Are there morality lessons in the Iliad?

Last night I was challenged with the question “Are there morality lessons in the Iliad?” The short answer is yes. The book is actually so thick with morality lessons, it’s hard to discern them all.

This book can be a little confusing for the modern audience. It isn’t, as some people expect, a fairy tale. This is actually a history book. It’s not written in the style of modern histories, we don’t after all, talk of the Archangel Gabriel standing beside the Rangers as they made their charge up Pointe du Hoc. But that is just the way things were written back then. It has been well demonstrated that you can follow the history of the actual historic battle by reading Homer, if you understand his writing style. Understanding that it is a history explains why there are some boring lists in the book of who killed who and exactly what ships showed up. You will also note this is not the near mythical Achilles with invulnerable skin who takes the battlefield. That was a later creation of the poets. No this Achilles is an actual man. The over all plot structure is not dictated by the needs of fiction, but by historic events.

I should also note that the Iliad is not the story of “The Trojan War.” It’s a story of a battle during the Trojan War. It’s more like reading about D-Day, than World War II.

Nevertheless there are plenty of morality lessons to be found. You look for them in the actions and speeches of the individual characters. It helps to have a bit of a list in front of you before you dive in, so that you know when Nestor opens his mouth you’re going to hear the voice of wisdom and experience speaking.

As an example, here’s a random bit of wisdom from the opening scene of the Iliad. What answer does Achilles give his King, when the King tries to order his subjects about without properly consulting them. (Read in your favorite modern politician demanding that someone do such and such). “I should be a mean coward,” he cried, “were I to give into you in all things. Order other people about, not me…”

My favorite example of buried wisdom in the Iliad is Achilles commenting on socialism. Over three thousand years ago, the ancient Greeks also faced the question of whether it was better to ‘spread the wealth around’ or should they give unique rewards for exceptional accomplishment? In refusing to fight any more for the Greeks, he says: “I see I have no thanks for all my fighting. He that fights fares no better than he that does not. Coward and hero are held in equal honor, and death deals like measure to him who works and him who is idle.” Something to think about. If you spread the wealth around too much, don’t expect your great heroes to exert themselves on your behalf. This is why Communism fails. The Greeks knew it in about 1250 B.C. Who says there are no morality lessons in the Iliad?

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