Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey remain powerful even today because they relate to the current issues. The main topics that have currently dominated the world are conflicts and politics. In the Iliad, for instance, the story focuses on the conflict between different groups with distinct interests. However, in regards to the Odyssey, it is mainly about politics and leadership. Therefore, in relating the two poems with the current situation, people are constantly fighting over leadership positions. In their quest for control of power, they pretend to have their followers’ interest, yet their wars are individual-based. Therefore, some stories remain for long because they revolve around the daily human experiences which vanish fast. If a story is based on a rare event, it will not appeal to the audience because they will easily lose interest. The Iliad and the Odyssey tell me that conflict is not evitable in a society with people of different interests. However, we should seek other sources of conflict resolution rather than war.
The gods in Homer are important because they direct what people are supposed to do. They act in violent ways when they are not appeased with the actions of humans. They play a role in ensuring that humans have no control over their surrounding and should be guided by a supreme being. The stories cannot exist if the gods are not in the picture. Although humans mainly conduct actions, their activities are directed by the gods. In short, the conflicts mainly revolve around what the gods want.
The Iliad and the Odyssey are anti-war poems, even though the actions in the stories are mainly conflict-oriented. They are anti-conflict because the aftermath of the fights is tragic, and every individual always engaged in losses. Both the antagonist’s and the protagonist’s lives end tragically. This, therefore, means that war is not the solution to every problem; at times, people should embrace other peaceful mechanisms in ensuring that an issue is resolved. The Iliad and the Odyssey’s results are a tragedy that imply that the story was against war by highlighting the consequences of it.
Reference
Vinci, F. (2017). The Nordic origins of the Iliad and Odyssey: An up-to-date survey of the theory.Athens Journal of Mediterranean Studies, 3(2), 163-186. Web.