Iliad Essay #2
Could it be that what makes us human is the fact that we are going to die one day?
Perhaps the prospect of our death, which we know will inevitably come for all of us, is what
retroactively endows us with our humanity, or at least with the qualities which constitute this
idea of humanness–compassion, forgiveness, understanding, empathy, and a sense of community
with fellow man. For if our lives were not finite, would they still hold as much value? Would our
actions and decisions even matter? I assume most people would believe the answer to be no.
Homer alludes to this idea when he compares the gods’ indifference to life to depictions of
human solidarity in the face of mortality.
Countless times throughout the book, humans are shown to be better, less morally corrupt
than the gods. Given that, aside from supernatural powers, the only distinction between gods and
humans is the length of their lives, this suggests a positive relationship between morality and
mortality. In book XV, Telamonian Aias gives a short but powerful speech in order to rouse the
Achaian army into battle: “Dear friends, be men; let shame be in your hearts, and discipline, /
and have consideration for each other in the strong encounters, / since more come through alive
when men consider each other, / and there is no glory when they give way, nor warcraft
either”(XV, 561-564)1. Though on the surface it sounds like a typical war speech to motivate
men, in the context of this world full of divine beings, it stands out. First, it shows one instance
in which human beings are shown to care for the lives of others: Aias urges the men to consider
each other, whatever this may mean, out of regard for their lives. In a condition where life
becomes even more tenuous–war–humans are shown to care for one another. This is in stark
contrast to the many occasions in which the gods seem to care little for the beings they are
1
Homer. The Iliad. Translated by Richmond Lattimore. Chicago: University of Chicago Press,
2011
supposed to watch over, their subjects in a way, and even actively seek out their destruction for
their entertainment.
Gods possess most attributes in common with humans–lack of omnipotence, for
example–except that humanity which seems to only characterize us mortal beings. There is one
instance in which the coolness with which the gods regard human life hides–or reveals–a far
more sinister attitude. In book XV, after being told the news of his son’s death, Ares decides to
make his way to the fight in order to avenge him. Athene, however, stops this, saying this as to
why, among other things: “By now some other, better of his strength and hands than your son
was, / has been killed, or will soon be killed; and it is a hard thing / to rescue all the generation
and seed of all mortals”(XV, 139-141). Of course, Athene is partly saying this out of fear of
Zeus’s wrath, but nonetheless the lightness that human life is treated with is still there. And why
should they care or feel bad? After all, for them men are like leaves: one generation dies and the
next one comes while they remain the same, constant, and unperturbed. Their lack of mortality
makes it so that their actions hold no weight and can always be remedied because time is on their
side. Whereas us mortals, due to our limited time on this earth, have to make our every action
count, and must care for the lives of others whose time is also limited.
In presenting us with many instances of the gods’ indifference to life, exposing their
inhumanity, and allowing us to contrast this attitude with that of humans, giving us many
examples of respect and camaraderie between each other, Homer suggests that our mortality
defines us, and without it, our very essence would be lost. If one has ever wondered what
humans would be and act like if we were immortal, the Greek gods as depicted in The Iliad
provide us with an answer to that–they would not(be human).
Bibliography
Homer. The Iliad. Translated by Richmond Lattimore. Chicago: University of Chicago Press,
2011
