"Yes, down like a lurid rainbow Zeus sends arching
down to mortal men from the high skies, a sign of war
or blizzard to freeze the summer's warmth and put a halt
to men's work on the face of the earth and harry flocks"
(Book XVII: lines 624-627)
They swept in like hounds that fling themselves
at a wounded boar before young hunters reach him,
darting in for a moment, keen to rip the boar apart
till he wheels at bay, ramping into the pack with all his power
and the hounds cringe and bolt and scatter left and right.
(Book XVII: lines 816-820)
"Aeneas the son of Anchises flanking glorious Hector
Flying before them now like clouds or crows or starlings
screaming murder, seeing a falcon dive in for the kill,
the hawk that wings grim death at smaller birds"
(Book XVII: lines 845-848)
I chose to draw three quotes from Book XVII that I believe helps illustrate Homer's classical view of nature and man's role on earth. These three quotes are few of the many examples within The Iliad where there is a metaphor or parallel drawn between nature and the interactions amongst men. From the classical viewpoint of nature and man's role on earth; nature is a tangibly seen pure or perfect realm for men to mimic. Man's role on earth is not only to mimic nature because of it's pureness but also work with nature and to guide nature because human's view themselves as superior much like the Gods are over man. The second quote shows how men can fight over a corpse just as hounds will fight over a wounded boar and will continue to do so until a superior being steps in. Just how man can alter, inhibit, and/or incite the natural order between animals; God's have that kind of control over men. The other perfect or pure realm not seen is Olympus or the realm in which the Gods are placed. Like man's role to "work on the face of the earth"the God's have the same kind of control and/or authority over man in which they can cause either prosperity or destruction whenever they choose to do so (like seen in the first quote). Lastly, like in the natural realm on earth, men feel that they must mimic the contrast amongst species. Like how "the hawk that wing's grim death at smaller birds" in the third quote, there are superior birds of prey over others just how there should be superior men over others. Can you draw any corollaries between Homer's classical view of the natural order on earth and a modernistic approach that takes science into consideration? Do you think that Homer intended for men to be one with nature or do you agree in thinking that Homer believed in a natural realm on earth as an entity of its own that remains pure, distant from man?
I actually focused moreso on Homer's depiction of how the mortals were portrayed in the story and how this speaks to human nature. For the humans, many of the events of the story were driven by their need for power, their own personal emotions, and how easily their emotions could be swayed. For example with Achilles, his emotions were what led him to leave the battle and it was ultimately his emotions that angered him enough to convince him to reenter the battle as well. With this, I saw Homer giving the depiction that human nature is as very volatile and could change in a matter of moments. But that's just what I got from the reading.
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