The Glorious Death of Achilles free essay sample

While Achilles as an epic hero possesses all the characteristics that made him noble including other characteristics that lead to his downfall such as pride and wrath, still these contribute for him to attain a death that is noble and glorious for the sake of comradeship and loyalty, all for Patroclus. An epic is genre in literature that revolves its plot on heroism such as the lives of Achilles, Odysseus, and Beowulf. As a matter of fact, the history of the epic is traceable to the so called â€Å"Heroic Age† as a repository of the wars that has taken place in history. Since the epic is usually set in the heroic age, an epic is known to have given birth to the notion of an epic hero or otherwise known as the tragic hero in literature (Abercrombie 11). The term epic hero, in general, refers to a person with a superior social status, most often a king or a leader. We will write a custom essay sample on The Glorious Death of Achilles or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page His physical attributes are usually tall, handsome, and muscular. More than having the body that resembles that of the God statue in Greece, the epic hero is also expected to be preeminent, athletic and more so, imbued with fighting skills. The skills that are contemplated out of him are not only the physical fitness to fight but also the courage and the determination. Moreover, he is also outstanding intellectually and strategically. In order for the hero to display his true nature and abilities, he has to go to a crisis like a war or a quest in which his response to hi predicaments will all that matters in determining his fate (Toohey 10). There is pattern to the epic hero’s quest in determining his real strength. At first, he had to be at odds with the community. These are for various reasons such as disrespect to the gods and his fellow warriors. This will then be followed by a long wandering to that will allow him to ponder on things and gain an understanding of himself.   After contemplated on what he has done and surmounted numerous feats, he will return to his community and will be wholeheartedly accepted by the citizens. After conquering his weaknesses, the hero will now attain loyalty, patience, empathy, and a proper sense of shame and dignity (Toohey 11). In Homer, the heroic ideal is the â€Å"powerful image of the physically perfect young hero dying for fame and escaping maturation by achieving a good death that ends his physical history in combat (Miller 4).† Another heroic ideal that is evident in the epics of Homer is that the hero death is purposely to defend the state. This is often referred to as the glorious death (Miller 5). In Iliad, death is seen as inescapable and final. Those who incur death through fighting for their motherland achieve glory and outlive finite life (Silk 60). Moreover, the epic hero is not like any other man like us. He is distinct from us. He serves as a paradigm with their ability and courage to risk death. He may be â€Å"mortal and so not actually gods, but whether in-human, sub-human, or seemingly super-human, they are remote from ordinary humanity (Silk 62).† However, despite all these positive traits that an epic hero possesses, he does not remain untarnished. According to Aristotle, the so called â€Å"noble hero† in an epic possesses the hubristic tragic flaw. This tendency is drawn upon the belief of the tragic hero in his self not only by reason of his high status in the society but also his god-like ability and mortality. Because of these hubristic tendencies that he possesses, he is usually destroyed by divine intervention mostly because of his tendencies to anger the gods. These two usually bring the epic hero into his final downfall – death. However, as mentioned earlier, his death would not be a futile endeavor for his death would be celebrated as a noble deed among his country man. Moreover, the predicament of the epic hero brings about catharsis to readers that evoke pity and awe from readers instead of anger or blame (Miller 7). Achilles is among the great Greek warriors, if not the greatest, in Greece’s war against Troy as chronicled by the epic poem The Iliad by Homer. The characteristics of an epic hero as enumerated above sure fit Achilles. In the first place, he is of superior status. He is â€Å"an exceptional hero [with a] suitably special, even alien, background. His mother is a sea-nymph and he was brought up by a centaur Chiron. And during the action these alien connections are evoked by his god-made weapons, his talking horse, his flight with a river (Silk 78).