THE GREATS

REVISITING ANCIENT LTERATURE.......(typographical errors are requested to be exempted)

THE   ILIAD

BY

HOMER

MADE FLUIDIC

BY

THE UNIMANULLAR DUKE

i.e.

PARTHO MISHRA

In all civilizations and in all spheres around the globe the thought process of people had been more or less similar, and THE ILIAD is no exception, if we ponder over religious folk lores or epics written at any time anywhere around the globe, an underlying similarity and same line of thought can be traced out. For example, in Bible there is a description of fight between heaven and hell , beautifully scripted in Milton’s PARADISE LOST, In Islamic texts, there is a mention of WAR OF KARBALA, in Hindu religious texts, MAHABHARATA, in Roman texts etc , almost everywhere, so we can infere out that human minds think alike in all ages in every part of the world. So let us delve into this one of the greatest written works of literature, more specifically European Literature (I think literature is not bounded upto any region…..), composed wonderfully by one of the greatest poets of all time, HOMER, of Greece, nearly 2700 years ago. The theme of the whole plot,( like every other great epic or incidences mentioned in any religious text )covers these aspects, WRATH,FURY, RAGE,DIVINITY and SELF REALIZATION..Let us look at THE ILLIAD  through the lens of THE UNIMANULLAR  DUKE……….

SOME INSIDER’S NOTES…..(can be avoided at times)

v The Epic is written as a combination of a number of books with more than 200 or so characters(but only few of them matter) in DACTYLIC HEXAMETER(this is quite a technical term, I myself do not understand it completely, so things which are complex I leave them to the experts, if it is some things other than Physics, since I HAVE AN AFFAIR WITH ENGLISH BUT I DO LOVE PHYSICS… HA HA !), anyway for now, I can say that it means,

“A meter which consists of lines made up of sic feet (here feet means a different thing), each of these feet would be a dactyl, means consist of a long and a short syllable ”It is also known as ‘Meter of an Epic’, basically it is a rhythmic scheme, nothing more.

v The name is ‘Iliad’, because in ancient times’ Troy’ where the action takes place in the epic was known by the name ‘Iilles’ or ‘Iliad’, the whole epic is set during ‘The Trojan War’. The epic combines everything needed for a great epic, the drama, etc………… ( which we  INDIANS have heard of since childhood days…)

v The whole narrative starts in ‘medias res’(into the middle of things), this is one of the intelligent tools which smart authors, dramatists etc(just like me J) use to reach directly to the things they want to convey(Shakespeare also used this in “Hamlet”), so the epic starts in the middle of action and gradually the characters and the plot are revealed….

Ø  

THE   PLOT

IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER

I AM  WRITING   IT  WITH ARROW  HEADS INSTEAD OF PARAGRAPHS SO THAT YOU MAY  SCROLL THROUGH IT AT ONE GO………..

v The story unfolds in the middle of ‘The Trojan War’ between ‘The Trojans’ and ‘The Greeks’(also reffered to as THE ACHAEANS).

v Two girls had been held captive ‘CHRYSIES’AND ‘BRISEIS’(daughter of Apollo priest and The Greek General Achillese’s love interest) by the King of Greece ‘AGAMEMNON’ 

{EVERY WAR IS FOUGHT BECAUSE OF MALE DOMINATING THOUGHTS AND CRAVING FOR FEMALES}

v The priest offers money, to get his daughter back, most members of Agamemnon’s court agreed, but he did not  (HE WAS A LUSTY FOOLISH MAN)

v Greek god(have been written in bold fonts all throughout the document) Apollo(I HAVE GIVEN REFERENCES OF ALL GODS AND GODESSES AT THE END ALONG WITH CHARACTERS) causes a plague to inflict Greek army, on priest’s request.

v Everyone gets surprised, after nine days leader of Myrmidon Contingent, ACHILLES, calls an assembly to deal with problem, under pressure AGAMEMNON returns the priest’s daughter, but takes ACHILLES’s love interest, so for obvious reasons, ACHILLES and his men decides not to fight for AGAMEMNON.

v The plague ends when ODYSSEUS(another member of GREEK TROOP), returns CHRYSIES.ACHILLES was upset , he calls his mother THEITIS to ask for help from ZEUS and urges to bring Greeks to the breaking point by the Trojans so that his value can be realized….(REVENGE DOES NOT PAY ALWAYS AS HE WILL LOSE EVERYTHI9NG AT THE END)

v ZEUS sends a dream to AGAMEMNON to attack TROY, he tests his army’s moral and then finally The Greeks decided to attack , The Trojan Army is led by KING PRIAM.

