Example research essay topic: Ajax Patroclus Aeneas And Hector In Iliad - 1,433 words

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h 2 >The Lesser Ajax: The son of the king of Locrians Oelius and Eriopis. He was one of the heroes who fought against Troy as commander of the Locrians, bringing forty ships. A different derivation is mostly used for his name: of the earth from aia the poetic form of the word gaia meaning earth. Sophocles related the name to amazon, to wail, cry ah. (1) When the city of Troy is about to be conquered by Achaeans, the daughter of Priam: Cassandra was sheltered in the temple of Athena. She was holding the statue of Athena tightly. The Lesser Ajax wanted to take her out and without obeying and divine rule, he got in and took her out.

By the way, the statue of Athena dropped and broken. As a punishment for entering the temple in such a rude way, Achaeans begun stoning him. This time Ajax sheltered in the temple of Athena and he was saved by Athena from being killed. But the goddess who saved him did not let him go without being punished. In the journey back Acherons were caught in a great storm. Ajax's ship sunk.

Poseidon saved him but because Ajax said that he managed to stay alive despite the wrath of Athena, Poseidon broke the rock on which Ajax standing. He fall into the see again and was killed by Athena who was using Zeus thunderbolts. (2) Great Ajax: The son of Telamon of Salamis and Peribora. Traditionally his name derives from autos meaning, eagle from the one seen by his father when before his birth, Hercules prayed to Zeus to give his friend a brave son. He reigned over Salamis and came to Troy leading the islands contingent of twelve ships. Next to Achilles he was the most powerful and the bravest hero in the whole army. (3) Once the city of Troy had been captured he demanded that Helen should be punished for her adultery by being put to death, but this roused the sons of Atreus to anger against him.

And Odysseus secured her return to Menelaus. Then Ajax demanded the Palladium as his share of the spoils, but Odysseus, under pressure from Atrides, managed to dissension. Ajax threatened to take vengeance on Menelaus and Agamemnon. The Atrides surrounded themselves with guards and on the morning of the following day Ajax was found stabbed with his own sword. Another account of his death and one better known to the tragic poets tells how Ajax went mad after being refused not the Palladium but the arms of Achilles. These arms had been destined by Thesis for the bravest of the Greeks or at least whoever inspired most fear in the Trojans.

To discover who this was the Trojan prisoners were questioned and they, in resentment, named not Ajax but Odysseus and he received the arms. During the night Ajax went mad, slaughtered the flocks which were to feed the Greeks and killed himself in the morning when he realized the state of distraction into which he had fallen. (4) In the Iliad when Hector challenges the Greeks to single combat, Ajax is selected by lot from the volunteers: after some rude conversation and threatening each others the great combat begins: ... Now both men disengaged their spears and fell on one another like man-eating lions or wild boars no tome household creatures. Hectors lance head scored the tower shield- but failed to pierce it, as the point was bent aside.

Then Ajax, plunging forward, rammed his spear into the round shield, and the point went through to nick his furious making a cut that welled dark blood below his ear. (Iliad, Book: 7, lines btw: 74 - 82) Patroclus: The son of Menoetius king of the Locrians and Sthenele. He was a close friend of Achilles. His name means glory of the father from pater father and cleo's: fame, glory. This is obviously a propitious name, although Robert Graves regards it as inappropriately patriarchal and suggests that his actual name may have been Phoenix.

When he saw that Achaeans situation in the war was getting worse, he wanted Achilles to give his weapons so that he fight instead of him. Patroclus took Achilles weapons and killed so many Trojans including the son of Zeus, Sarpedon that Apollo wanted to stop him and faced him with Hector. He died in this battle. (5) In the Iliad, the Trojans set fire to the ships. Seeing the flames Achilles tells Patroclus that the time has come to go into combat to protect the Greeks from total destruction.

Patroclus arms for battle but does not have the strength to wield Achilles spear, the famous Plan ash. He leads the Myrmidons, Achilles troops, into battle wearing his friends highly visible armor. Seeing the famous helmet, the Trojans are terrified. Patroclus encounters Sarpedon, and Zeus is divided his desire to protect his son and his need to allow Patroclus to kill him to protect the Greeks. Reminding him that death is the fate of all men, Hera persuades him to allow Sarpedon's death. (Iliad, Book: 15) Aeneas: The hero of the Aeneid and the son of Anchises and Aphrodite. He has simply a pleasantly propitious name: praiseworthy from anne meaning to praise to approve.

Through his father, the son of Cards, Aeneas was a descendant of the race of Dardanus, and hence of Zeus himself. Throughout the Trojan war he fought bravely and while Greeks were entering the city of Troy by killing every Trojan, he was taken away from danger and saved by Poseidon in order to let the race of Trojan continue. Aeneas did his journey on the sea with his son, old father and some of his friends. When he reached Latium he fought with its native people. In the end he married to the daughter of king Latinas, Latina. Descendants of Aeneas are said to be the founders of Rome. (6) In the Iliad, when the armies gather again Zeus gives the gods permission to get engaged in the battle.

Following this permission Poseidon removes Aeneas from danger, saving him for the sake of Troys future destiny. So Aeneas sails in order to establish a new kingdom. (Iliad, book: 20) Hector: He was the great Trojan hero who was the son of Priam and Hecabe and the husband of Andromache. His name derives from echo, to hold fast, up hold, defend and since he was the Trojan war leader, the Prop of Troy. The English verb to hector meaning to bully or bluster derives from his name, since this is how Hector was represented in medieval romances. (7) When Achilles rejoined the Trojan war, Hectors last moments were at hand. His destiny made him helpless against Achilles, for he was fated to die at the letters hands. When Achilles drew near, Hector was overcome by fear and fled from him.

The two opponents circled the city three times until Athena persuaded Hector to stand and fight promising to help him but when Hector faced with Achilles, Athena disappeared. After Achilles had killed Hector, he pierced the heals of Hectors body and attached it to his chariot with leather thongs. (8) In the Iliad, when Patroclus kills Sarpedon, son of Zeus, he encounters Hector from whom his death will come from: ... Then Patroclus disabled by the gods glow and the spear wound moved back to save himself amid his men. But Hector, seeing that his brave adversary tried to retire, hurt by the spear wound, charged straight at him through the ranks and lunged for him low in the flank driving the spearhead through. He crashed and all Action troops turned pale. Think how a lion in his pride brings down a timeless boar...

That was the way the son of Priam. Hector closed with Patroclus son of Menoitios, killer of many and took his life away. (Iliad, Book: 15, lines btw: 39 - 54) Sources: (3) (7) Who is who in Classical Mythology, Adrian Room. p. 35 (NTC Publishing Group, Illinois 1997) (2) (5) Mitoloji Szl, Are Eat. p. 17 (Remain Kitabevi, stambul 1993) (4) (8) The Dictionary of Classical Mythology, Pierre Grill. Pp. 29 - 30 (Blackwell Publishers Oxford, UK 1996) (6) Grolier International Americana Encyclopedia Volume 1.

p. 192 (Grolier Inc. Connecticut 1993) The Iliad, Classical Mythology; Images and Insights, Stephen L. Harris / Gloria Planner. Pp. 277 - 291 - 292 - 296.

Research essay sample on Ajax Patroclus Aeneas And Hector In Iliad