Patriotism in the Iliad

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Fabrizio Luzio Fate and Virtue Portfolio Entry #1 During the Homeric or Heroic age, the economic and political systems were far less developed than in the later well-known period of ancient Greece. Greece was not Greece. They did not even refer to themselves as Greeks, in the Iliad and in the Odyssey Homer denominates this group of distinct people as Achaeans. These people were only linked to each other by the relationships of the city-states that shared the same language. Basically, Homeric Greece was a tribal society conquered and subjugated by Agamemnon who was able to conquer most of those societies in order to force them to join him in future battles. In the Iliad most soldiers were forced to fight for Agamemnon, since he had conquered their city-state and made a pact with their ruler in order to have future support in wars. Today we consider that an army is the most effective when it is motivated and share the values, believes of their leaders. Values like freedom, patriotism, religion or justice are frequently used in order to invigorate the soldier’s heart and fill them with courage and strength. In contrast Agamemnon uses established pacts in order to force and order his soldiers to fight a cause that is not their own. Although values like honor and glory may motivate some of Agamemnon’s kings and heroes. What motivates the regular soldier? He who does not feel the insult from Helen’s betrayal towards Menelaus or Agamemnon’s ambition to gain control of the region. Again in contrast we can see the soldiers of Troy having a real natural motivation, the future of their city and their families. The thought of having their children enslaved and their wives becoming spoils of war for the victorious Achaeans invaders infuriates their heart and fills them with courage to defend their land and protect their loved ones. Just by looking at the main
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