Many ancient philosophers dedicated their works to war and expressed their opinion on whether or not fighting is justified by any means. The attempt to formulate criteria under which war would be morally right led to the creation of the just war theory. The current paper observes two ancient texts, The Iliad and The Bhagavad-gita, to investigate the arguments of what the virtues of wars are. The paper argues that although both texts name different reasons to justify war, all of them are united by the fact that they improve warriors life.
Homer’s poem The Iliad depicts battles during the Trojan War and glorifies wars. From The Iliad, it could be inferred that war is justified because it helps to develop bravery and obligatoriness. In the eleventh book of The Iliad, Odysseus claims that only a craven man leaves the battlefield, while most decent people stay till the end (Hommer 242). Another illustration of the fact that wars are worthy of participation is Hector’s behavior. He is courageous; from his viewpoint, it is a shame to hide from conflict. In the sixth book, Hector says to his wife, who is worried about becoming a widow, that he “would die of shame” if he “would shrink from battle now” (Homer 176). Thus, Homer emphasizes that the necessity to fight is higher than staying alive. Homer also applies the concept of joy to justify battles. Throughout the book, he uses this word to describe the feelings of the battling warriors (Homer 168, 266, 307). Hence, it could be concluded that for Homer, war is justified because it gives the fame of a brave man, is prestigious and entertaining.
The Bhagavad-gita is an ancient Indian religious and philosophical masterpiece, written by Vyasa, that depicts a dialogue between the prince Arjuna and his coachman, Krishna. The Bhagavad-gita reflects Hinduism’s tradition to classify all people into four varnas and hijrahs, that is, untouchable people. More precisely, shudras are born to serve, vaishyas – to trade, brahmins – to educate, and kshatriyas – to rule and fight. When the prince complains that he fears the outcomes of the war against his cousins, the coachman responds that the prince belongs to kshatriyas and, therefore, he should fulfill his duty as a combatant (Vyasa 29, 40). From this, it could be inferred that, compared with what Homer claims, the divine prescription, rather than the search for fame and the fear of becoming known as a coward, justifies war.
Vyasa, similarly to Homer, states that a warrior should not be afraid of death. Nevertheless, the former’s argument is that every person inside has atman. Atman is the inner self that would reincarnate after the death of the physical body (Vary 435). On the contrary, Homer emphasizes that “man’s life breath cannot come back again” (Hommer 212). This means that Homer does not justify wars by the existence of the afterlife, as Vyasa does.
Krishna also says that it would be fair to go to war if it is caused by just reasons. The coachman claims that it would be a sin not to react to the barbarous behavior of Arjuna’s cousins (Vyasa 39). Thus, according to The Bhagavad-gita, war is reasonable if it is fought by kshatriyas and directed against people who deserve the punishment. Besides, a man should not be afraid of war because even if his body dies, the soul continues living.
To conclude, from The Iliad, it seems that war is worth fighting because it is an obligation of a decent man and helps to unlock his potential of a brave person. It is prestigious not to give in to fear. The Bhagavad-gita regards participation in wars as a duty, as well. The difference is that this duty was given by the deities. Finally, the fact that unites both authors argue that if a person becomes engaged in war, it signifies that he acts following virtues, even though they are dissimilar in two writings.
Works Cited
Homer. The Iliad. Translated by Eknath Easwaran. Penguin Classics, 1990.
Vary, Alex. “Accessing Atman via the Mesostratum Mind Loop.” Journal of Consciousness Exploration & Research, vol. 7, no.6, 2016, pp. 431-435.
Vyasa. The Bhagavad-gita. Translated by Robert Fagles. Nilgiri Press, 1985.