v The two armies approach, PARIS, the son of PRIAM , offers a duel with MENELAUS, brother of AGAMEMNON.It is decided that the duel will decide the winner, armies will not fight, both sides agree. PARIS was beaten , but APHRODITE rescues him before he can be killed.

v Due to hatred of HERA  for Troy, ZEUS arrows MENELAUS, and the vow is broken and the battle begins again(HERA AND ZEUS WERE BUSY SHOWING CHILDISH LOVE TOWARDS EACH OTHER EVEN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WAR, HA HA H! J)

v DIOMEDES(another Greek hero), defeated many Trojans, starts fighting with Gods, APOLLO warns, gods on each side starts fighting and interfering the war.

v HECTOR(a Trojan army leader) duels with AJAX(Greek armymen), but night descends and fight stops.. The Greeks decide to burn their dead and raise a wall, The Trojans who held captive a Greek Princess HELEN, refuses to return her.

v ZEUS instructs the gods not to interfere and so happens. The Greek army feels the need of a potent warrior since their army is being thrashed by HECTOR, AGAMEMNON realises his fault and sends his cabinet members to bring back ACHILLES, he angrily refuses(IN INDIA WE CALL IT “BHAAW”)

v That night , Odysseus and Diomedes kills TROJAN DOLON (a spy, sent by the Trojans to keep an eye on Greek ships), obviously Trojan army gets infuriated by this and the war goes on its peak the next day.

v War goes on and HERA seduces ZEUS and hence , he goes to sleep, POSEIDON helps Greeks as there is no one to look after the war rules in absence of Zeus(THIS IS CRAZINESS, AND ALSO DEPICTS THAT EVERYTHING IS FAIR IN LOVE AND WAR).War continues , he wakes up and sends APOLLO to help The Trojans, to establish an act of balance between power outflow.

v PATROCULOUS(friend of ACHILLES), ignores his friends’s advice and goes to the war wearing ACHILLES’s armour, he is killed by HECTOR, takes away the armour from his body.

v ACHILLES becomes mad and sighs in revenge, vows to take vengeance on HECTOR,he stands next to the GREEK wall and roars in rage, PATROCULOUS’s  loss is mourned, and on request of ACHILLES’s mom’s request, a new armour is bestowed upon him by HEPHAESTUS.

v AGAMEMNON returns all the gifts to ACHILLES, but he was in WAR MODE, he does not eat anything and straps his armour, takes his horse XANTHOS  and drives towards battlefield, ZEUS lifts all the bans on gods(THIS WAS THE FATE OF ALL WARS EVER FOUGHT, NO RULE ONLY SLAUGHTER).

v ACHILLES starts slaughtering everyone around and throws into river SHAMANDROS , breaks the gates.

v All Trojans enter the city except HECTOR, he is being chased around in the city by ACHILLES, after a brief dual fight HECTOR is stabbed by the neck.HECTOR reminds that ACHILLES is also destined to die, PATROCULOUS’s body is buried , THE GREEKS WIN….

v ACHILLES repeatedly abuses HECTOR’s body,led by HERMES, KING PRIAM, takes his wagon out of Troy,clasps ACHILLES through knees and pleads HECTOR’s body.

v ACHILLES returns the body and finally both of them have self realization of great losses in the war and both of them mourn and sob at last……….(DESTINY OF MORTALS AND FATE OF EVERY WAR)

THE MAJOR THEMES

NOSTOS- THE CELEBRATION OF HOMECOMING OF A HERO

 KLEOS-EARNING GLORY , WHICH IS DECIDED BY WHAT OTHERS SAY OR HEAR ABOUT A HERO

(TWO OF THE MOST COMMON FEATURES OF EVERY EPIC OF THIS WORLD).

TIME, WRATH, FATE

(AS ALREADY MENTIONED)

THE LESSONS WHICH CAN BE LEARNT

Solely my inference when I read it in class 10, opinions may varyJ

1.    GOOD LEADERS MUST BE SERVANTS.

2.    THE NATURE OF NARCISSISM IS SOCIALLY DESTRUCTIVE.

3.    EVIL HAPPENS TO THOSE, LEAST DESERVING, IN WARS.

4.    BRUTAL FORCE CAN TAKE ON A MAN’s SENSES.

5.    A TRUE LEADER  OR HERO SHOULD RESPECT THE BEST, ERASING HIS /HER EGO.

6.    REVENGE IS NOT THE BEST CHOICE , IT BRINGS MISERY,

7.    ALL MORTAL BRAINS WOEK IN EXACTLY SIMILAR WAY AROUND THE WORLD.

8.    THE BEHAVIOUR OF GODS LIKE HUMAN BEINGS SHOW THAT THE CONCEPT OF GOD IS A FICTIOUS ONE CREATED BY HUMANS THEMSELVES, TO HAVE A RULE OF AUTHORITY.

