Man and Poems

Man and Poems

Throughout the history of man stories and poems have been used to glorify wars, heroes, teach morals, and show the follies of man. The following paragraphs are examples of three such stories -Homer's Iliad, Vergil's Aeneid, and Gilgamesh. Furthermore, there will be a brief summary about the differences and similarities, what the story is trying to convey to the reader and the roles of women.

First, is Homer's Iliad a story about Achilles and how his pride gets the best of him. This story contains a warrior ethic as Achilles is dishonored by Agamemnon and consequently Achilles removes his troops from fighting in the Trojan War to punish Agamemnon. In doing so Achilles friend Patroclus is slain in the fighting. The moral of this story is to not let your pride get the best of you and that there are consequences for our actions. As for the role of women in this story they do not play a significant role even though it was the abduction of Helen started the whole war (Cunningham, Reich pg. 35-36). In Greek society women were largely excluded from any public role (Blundell).

Second, is Vergil's Aeneid a story with a warrior ethic connotation and is about Aeneid and what fate has in store for him. He is a myth written by Vergil to glorify the beginning of the Roman Empire. The story is meant to convey to the reader that fate is a divine, religious principle that can determine the course of history. Additionally, the story glorifies Rome and is a propaganda story (Sparknotes, The Aeneid). The role of women in this story is portrayed in a negative way and again a woman is the reason for what befalls Aeneid. It started with Penelope going to Troy and the ensuing war between Greece and Troy (Women's Roles).

Third, is the story of Gilgamesh which has a warrior ethic connotation but also a Heroic friendships theme. The story is about Gilgamesh and his warrior friend Enkidu and how after angering the queen of heaven the gods kill Enkidu (Cunningham. Reich pg.7-8). This action causes Gilgamesh to see his own mortality and he set off to seek the meaning of life and the secret of immortality. In the end he realizes immortality is reached by how people remember you and the achievements you have done will living (Sparknotes, Gilgamesh). Again, as with the other stories women do not play a significant role throughout the story but a woman causes the start of the conflict (Simpson).

In conclusion, stories and poems have been used to glorify wars, heroes, teach morals, and show the follies of man. There is Homer's Iliad a story about pride and how it can make you blind. Next, Vergil's Aeneid a story that glorifies the beginning of the Roman Empire and last is the story of Gilgamesh; a story about mortality and that immortality can be reached by what you do while you are alive. In the end stories and poems played an important role in the lives of ancient