† In terms of physical attribute and fighting skills, there is no doubt that Achilles is one of a kind. In Homer’s description of him while in wrath he said, â€Å"Godlike Achilles, swift of foot, sat by his ships,/ still angry over fair-complexioned Briseis, seized/ from Lyrnessus after heavy fighting./ Achilles had laid waste Lyrnessus and Thebes’s walls, / overthrown the spearman Mynes and Epistrophus, / sons of the Lord Eunus, son of king Selepius (Homer 49).† Moreover, he is known to be fierce in battle. He was endowed by his mother Thesis and invincibility power against attacks. As a matter of fact, he is portrayed by Homer as undefeatable in war. When Achilles decided to not join the war because Agamemnon had done him wrong, the Trojans were much confident in defeating the Greeks which means they consider Achilles as the bearer of the torch of victory. In the words of Homer: â€Å"When Lord Achilles used to go to battle, / the Trojans didn’t dare to venture out/ beyond the Dradanian gates. They feared/ his mighty spear. But now they’re fighting/ well outside the city, by out hollow ships (Homer 117).† However, just like any other epic hero, Achilles’ downfall is due to his hubristic tendencies. He believes too much in himself. He considers himself as immortal not only because the invincibility power that her mother endowed to him but also because of his strength, courage, and fighting ability. He considers himself an important puzzle piece in the army which he really is. When he was rubbed the wrong way by Agamemnon by taking Briseis away from him, he refused to go to war which was a drawback to the Greeks. Because of his pride and his refusal in joining the army into battle, Patroclus decided to wear his armor so as to suck the confidence among the Trojans now that Achilles is back in the field. However, this act of Patroclus leads to the first stage in the downfall of Achilles. The death of Patroclus is the very reason why he waged revenge against Hector which was the commencement of his own death. When Patroclus died, Achilles was so devastated that he â€Å"will slaughter Hector. From that moment on, / [He’ll] make the Trojans steadily fall back, leaving the ships, until Achaeans take/ steep Ilion, with Athena’s grace (Homer 316).† Despite the intervention of the gods including his mother’s foreboding of his destine death id he kills Hector, he remained determined to avenge the death of his friend Patroclus. He is consumed with both grief and wrath that he â€Å"scooped up soot and dust and poured it/ on his head, covering his handsome face with dirt, covering his sweet-smelling tunic with black ash (Homer 396).† Despite his knowledge that he is going to die after hector dies which means that the death of hector implies his own, he was not taken aback. This is not for the reason of pride for he has already fulfilled his first stage of his downfall. This is where anger consumes him. However, we would also see Achilles in the positive side of the spectrum which would render him different among other epic heroes. In Achilles, we see a man that will die not only for himself, or his motherland, but also for a friend. When he was warned by his mother that his death follows that of Hector, he did not hesitate. He did not fear his life for the reason that he is going to risk his life to give honor to Patroclus, his good comrade. Instead of a self-absorbed hero that we see at the beginning of the play, we now see Achilles as someone who will risk his life for someone that is important. Not the kind of sacrifice that he is to do to get Briseis back but the kind of sacrifice that a mother will do for her daughter and a father will do for his son. His death, therefore, is what was discussed above, that of a â€Å"glorious death.† I think this is the reason why Achilles has remained to be one of the most celebrated heroes in the history of epic poetry. He brings about catharsis to readers, a sense of pity and awe which is the final stage of an epic drama. His willingness to sacrifice his life all for the sake of comradeship is the noblest that he has done beyond all the battles that he has won and enemies that he has slain. Despite all his weaknesses his pride and his anger, his act of risking his life for Patroclus, says it all of his being a hero. Works Cited Homer, Johnston, Ian and Crowe, Ian. The Iliad: A New Translation. U.S.A: Richer ResourcesPublications, 2006. Miller, Dean A. The Epic Hero. Maryland: John Hopkins Press, 2000. Toohey, Peter. Reading Epic: An Introduction to the Ancient Narratives. London: Routledge, 1992. Silk, Michael. Homer: The Iliad. A Student Guide. London: Cambridge University Press,  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2004.

