This lack of self-centeredness is observed through the actions of Hector throughout the entire epic and his compassion for others is prominent in his notion of Greek justice. When Hector firsts steps into the plot of the Iliad, we witness his passion to fight and protect his city. In fact, Hector calls out his brother for not fighting. If Paris had not taken Helen as his prize, then this war may have never occurred. In book three, after Paris’ responds to Hector’s criticisms, Paris offers to prove himself in a fight with Menelaus in order to settle the war.
Yet while Caesar may not be unduly power-hungry, he does possess his share of flaws. He is unable to separate his public life from his private life, and, seduced by the populace’s increasing idealization and idolization of his image, he ignores ill omens and threats against his life, believing himself as eternal as the North Star. Antony - A friend of Caesar. Antony claims allegiance to Brutus and the conspirators after Caesar’s death in order to save his own life. Later, however, when speaking a funeral oration over Caesar’s body, he spectacularly persuades the audience to withdraw its support of Brutus and instead condemn him as a traitor.
281-286). It was not the loss of personal property or spoils of war that infuriated Achilles, it was the face he lost when Agamemnon snatched away his prize for the sake of reminding all that were present that he, though not a great warrior like Achilles, was still the greater man. His ire raised, the childish Achilles cries to his immortal mother Thetis to do the unthinkable, “go and sit beside [Zues]… persuade him to help the Trojan cause, to pin the Achaeans back against their ships, trap them round the bay and mow them down” (1. 485-488). This is how the mighty Achilles hopes to demonstrate his greatness; have his comrades mown down so that Agamemnon could see his folly for disgracing
I would present a man who displays every symptom of heroic stubbornness but who in the end is swayed by advice, makes major concession until his final collapse. He fails to live up to his principles and his great personality, which are nothing but a false persona. I would like to portray Creon as authoritative and prevailing in his first appearance with the chorus. Creon is giving a vital speech, a proclamation to the state involving the defiance of Polynices burial, he says, ‘the state, the fatherland, is everything to us, the ship we all sail in, if she sinks, we all drown.’ I would stand upstage left and slowly pace with a fierce persona, shoulders back, chin high, towards centre stage where I will be most dominant. I would speak articulately and in a low tone, pausing between every comma before taking a longer pause after saying ‘us.’ I would then look up to the skies triumphantly and quickly proclaim, ‘if she sinks,’ then pause, look regally across the audience before saying, ‘we all drown.’ I will not say this morbidly but with a warm, humbling tone to persuade the audience that this is a good thing to do.
His decision for expressing these words is mainly based on historical facts. King Archidamus claims that if their unprepared population decides to ignore these facts, it will bring a greater harm to their population. In contrast, their foe, the Athenians have access to a variety of essential resources such as, a strong navy and their numerous tax-paying allies allows them to achieve a higher chance of victory at war. (1.80). Therefrom, due to these important facts, the wise king Archidamus strongly encourages their population to postpone their attack and to prepare their army instead.
It was this delay that allowed Themistocles to persuade to the other military leaders to fight at Salamis which, according to Barry Strauss, was the turning point in the Persian wars. Although the Spartans were eventually beaten at Thermopylae, they reduced the number of Persian troops and delayed their invasion. It was Leonidas’ decision to stay and his valour to stay with his troops that allowed for the subsequent victory at Salamis, which led to the victory of the entire Persian
This speech is very powerful and when someone is feeling unmotivated and depressed it has the ability to stir you to focus. Henry knew that he was sending his troops out into a battle they would lose but instead of dwelling on this Henry convinces his men that the battle is more than a mathematical formula that they have all come there to fight for honour, for justice and for glory. He makes fighting with him at Agincourt sound like a privilege. Henry also brings up, once more the motif of the bond between kind and commoner. In the scene before the battle of Harfleur, he unites himself with his men, he says “We few, we happy few, we band of brothers.
He imagines that he, by himself, might be able to burn the bridge that the enemy needs. Powers goes so far as to say that the hero of this story reveals a hidden aspect to his personality against the backdrop of a bridge (279). Powers is suggesting that the attack by Farquhar allows him to be the courageous hero that as a mere civilian he could never be. If it is an... leads a life of leisure. He's desperate to prove his loyalty and
Another beneficial factor towards Caesar’s conquest was the disunity of the Gallic tribes, which was reminiscent of the Greek city-states. When the Celt’s hatred finally drove them together under the leader Vercingetorix, Caesar’s army was almost defeated (Source 2). However, he remained hopeful and fought alongside his troops, speaking words of encouragement. This provided the necessary motivation to win this battle among many others. Some historians may argue that the Caesar’s expansion of Rome was dangerous, but the lands he gained actually served as defensive buffer zones (Source 1).
Further, Othello’s invocation of his own military triumphs might be seen as another example of Othello dangerously misordering his priorities. He seems to position his political reputation as his biggest concern, as he did in Act III, scene iii, lines 353–355, when, having decided that Desdemona does not love him, he exclaimed, “Farewell the tranquil mind, farewell content, / Farewell the plumed troop and the big wars / That make ambition virtue.” At the same time, however, Othello’s final speech does seem to restore to him somewhat the nobility that characterized him at the beginning of the play. From almost the first time he opens his mouth, Othello demonstrates—and the other characters confirm—his hypnotic eloquence when he speaks about his exploits in battle. Othello’s final speech puts us in mind of his long speech in Act I, scene iii, so that we see him, even if only for a moment, as we saw him then. This process of conflating two different times and views of Othello is similar to the rhetorical effect achieved by Othello’s dying words, where he makes his suicide seem a noble and heroic deed by conflating it with the killing of a Turk in service of the state.