Written by Carlo Alfonso S. Sales
The poets and writers of Ancient Greece spoke of numerous tales of mythological gods and goddesses, the heroes and monsters, and their legends and exploits. While capturing the rich culture of a cradle of civilization, these prominent characters served as a Rosetta Stone for studying the basic nature of feelings, behaviors, and traits that are shared by all humans, modern and ancient.
One such literary work that depicts the debate of fate versus human flaw is the Iliad, Homer’s epic poem that narrates the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles in the final year of the Trojan War.
Chryses offers Agamemnon a ransom for his daughter, Chryseis, but Agamemnon’s arrogance leads him to refuse, provoking Apollo to pray for a plague. Forced to return Chryseis, Agamemnon demands Briseis from Achilles, angering him. Achilles withdraws from the war, praying to Zeus to favor the Trojans. As the Greeks face defeat, Achilles sends Patroclus to fight in his place, leading to Patroclus’ death at Hector’s hands. Overcome with grief, Achilles re-enters the battle, killing Hector after he ignores an omen. Hector’s body is dragged around Patroclus’s funeral bier, symbolizing the consequences of pride and vengeance.
The story ends with King Priam of Troy and Hector’s father tearfully pleading to Achilles to take pity and return Hector’s body. Deeply moved and remembering his father, Achilles finally relents and returns the corpse, and both sides agree to a temporary truce.
The characters of Iliad are prone to such errors as arrogance, rashness, ignorance, vengeance, and stupidity. These turn them into fools, which fortify the very nature of being human. It may be by fate, a celestial force of the universe, that these events happened to these people, but more certainly, they are imperfect and sinful and flawed, like us. In the case of our errors, we also have our ethical values and the elusive yet existent “good” in us. And in the case of Iliad, compassion is shown as well as sympathy, especially when Achilles mourns and fights for justice for his friend, and when King Priam mourns and fights for a proper burial for his son.
THE BARRISTER 