Faith In The Iliad

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Jay Nguyen Mr. Hendrickson MYP English 2 2, December 2009 Faith Faith and the actions tied to faith are crucial to the plot of The Iliad, whether it be faith between comrades, a peoples’ faith in the gods or even faith between the gods. The idea of faith is a key component in The Iliad’s storyline. There are several moments throughout this epic that portray deep faith between heroes and their allies. Another idea tied to faith is deus ex machina, or the intervention of the gods, which is a reoccurring event. The simple idea of faith is extremely important to Homer’s Iliad, without faith, the outcome of the Trojan War may have been drastically different. Faith between comrades is as essential in the story of The Iliad as it is in the reality of war. Throughout the events of the Trojan War, faith amongst the Greeks is essential to the plot. Nestor shows faith in Agamemnon in these lines: “Agamemnon roused himself from sleep… he approached the ships of the bronze-armed Achaeans… Agamemnon finished speaking and sat back down. Nestor stood up before them, king of sandy Pylos. With a wise sense of their common cause, he addressed them: ‘My friends, chiefs and leaders of the Argives, if any other Achaean had told us such a dream, we would declare it quite false, dismiss it. But now the man who has a claim to be the greatest of Achaeans has witnessed it. So come, let's find a way to arm Achaea's sons.’” (P. 31 – 32, Lines 48 – 100) In these lines the Nestor sees that Agamemnon speech does not completely convince their allies, so he speaks in support of Agamemnon. Because of the respect that Nestor has and his reputation of being the wisest ruler of the Greeks, Nestor’s small speech reassures the soldiers. The faith placed in Nestor from the troops and Nestor’s faith
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