9.    THE GREATEST RELIGION ABOVE ALL IS HUMANITY.

10.                       FEMALES SHOULD BE RESPECTED , BECAUSE THEY ARE THE CAUSE OF EVOLUTION AS WELL AS DESTRUCTION.

THE LIST OF IMPORTANT CHARACTERS AND DIVINE FIGURES (This I listed from the internet because I had no record of all the names, it is not necessary to keep record of all the names, just few important ones are enough)

·         The major deities:

·         Zeus (Neutral)

·         Hera (Achaeans)

·         Artemis (Trojans)

·         Apollo (Trojans)

·         Hades (Neutral)

·         Aphrodite (Trojans)

·         Ares (Achaeans, then Trojans)

·         Athena (Achaeans)

·         Hermes (Neutral/Achaeans)

·         Poseidon (Achaeans)

·         Hephaestus (Achaeans)

·         The minor deities:

·         Eris (Trojans)

·         Iris (Neutral)

·         Thetis (Achaeans)

·         Leto (Trojans)

·         Proteus (Achaeans)

·         Scamander (Trojans)

·         Phobos (Trojans)

·         Deimos (Trojans)

·         Hypnos (Achaeans)

• The Trojan men
• Hector – son of King Priam and the foremost Trojan warrior.
• Aeneas – son of Anchises and Aphrodite.
• Deiphobus – brother of Hector and Paris.
• Paris – Helen's lover-abductor.
• Priam – the aged King of Troy.
• Polydamas – a prudent commander whose advice is ignored; he is Hector's foil.
• Agenor – a Trojan warrior, son of Antenor, who attempts to fight Achilles (Book XXI).
• Sarpedon, son of Zeus – killed by Patroclus. Was friend of Glaucus and co-leader of the Lycians (fought for the Trojans).
• Glaucus, son of Hippolochus – friend of Sarpedon and co-leader of the Lycians (fought for the Trojans).
• Euphorbus – first Trojan warrior to wound Patroclus.
• Dolon – a spy upon the Greek camp (Book X).
• Antenor – King Priam's advisor, who argues for returning Helen to end the war.
• Polydorus – son of Priam and Laothoe.
• Pandarus – famous archer and son of Lycaon.
• The Trojan women
• Hecuba (Ἑκάβη, Hekabe) – Priam's wife, mother of Hector, Cassandra, Paris, and others.
• Helen (Ἑλένη) – daughter of Zeus; Menelaus's wife; espoused first to Paris, then to Deiphobus; her abduction by Paris precipitated the war.
• Andromache – Hector's wife, mother of Astyanax.
• Cassandra – Priam's daughter.
• Briseis – a Trojan woman captured by Achilles from a previous siege, over whom Achilles's quarrel with Agamemnon began.

The Achaeans (Ἀχαιοί) – also called Hellenes (Greeks), Danaans (Δαναοί), or Argives (Ἀργεĩοι).

·         Agamemnon – King of Mycenae, leader of the Greeks.

·         Achilles – son of Peleus, foremost warrior, leader of the Myrmidons and King of Phthia,^[5] son of a divine mother, Thetis.

·         Odysseus – King of Ithaca, Greek commander.

·         Ajax the Greater – son of Telamon and king of Salamis.

·         Menelaus – King of Sparta, husband of Helen and brother of Agamemnon.

·         Diomedes – son of Tydeus, King of Argos.

·         Ajax the Lesser – son of Oileus, often partner of Ajax the Greater.

·         Patroclus – Achilles' closest companion.

·         Nestor – King of Pylos, and trusted advisor to Agamemnon.

  MERRY GRASPING!

            Swami vivEKANANDA’S THOUGHTS

ON

    INCLUSIVENESS OF INTER –RELIGIOUS FAITHS

 

 

The man who redefined the word ‘saint’, the selfless and tireless lad of our motherland who kindled the light of’ humanity’ .He , the man, visited the country as Narendranath Dutta, who later blessed the planet as Swami Vivekananda. If he is looking at us from somewhere, he must be deeply saddened because of the everyday religious tussles , mankind is facing day by day in prolific amount. The lessons taught by him to the humankind, have nearly been forgotten.

