Mrs. Beachler
World History
09 March 2016
The Greek Heroic Period
The Greek Heroic Period spans roughly from 1200–750 B.C.E(Thirlwall).Greek heroes were, and continue to be, an important part of Ancient Greece, because of their supernatural accomplishments, mental, and physical strength. In addition to that, heroes are significant because they served as role models for the Greeks, but also expressed their own personal struggles; like private doubts, and accepting fate. The Greeks worshipped heroes because they could understand their struggle, but were also in awe of their ability to overcome obstacles and the power that they possessed. The Greek heroic period had a significant effect on the religious worship, literature, …show more content…
These two authors focused on the sagas of heroes and how they intertwined with everyday greek life. For example, in Homer’s Odyssey, the protagonist, Odysseus’ struggle to return home after the Trojan War’s end. In the prequel The Iliad takes place nine years after the start of the war while it is still occurring. Odysseus battles monsters and sails the seas of Poseidon 's wrath all in order to return home to his wife and son.(Homer) In the epic poem The Odyssey, Odysseus struggles to accept his own mortality, and rely on his intelligence. It is important that Odysseus experienced the struggle of accepting his mortality because it showed the people of Greece, and future generations that mortality is not a handicap. In The Odyssey, the character Achilles also struggles with understanding what honor and sacrifice are and why it is so important for a hero to possess these two qualities(Approaches to Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey). Homer incorporated Greek traditions and culture in his poems, and gives his reader a look into the lives of the Ancient Greeks. What they valued, who or what they worshipped, their ideals, and the battles and politics that occurred during the Greek Heroic Period. Without these poems ancient Greek scholars might not have known what it was like to live in Ancient Greece. Both stories teach us the terminology and customs of the time, and the importance Greeks placed on their gods and heroes. No one can prove that the Iliad and the Odyssey were written by one man or even the origins of the author(s). Homer was writing as the Greek world was developing; his poems describe how relationships between men and women, parents and children, mortals and the gods, and good and evil, came to be in Ancient Greece. “ “The Argonautica offers a window into the world of the people who produced it”(The Argonautica Plot Synopsis: The Myth of Jason and the