Greeks and Trojans in Homer’s Iliad and Dante’s Inferno

In their respective literary writings, Dante and Homer give conflicting depictions of the Greeks and Trojans. Dante’s Inferno takes readers through various iterations of hell where sinners are punished in accordance with the sins they have committed throughout their lifetimes. The poet, joined by Vigil, depicts life’s aftermath and depicts the ideal, albeit fictitious, retribution in which people are punished for their crimes. On the other hand, Homer depicts the fall of Troy as the result of a coalition of Greek forces in his Iliad. Menelaus, having lost his wife who elopes with the young Trojan prince, Paris, loses temper and vows to revenge (Homerus, Anthony, and Barbara 37). Earlier, he had been adamant against persuasion from King Agamemnon asking him to unite against Troy. Importantly, he had signed a peace treaty with Troy promising that they will be allies. The war is so destructive and reflects the tyrant nature of the king fighting for greatness to control vast lands. It follows that Troy falls and the Greek army emerges victorious. However, many of the Greek soldiers also die in the hands of the Trojans. Significantly, the play ends with the killing of Agamemnon as well as that of Achilles, a great warrior. Arguably, the two writers acknowledge the near savage nature of the Greeks as well the apparent image of the Trojans who fall victims during the war. It follows that Dante’s sympathetic approach towards the Trojans and Homer’s honour of Achilles, Odysseus and the Greeks has received conflicting western worldviews on war and punishment.

In Iliad, Homer concentrates on the positive attributes of the Greeks and downplays their flaws. The lead character Achilles has superhuman strength and fighting skills besides enjoying a close affinity to the gods (Homerus, Anthony, and Barbara 29). Typical of the ancient Greek society, the character desires to have his name last throughout the generations. It follows that he serves the Greek army and leads to victory. As Agamemnon explains, history does not remember soldiers but rather kings. The revelation angers Achilles but he continues to serve in the army. He leads other soldiers into a war with Troy which the Greeks emerge victorious despite many casualties on their part. Deliberately, Homer ends his text with the killing of Achilles by Paris, a description that attracts sympathy towards the soldier. In essence, the writer seems to suggest that war was necessary because the Trojans insulted the hospitality of the Spartans. As it appears, Paris’ act of eloping with Menelaus’ wife, Helen was contradictory to the cultural and religious beliefs at the time. Hence, by accepting to protect Paris, Troy justified their invitation for war. Hence, Homer paints a picture of a great soldier who leads the Greek armies in punishing the Trojans for violating traditions. At the same time, the writer also celebrates Odysseus as a fine soldier among the Achaean commanders who mediates between Achilles and Agamemnon when the two quarrel. In other words, he has a humane character as he ensures that the two do not make rush decisions.

However, critics argue that Homer elevates Achilles and the Greek kings and armies while ignoring the Trojans, whose downfall makes Iliad tragic. Accordingly, Hector and Priam are merely defending their homeland against external invasion and not because of Helen. The kind treatment of Helen by Hector and Priam demonstrates the humane aspect of the Trojans. By extension, many critics insist that the literary text is not about Trojan War but rather Achilles’ wrath. Remarkably, they explain that, although the Trojans offended the gods by abducting Helen, they are no exception to such sins too. In essence, Homer seems celebrate the fall of Troy because of Helen yet fails to indicate the predetermined forces before the war. Apparently, Agamemnon was forming alliances with other Greek armies against Troy and Agamemnon was against it at first. However, opportunity presented itself when Helen is abducted by the Trojans. Hence, awarding victory to the Greeks appears to be a mockery to the marginalized and demonized Trojans. Accordingly, the Greeks deserve to lose in the war because evil should not triumph over good, but that is in the ideal sense. Nevertheless, the focus on Achilles who ends up destroying a larger part of the Trojan army is an injustice to the victims who have no ill feelings towards the Greeks. Like in the Inferno, the Greeks should receive severe punishment for uniting against non-existent enemies.

Conversely, Dante suggests that violence is less evil as compared to fraud in the eight section of eight part of hell. In that section, Dante meets Ulysses, one of the great heroes in the works of Homer who is condemned to execute Trojan horse’s ruse (Dante and Mark 124). Accordingly, Ulysses committed fraud because it opposes God’s will whereas violence is merely against love. The poet is sympathetic to the Tojans as seen through the punishment they receive. In the first cycle, Hector, Elecktra, Aeneas, and Penthesilia who are on the side of Troy alongside Camilla, Lavinia, and Latinus are receiving their slightly light punishment. Theyare followed in the second circle by Helen and Paris who are punished for their lust. However, the Greeks are deep in the circle with Achilles being in the second circle while Pyrrhus is in the seventh Circle. On the other hand, Odysseus and Sinon are in the eighth circle. Arguably, the poet shows that the deeper the circle, the harder the punishment. Hence, the poet sympathizes with the Trojans by subjecting them to less severe punishments as compared to the Greeks. Many critics support Dante’s nature of retribution as being accurate to the nature of one’s sins.

Works Cited

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Dante, Alighieri, and Mark Musa. Dante’s Inferno: The Indiana Critical Edition. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1995. Print.

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Homerus, , Anthony Verity, and Barbara Graziosi. The Iliad. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011. Print.

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