Every year we celebrate his birthday as the National Youth Day, but do we,’ the youth’, abide and delve even for a day into the thoughts he initiated? I guess, we don’t. In our era the major problems,  which are casting a holocaust on the world and our nation , is mainly due to the clash between different religious views, trying to outshadow each other.He always taught about the meaning of life and it’s purpose, but unfortunately we cannot see it now-a-days, because of the curtains of ignorance and self centered ego , which have shrouded our mind , body, heart and soul.He taught about harmony and peace , which he showed could be achieved with mutual collaboration and allowing every rational religious value to flourish, but it is quite unfortunate that just the reverse is happening.

 

According to him,’ salvation’ can be only by allowing all faiths to fuse into one and nurture humanity in all course of action.in this way only we can manifest the hidden potential inside us, through the channels of proper education. He showed the world the spirituality of the Hindus,the brotherhood of Mohammedans, the mercifulness of the Buddhists, the activity of the Christians and many enriched values of different religions and tried to show us the pragmatic way of establishing a World Religion from India and conveyed the message of togetherness, but today every other religion is trying to pull all the rest of the religions to debris, wake up folks, wake up! He correctly portrayed, that the Greatest Religion above all is not the one in which we worship some idol or we offer prayers to some unknown God.The most religious person is the one who serves the ‘Creatures of The Creator’. He always stressed that , a peson should have faith in himself or herself and by that only he or she can serve the ultimate purpose of life.But today what we do is just follow any srtakeholder of religion so blindly that, we ourselves even do not realise that on which path we are going, and ,in fact, by doing so we make ourselves so weak that we even lose our sense of judgement.

If I talk about some of his preachings specifically, no better example comes to my mind than that of his lectures from Columbo to Almora (the series of lectures), were mainly focussed on the convergence of inter –religious faiths and inclusiveness of religion, which in fact is the way leading towards the ultimate truth.He was seriously worried about the clash of different religions and thus he stressed on the purification of soul , which can only be achieved by cleansing the impurities within, through righteous education.In fact,’ the cleansing of soul concept’ has been discussed in every religious scripture of this planet, to quote few , in The Holy Queran, the concept of ‘Purification of ‘qalb’ and ‘nafz’has been very well demonstrated, for attaining a higher self, in the same manner, The Bhagwat Geeta , emphasizes on ‘Purification of the’ Aatman’’, which are obviously the same concept written in different words and expressions.It really aches me when as a keen observer, which is a natural tendency in me as a student of Physics, I see futile fights going on in the name of religion and orthodoxism and Swami Vivekananda’s teachings getting polluted.In the World Religion Parliament, in Chicago, when he delivered his historic speech, he very well expressed our nation, india, as the abode of all religions of the world, which signified his vision of a united nation. His vision was to paint India with one colour, by mixing colours of every religion and ultimately, bring Humanity to light.

He always focussed on self growth and believed that religion is a tool, which is used by the wise people as a tool to unite souls, whereas , the feeble minded people, use the same tool to creatye a rift between hearts.He believed that all religions are going beyond reason , (which is in fact prudent till date),but reason is the only guide to get there!He believed , religion gives nothing new to us , it only lets us see ourselves by erasing away the obstacles and dissolving our ego. He repeatedly said “God can be seen in every man, woman and child”But, today, we can kill a person for trivial reasons like blowing a horn , where are we going my fellow citizens..??According to his views religion is within us . No book , no teacher can do more than helping us to find that, we get all the truths within us.He used to say , “Read man , he is the living poem.”My dear friends , try to understand that religion consists solely in realization . Doctrines are methods not religion.We should not forget that religious teachings must always be constructive and not destructive. All these ideas clearly indicate that he had a pragmatic , inclusive and rational outlook, he clearly condemned orthodoxism, because that path is the way towards destruction, we have to agree on this because of a simple fact, that, we do not have more knowledge and wisdom than he had.

We all are human beings my dear friends, come let us celebrate different facets of religion and shed off the man – made shackles of tyranny, which are pulling us backward. Let us unite and allow every true human value originating from religion to flourish, and move towards a glorious future, by paying real homage to that great soul  and turn India, this time into ,” The Bird of Joy”