Politics in Egypt

Politics in Egypt Failure of Secular Political Movements In most cases, secular political movements fail because of lack of organization and the spontaneous nature of these groups. These groups often arise spontaneously without proper organization.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Politics in Egypt specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The movements are, therefore, often not identified with a particular leader. The lack of predefined leadership agendas dents the movement’s strength as rivalries arise from the different groups constituting the movement. The movement, thus, has to handle challenges of institutionalizing their diverse interests. With time, various governance issues such as qualification of the leaders, the people to spearhead constitution making, what the constitution should entail, and scheduling of elations arise. Leadership wrangles are also dominant in absence of well defined succession plans. Despite the popularity of the secular movements, internal rivalries are common. This was the cause of divisions in the Muslim brotherhood in the 1980s and 1990s where the group split along key personalities (Rutherford 89). Generational disparities also contribute to the failure of political movements. Internal divisions may arise due to reluctance to integrate the agendas of the different age groups, especially the young generation, into decision making organs. Conflict of interest across the generation and reluctance of leaders to give the young people the opportunity to utilize their skills can cause rivalry.Advertising Looking for essay on political sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Ideological differences may also come out across the generation, whereby the young generation may be willing to accommodate new concepts and ideas while the older generation of leaders is rigid. This was witnessed in the breakup of Muslim brotherho od in 1996 when the old generation of leaders refused to support the youth’s propositions of incorporating other groups into their organization (Rutherford 90). This caused the youths to split from the main organization and formed their political party, though not successful. Evolution of other organizations which are autonomous and financially well endowed threatens the political movements. This may be so when the emerging groups do not have commitment to the movement’s common goal, in spite of the groups being sympathizers of the movement. The movement, therefore, remains as an umbrella body for the different parties having divergent purposes and ideologies. The regime of the day may also impose repressive measures against the movement, often leading to disintegration of the movement. Threats, detention and imprisonment of the members of the movement often put the organizational structure of the movement into disarray, thus weakening it. The repressive measures can c reate leadership crises, impacting on the hold of the movement in the population. This is exemplified by the repression activities of the government in 1970s and 1980s that affected the organizational structure of the Muslim brotherhood. This reduced its influence among the different Islamic activists.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Politics in Egypt specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The government also elevated the generational differences across this group by cracking down on young members, whereas the older members who were the leaders did not respond to these sufferings (Rutherford 91). The movement may often appeal to the masses, spanning across social, religious, ideologies and all age differences. It can, therefore, be made up of people from all walks of life, including those in the economy, military, youth activists and politicians. Sectarian groups may take advantage of lack of proper leadership mechanisms and pursue their interests once they have attained power, contributing to failure of the movement. For instance, the military may exercise too much power and attempt to exert regulations on the pace and type of change to be implemented. The military may often rule with decrees and such rule is not overseen by anybody, for example parliament or opposition. Thus, the military rules without consulting the general public on major issues (International Crisis Group 2). Common values of Islamists and Secularists Islamists and secularists share various dimensions of constitutionalism, among them being the, â€Å"rule of law, constraints on state power, protection of civil and political rights and public participation in politics† (Rutherford 101). In the rule of law, the Islamists and secularists have agreements on shar’ia as the basis of governance. Shari’a must be derived from the Qur’an or the Sunnah obtained from reliable sources.Advertising Looking for essay on political sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Shari’a defines the ethical and spiritual ways that the believer must follow to live a moral life in accordance with God’s ways. Thus, every believer is obliged to follow shar’ia. Shar’ia also establishes the legal and moral principles for a spiritually enriched society. Through demonstration of the expected moral values to be adhered to, shar’ia promotes harmony and stability in the nation. The Shar’ia teachings also stipulate that to lead a spiritual life, one must meditate and interact with fellow believers and practice the teachings. It is, thus, the responsibility of the state to steer the people to have good morals by enforcing shar’ia. These topics have no contention and are not subject to discussion, thus the Islamism and secularists have an accord. Issues that are not available in the Qur’an and Sunnah require formulation of laws that are in agreement with Shari’a. These laws must be generated through governance in different political, social, cultural, and economic settings. The man-made laws are established based on fundamental pillars of Shar’ia in relation to governance. These principles include, †to establish justice, to rule through consultation (shura), to govern in a manner accountable to the citizenry, to derive laws from the Islamic