The Dual Nature of Human Traits in Homer’s Epic Poems: Anger and Cunning in The Iliad and The Odyssey

Is Achilles’s anger a virtue or a vice, as presented in The Iliad?  Similarly, is Odysseus cunning a virtue or a vice?  Be sure to use specific examples from the primary source and additional supports from a secondary source to prove your points.

I. Introduction

• A. Introduce the themes of anger and cunning in The Iliad and The Odyssey

• B. Present Achilles and Odysseus as archetypes of these traits

• C. Thesis statement: Both Achilles’s anger and Odysseus’s cunning embody dual qualities of virtue and vice, reflecting the complexities of human nature.

II. Achilles’s Anger: Virtue or Vice?

• A. Introduction to Achilles’s character

1. Overview of his role as the greatest Greek warrior

• B. Anger as a vice

1. Conflict with Agamemnon over Briseis

2. Consequences of his withdrawal from battle

3. Impact on Greek forces and the prolongation of the war

• C. Anger as a virtue

1. Rooted in honor and loyalty

2. Transformation after Patroclus’s death

3. Drive for justice and vengeance against Hector

• D. Scholarly interpretation

1. Richard J. A. Talbert’s critique of the Greek heroic code

2. The need for balance and reconciliation in Achilles’s journey

III. Odysseus’s Cunning: Virtue or Vice?

• A. Introduction to Odysseus’s character

1. Overview of his reputation as “wily Odysseus”

• B. Cunning as a virtue

1. Example of the Cyclops Polyphemus encounter

2. Use of cleverness to save his men

• C. Cunning as a vice

1. Moral ambiguity in his decisions

2. The Trojan Horse strategy and its consequences

3. Exploitation of characters like Circe and the Sirens

• D. Scholarly interpretation

1. Emily Wilson’s view on Odysseus’s complexities

2. The isolation and distrust resulting from his cunning

IV. Conclusion

• A. Recap the dual nature of Achilles’s anger and Odysseus’s cunning

• B. Reflect on how these traits illustrate broader themes in The Iliad

• C. Final thoughts on the balance of virtue and vice in human nature, as portrayed through the characters’ journeys.

Citations:

The Iliad Commentary source:  

Brügger, Claude. Homer’s Iliad: The Basel Commentary. Book XXIV, Homer’s Iliad. De Gruyter, 2017.

https://chattanoogastate-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/18cpqte/TN_cdi_casalini_monographs_5175809

The Odyssey Commentary source:

Snider, Denton Jaques. Homer’s Odyssey A Commentary. Project Gutenberg.

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/26275

Citations for common themes:

https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/i/the-iliad/critical-essays/themes-in-the-iliad

https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/o/the-odyssey/critical-essays/major-themes-in-the-odyssey

Primary Sources 

Homer.The Iliad of Homer. London, Gilbert & Rivington, 1841

Homer.The Odyssey.London: New York :W. Heinemann; G.P. Putnam’s sons, 1919.