“A Critical Analysis of Homer’s Characters”

The Illiad

Homer’s The Illiad is an epic written in Mainland Greece around 750 B.C. Its themes are
about the glory of war, military values over family life, and the impermanence of human life and
its creations. Homer wrote his work creatively in many ways, as it is proven by the way he propose
the characters.

Identifying who’s who is certainly a challenge since several characters deserve to be

called as the protagonist and antagonist of this work. However, if one dig deep into the story per
se, there’ll be a certain character who’ll fit for the title.

Achilles, the Greek warrior who’s feared by numerous warrior for his god-like strength,
whose personality isn’t really admired, might be the first choice to be the antagonist for this story.
Nevertheless, the epic mainly focused on him and his decisions, making it one of the many
reasons why he, Achilles, is the protagonist.

In addition, Achilles can be considered as the protagonist because of his successful

revenge to Hector. Hector killed Patroclus who used Achilles’ weapons and disguised as Achilles.
Knowing how important Patroclus is to Achilles that he value his life more than he do to his’.
Achilles showed extreme grief and seek revenge towards Hector. He succeeded in seeking
revenge, which is one of the factors as to how a hero would act. He would sacrifice his own life
just to seek revenge for his dear friend.

Also, one of the factors of being a protagonist is that the character gives solution to the
problem. The problem would be the death of Patroclus, and the solution would be the revenge
Achilles acquired.

If Achilles is the protagonist of the story, then Hector would be the antagonist simply
because he is Achilles’ enemy, or he opposes Achilles. Hector is a Trojan warrior and the heir of
Troy. His character is an epitome of a mighty hero. But despite his positive traits, he is considered
the antagonist. When he killed Menelaus in a supposed to be one-on-one fight with Paris, he
added a fuel to the fire that made it reach its worse state. And when he killed Patroclus, he made
it worst. He started most of the conflict on the story that is why he is considered as the antagonist.
 Odyssey

Homer’s Odyssey is an epic written around twelfth century that depicts Odysseus’s
wanderings on his way home to Ithaca. Unlike Illiad, Odyssey is a given story for you can identify
its characters without going deep into it. Its protagonist is already obvious at the title.

Odyssey is the protagonist of the story because he is the key to resolving the conflict,
which is to vanquish his wife’s suitors. He must go home to Ithaca to be able to vanquish the
suitors who threaten the estate and bring back what’s his.

In addition, Odysseus is considered the protagonist in this story for it is his life that revolves
the story. Also, his character played a major role in the story that it wouldn’t function well without
him. And, Odysseus resolved the problem/conflict and it all ended well.

Penelope’s suitors, specifically Antinous and Eurymachus, can be considered the

antagonist of this story. It was evident and obvious on their personalities and how homer
described them in the story. Also, these suitors build up the problem/conflict that Odysseus
resolved. It is also noted in the book that they are disrespectful of the queen and the estate itself.
They do cruel things to the beggars and claim the estate as their own already despite Odysseus
being alive.

In conclusion, the characters can change their personality unlike the norms. The
antagonist can be a protagonist and vice versa. It also proved that it requires rereading to fully
understand the story.

GUEVARRA, CHARLSON L.

BT-IT 4E

PROF. CENIZAL