Shar’ia, and to respect the people’s rights† (Rutherford 103). Governance is, therefore, aimed at employing the central pillars of Shari’a to formulate laws. The people designing these laws must consider the expectation of the community while upholding the Shar’ia principles. The laws do not contradict Shar’ia if they address the needs of the community and are geared towards addressing the interests of the citizens. In addition, the formulated laws must cater for the expectations of the community and the unique nature of the demands at that time. The laws are also formulated by building consensus c oncerning the issue at hand, in accordance to shar’ia principles and reflecting diverse knowledge and opinions. The Shar’ia, thus, allows for application of non-Muslim ideologies to handle situations in life as long as the ideologies do not contradict the shar’ia. The laws should mirror the values and sense of justice. The Islamists and secularists believe that Muslims have to reinterpret religion to correspond with issues in the contemporary world. Governance by Shar’ia is reaffirmed when the citizens and state demonstrate honest attempts to behave as pertains to Islam and not just oriented towards the particular legislative outcome. Shari’a is based on protecting, â€Å"religion, rationality, property and wealthy† (Rutherford 122). This means that it is enforced to promote justice, fairness, and compassion, and thus laws that stratify these ethical issues are compliant with shar’ia. The process of formulating laws is important in re inforcing Shar’ia. This requires careful consideration of challenges facing the Egyptians and evaluating the possible laws that can help while reflecting Shari’a principles. The role of religious leaders is secondary to drafting the law and interpreting shar’ia. In constraints of state power, exercising state power is confined under Shari’a, hence the people can ignore or even impeach a leader whose conduct and rule contradicts Shari’a. The people have the freedom of expressing allegiance to the state that is founded on Shar’ia, and which responds to the community’s will. The leader is, thus, elected by the citizens and is responsible to them. The leader as a human being can make mistakes as he is not divine, hence he should always engage his subjects on major issues. The state must also be subjected to checks and balances, hence the essence of decentralizing powers to other governance organs and empowering civil societies (Rutherford 112). In protection of civil and political rights, Islamists and secularists have common values in upholding individual rights and freedom. All the citizens have rights to, â€Å"better living standards, life, dignity, and property† (Rutherford 113). Ideal governance is based on, â€Å"consultation, justice, freedom, equality and the accountability of the ruler† (Rutherford 113). Freedom to express one’s self, to think and inquire is essential in practicing Islam faith. Islamists and secularists also believe in public participation in politics. The people are, therefore, supposed to be involved in electing their leaders. By consulting the people, the state gives the citizens a chance to participate in determining governance. Status of Shar’ia under Mubarak and Current Discussions Shari’a is the main source of legislation in Egypt, under article 2 of the constitution. This means that all the legislations must be derived from the principles of Shari ’a. In interpretation of the article, the court in 1985 ruled that the principles of shar’ia must be applied into positive state law. The Shari’a has two principles; those which are express and cannot be debated, and those which can be applied in relation to different contexts. These relative principles are subject to interpretations while adhering to Shari’a. In Mubarak’s regime, two constitutional amendments were carried out but all of them left article 2 intact. Regarding family and personal status laws, the laws were ramified in accordance to shari’a; though this ramification was not comprehensive. Family conflicts such as divorce and alimony were put together to form one case in 2004 so that they can be heard by one court. Personal status laws are enacted by the parliament. The legislation of laws was often followed by some explanations to demonstrate how the laws were adopted and backing literature to justify the legislation (ISLAMOPED IA para 1). Current discussions Having ascended to power, Muslim brotherhood is advocating for consultative governance according to Islam. Muslim brotherhood perceives public engagement in politics as essential in governance. This can be promoted by carrying out free and fair elections in order to choose leaders who demonstrate accountability. This approach is, however, not shared by some scholars who see perceive embedded problems in mass politics, such as enactment of legislation that is not established on ethical principles of Islam (ISLAMOPEDIA para 1). Instead, these scholars are of the view that the state should put organs that can maintain checks and balances, for example a constitutional court that makes sure the formulated legislative measures are in accordance to Shari’a. After the ouster of Mubarak and subsequent entry of the new regime, constitutional plans to amend the constitution were initiated. The main discussions in the amendment of the constitution gravitat ed around article 2 which invokes shar’ia as the major source of laws. People opposed to this article cite it as being biased and the article does not address those people having divergent religious views. Those against the proposals to change article 2 were concerned that changing it was likely to cause sectarian rivalry (ISLAMOPEDIA para 2). However, as the secular groups are minorities, most people are opposed to amending the article. International Crisis Group. â€Å"Popular protest in North Africa and the Middle East (1): Egypt Victorious?† Middle East/North Africa Report No. 101. 2012. Web. ISLAMOPEDIA. Islam and the state of post Mubarak era 2012. Web. Rutherford, Bruce K. Egypt after Mubarak: Liberalism, Islam, and democracy in the Arab world. Oxford: Princeton Studies in Muslim Politics, 2012. Print.