched Iliad and Odyssey I’ve got a lot of information about the Greeks. The things I learned about the Ancient Greek culture are: (a) the role of women. Women were always under the authority of men. Women couldn’t make their own decisions and didn’t have any influence in the society. The main role of a woman was to bear children, preferably sons. (b) Marriage. Most Greeks married in their same social status. A man who wants to marry a girl must give a dowry to the father’s girl. For example: Agamemnon gave a dowry to the father of Clytemnestra in other for him to win the hand of Clytemnestra. (c) Greeks were cruel and brave. Greek men were trained to fight for their land. This made them cruel. One good example is: Achilles. Achilles was described as a cruel and brave warrior. (d)  Feasts. Ancient Greeks liked to feast. They celebrated during weddings, victories and births. Lastly (e) their beliefs ancient Greeks really depend on their gods. They are so eager to please their gods to the point they offered their own children like what Agamemnon did.  

Another thing I’ve learned while watching the movie was: people’s imagination are endless. I believed that Homer has a lot of imagination. Just imagine that he came up with a story where there are sea monsters, gods and goddesses and people who have supernatural powers. The values I’ve learned in the Iliad and Odyssey were: loyalty, love, and trust.