Respect for Nature and "Wretched Men"

“…But standing clear of the fray Achilles’ horses wept

from the time they first had sensed their driver’s death,

brought down in the dust by man-killing Hector.

Diores’ rugged son Automedon did his best,

lashed them over and over with stinging whip—

coaxing them gently now, now shouting oath on oath.

But both balked at returning now to the ships

moored at the Hellespont’s far-reaching shore

or galloping back to fight beside the Argives.

Staunch as a pillar planted tall above a barrow,

standing sentry over some lord or lady’s grave-site,

so they stood, holding the blazoned chariot stock-still,

their heads trailing along the ground, warm tears flowing

down from their eyes to wet the earth… the horses mourned,

longing now for their driver, their luxurious manes soiled,

streaming down from the yoke-pads, down along the yoke.

     And Zeus pitied them, watching their tears flow.

He shook his head and addressed his own deep heart:

‘Poor creatures, why did we give you to King Peleus,

a mortal doomed to death…

you immortal beasts who never age or die?

So you could suffer the pains of wretched men?

There is nothing alive more agonized than man

of all that breathe and crawl across the earth.’”

(Iliad 17.493-516)

                I found this passage really interesting.  Books 17 and 18 of the Iliad are full of language invoking nature.  Homer often compares the strength and power of the warriors to that of lions and boars.  In reading this, it seemed to me that this classical view of nature was one of respect for its power.  Armies are as uncontrollable as fires, and they surge against one another like oceans.  This passage, though, added (for me) some depth to this respectful view of nature.  It makes it respect for nature in its innocence, as something better than humankind.  Nature is not just powerful and wild, it is also pure.  The warriors rage on against one another, but the horses stop to mourn the death of their rider.  To me, this makes the humans appear brutish and careless, and the horses hold a respect for life that the humans lack. 

              

             When Homer writes, “Their heads trailing along the ground, warm tears flowing down from their eyes to wet the earth,” he also seems to connect the horses again to earth, and thus to nature.  They are a part of something separate from humans.  What’s more, Zeus himself is moved by their emotion.  He calls the horses “immortal beasts who never age or die.”  Again, Homer seems to be separating the horses (or nature generally) from humans, about whom Zeus says, “’There is nothing alive more agonized than man of all that breathe and crawl across the earth’” (17.515).  It is a tragedy, he believes, that the horses should suffer the pains of men.

             

            Warriors aspire to possess the power of lions, perhaps not only because lions are incredibly strong, but also because lions are creatures viewed as somehow higher than humans.  Zeus feels sympathy for the horses that mourn Peleus, because he believes they should not have to suffer “’the pains of wretched men.’”  This is a profound kind of respect.  Yet men use horses as tools in battle.  What do you think Homer means by having Zeus express sympathy for the horses?  Is Zeus’ respect for the horses shared by the humans?  It seems that the men believe themselves to be forces of nature, yet Zeus, when speaking of the horses, seems to disagree and instead suggest that humans are something entirely different, something wretched.  What do you think our society's view of man's relationship with nature is?  Which opinion do you favor?