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Homer The Iliad Is A Literary Masterpiece That Is Dedicated To Warfare And ...




Homer
The Iliad is a literary masterpiece that is dedicated to warfare and its consequences both for humans and gods alike. It is a poem that lives and moves and has its being in war, in that world of organised violence in which a man justifies his existence most clearly by killing others. (Knox, 1990: Introduction li) The Iliad consequently represents the most blatant mixture of militarism and heroism of any of the great literary works of the ancient period. Its depictions of boxing are located within this ode to war and act as a continuation of the fighting during periods when the Greeks and the Trojans have fought themselves to a stalemate. Boxing also provides Homer with the opportunity to lament the fate of the central heroes within the poem via the spectacle of funeral games. At heart, The Iliad is therefore a tragic poem, epitomised by the tragedy that befalls the two central protagonists of the struggle between the armies of Greece and Troy, namely the legendary Greek warrior/fighter Achilles and his Trojan adversary Hector (Redfield, 1993:99127).
The skill of the boxers and fighters that are detailed within The Iliad is in correlation to the characters' favourable or unfavourable relationship with the gods. In this way Homer infuses boxers with only moderate skill with the kind of energy, rage and pugilistic prowess that would usually be reserved only for the heroes. Thus, physical power is something that is bestowed upon men by the whim of the gods as well as an art that can be honed, practised and finetuned on the battlefield and beyond. This is best evidenced in Book Five of the poem when the goddess Pallas Athena bestows a violent rage upon Diomedes who then embarks upon an orgy of bloodshed and destruction. Likewise, it is Apollo throughout The Iliad who decides as and when to instil great combat powers in Greek and Trojan mortals. However, with specific regards to boxing, it is Book Twenty Three of The Iliad that provides the most illuminating insight into the uniquely Hellenistic view of the worth of boxing in ancient culture.
Book Twenty Three is set towards the end of the Trojan War when the Greeks and the Trojans had been fighting for many years. It takes place after the death of Hector at the hands of Achilles who is himself apoplectic at the death of his close friend (and, perhaps, lover) Patroclus. The Greeks are holding a procession of lavish funeral games for the departed Patroclus, which consists of the major athletic pursuits of the Homeric era. These sports are: boxing, horse racing, wrestling, spear throwing (javelin throwing as it is understood today), footracing (running) and gladiatorial combat. The adjudicator of the funeral games in Achilles the one mortal who can perform each task better than any rival; also the most unpredictable and contrary of all of the Homeric heroes.


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