Piety or Pointlessness? - AnnaKate Burleson
Reading about the fall of Troy from the perspective of a Trojan was really dreadful, in all honesty. Aeneas translates the pain of losing his city, his home, and his family very effectively and you can't help but hurt for him. The story is almost completely believable, too, except for the part with the serpents. Had it not been for that, I would have been inclined to actually take this account at face value and be willing to accept it as accurate.
I also found it interesting how multiple times it is mentioned that the fall of Troy was inevitable because it was the will of the gods. But despite having this knowledge, the Trojans continued to fight for their city. Aeneas says in reference to one of his fallen friends, "...not all your piety, all the sacred bands you wore as Apollo's priest could save you as you fell." He also states, "But, oh how wrong to rely on gods dead set against you!" So why are they fighting anyway? Why do they resist the fate of the gods when they clearly understand the triviality of their efforts? Are they that attached to Troy? Or is it simply out of the human instinct of self-preservation that they willingly die in vain? I don't understand how they can say with their mouths "The gods are against us and we cannot prevail" but continue to fight. Run away! Get out! Save yourselves and your families! Don't die fighting when you know you can't win!
Another point of interest for me was the death of Polites (more specifically, Priam's reaction). Polites is killed by Pyrrhus in the presence of his father, Priam, and Priam is not happy, to say the least. He says, "You've made me see my son's death with my own eyes, defiled a father's sight with a son's lifeblood. You say you're Achilles' son? You lie! Achilles never treated his enemy Priam so. No, he honored a suppliant's rights, he blushed to betray my trust, he restored my Hector's bloodless corpse for burial, sent me safely home to the land I rule!" How can there be any sort of dynamic of trust between two enemies? When it comes to war, how can trust be maintained and personal boundaries established between enemies? I'm really not sure what to make of this quote. There's probably some sort of Greek historical context that I'm missing, but I'm eager to hear what you guys have to say about it!
I commented on Zane and Kayla's posts.
I also found it interesting how multiple times it is mentioned that the fall of Troy was inevitable because it was the will of the gods. But despite having this knowledge, the Trojans continued to fight for their city. Aeneas says in reference to one of his fallen friends, "...not all your piety, all the sacred bands you wore as Apollo's priest could save you as you fell." He also states, "But, oh how wrong to rely on gods dead set against you!" So why are they fighting anyway? Why do they resist the fate of the gods when they clearly understand the triviality of their efforts? Are they that attached to Troy? Or is it simply out of the human instinct of self-preservation that they willingly die in vain? I don't understand how they can say with their mouths "The gods are against us and we cannot prevail" but continue to fight. Run away! Get out! Save yourselves and your families! Don't die fighting when you know you can't win!
Another point of interest for me was the death of Polites (more specifically, Priam's reaction). Polites is killed by Pyrrhus in the presence of his father, Priam, and Priam is not happy, to say the least. He says, "You've made me see my son's death with my own eyes, defiled a father's sight with a son's lifeblood. You say you're Achilles' son? You lie! Achilles never treated his enemy Priam so. No, he honored a suppliant's rights, he blushed to betray my trust, he restored my Hector's bloodless corpse for burial, sent me safely home to the land I rule!" How can there be any sort of dynamic of trust between two enemies? When it comes to war, how can trust be maintained and personal boundaries established between enemies? I'm really not sure what to make of this quote. There's probably some sort of Greek historical context that I'm missing, but I'm eager to hear what you guys have to say about it!
I commented on Zane and Kayla's posts.
“Trust” in this instance probably refers to mutual respect, an honor system, a reluctance to “fight dirty,” something along those lines. “Achilles had honor; he would have fought me man-to-man instead of cutting down my son like a dog in front of me,” could be an accurate translation. All is fair in love and war, but you have to remember how funny those honor systems were back then.
ReplyDeleteIt really was sad and yet powerful to read of Troy's fall from the perspective of a Trojan, and I definitely agree that it was almost believable. I think they kept fighting for honor so no one could say, "If only you had tried to fight, Troy might still stand today."
ReplyDeleteReally enjoyed reading your post!
(In overly southern voice) "HOW EXACTLY...... DO YOU...DEFINE..PI..ETY?!
ReplyDeleteI think it is neat to see the different perspectives on the same event. If you think about it, there are so many different history books about the same event that all say different things. These stories will also vary baed on the people in the event. Troy for example, the perspective of the Greeks is probably dfferent of that of the Trojans. Listening to way an actual trojan expierenced the pain of the war really brings in a new idea.