Structural Levels of The Iliad
Wars are often very complex in nature and are fought for many diverse
reasons. The school boy may fight in order to get money for college, the patriot may
fight to bring life, liberty and justice to some poor soul, and a coward may fight
because he was drafted by force. In the Iliad, powerful gods, great nations, and heroic
people all fight for many different reasons. This wide variety of fighting results in
unique situations, problems, and structural levels to the war. These structural levels
are of special interest, because they help define the consequences and outcomes of the
war. The universal war of the gods, social war of the Greeks and Trojans, and the
private war of Achilles' honor are structural levels of the Trojan war. These structural
levels seem to influence and shape each other in many distinct ways.
The universal war between the gods over the apple of discord consequently lead to the
social war between the Greeks and the Trojans. For example, Aphrodite promised Paris that
he could have the most beautiful woman in the world if he gave the apple of discord to
her. He did so, and decided to go and get his reward. Unfortunately, the most beautiful
women in the world, Helen, was the wife of the Greek King Menelaus. The abduction of
Helen by Paris lead to the Trojan war. The promise made by Aphrodite to Paris in order
to get the apple of discord resulted in the abduction of Helen and the start of the
Trojan war. Therefore, Aphrodite, in the universal war, set the stage for the social war
of the Greeks and Trojans. Another time the gods influenced the social war was when the
Greeks and Trojans had a one on one battle to decide the outcome of the war. The Greeks
chose King Menelaus and the Trojans chose Paris. Menelaus and Paris fought, but when
Paris was about to be killed he was whisked off by Aphrodite. Both sides agreed that the
Greeks had won. Zeus decided to start the war again, and he sent Athena to trick
Pandaros to shoot at Menelaus, breaking the truce between the Greeks and Trojans. This
intervention by Zeus lead to another outbreak of war between the Greeks and Trojans. The
universal war of Athena and Hera versus Aphrodite had Zeus so caught up in it that he did
not want the social war to end. A god in the universal war once again created the social
war between Troy and Greece. The universal war was the cause of the social war of Greece
and Troy.
The private war of Achilles' honor was an outgrowth of the social war between the Greeks
and the Trojans. During the social war, Apollo grew angry at the Greeks for the abuse of
his priest, Chryses. The Greeks had abused Chryses when Agamemnon took Chryses'
daughter, Chryseis, during the raid of the town of Thebes. Agamemnon wanted a
replacement for Chryseis, so he took Briseis from Achilles. This deeply wounded the
honor of Achilles, and he decided to stop fighting in the social war until his honor was
amended. Achilles was angered by an event that occurred in the social war, thus
providing the need for Achilles to reclaim his honor. The social war was the cause of
the private war of Achilles. The opportunity for Achilles to carry out his private war
came after the death of his comrade, Patroclus. Because Achilles would not fight,
Patroclus asked him if he could wear his armor. Patroclus thought that this might make
others think he was Achilles, so that the Trojans might be scared and the Greeks might
gain courage and confidence. Achilles consented, and during the ensuing battle Patroclus
was killed by Hector. Achilles now had a way to go out and fight gloriously, in order to
avenge Patroclus' death as well as to mend his honor that was so wounded by the ransack
of Briseis. The social war then influenced the outcome of the private war of Achilles.
Events that occurred in the social war created and influence the private war of Achilles
to reclaim his honor.
The universal war of the gods was deeply impacted by the private war of Achilles. In
some instances, the private war of Achilles fueled the universal war of the gods. An
example of this was when Achilles was killing Trojans left and right in the river
Scamandros. All of the dead Trojans in the water made Scamandros angry, and he chased
Achilles with a huge wave. Athena and Posiedon both saw this, and they called on
Hephaistos to burn the river with fire. This massive conflict between the gods was
fueled by the result of Achilles' private war. Essentially, Achilles' private war was a
source of major conflict between the gods. The universal war of the gods was also
resolved by some of the effects of Achilles' private war. The universal war occurred
mainly because Hera and Athena felt that Aphrodite should not have received the apple of
discord. This resulted in a symbolic social war that mirrored the war of the gods.
Achilles' effect on the social war, during his private conquest, caused the social war to
come to an victorious end for the Greeks. In a way, the victory of the Greeks was a
reward to Hera and Athena, in order to compensate for the fact that Aphrodite had
received the coveted apple of discord. The private war of Achilles swayed the social war
to the extent that it effected the resolution of the universal war of the gods. The
private war of Achilles motivated the gods to fight and to resolve the universal war.
All of these examples show the numerous consequences and influences that the structural
levels of the Trojan war had on each other and the outcome of the Trojan war. The
universal war of the gods over the apple of discord created the social war between the
Greeks and Trojans. This social war lead to Achilles' war to redeem his honor.
Achilles' private conquest then had a enormous effect in giving the Greeks victory of the
social war. The resolution of the social war eventually lead to peace on Mt. Olympus.
The three structural levels of the Iliad thus created, carried out, and concluded the
Trojan war.
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