The Nature of War
It was a powerful start. Professor Centeno begins by starting off with the first paradox of war; the reality of war versus how war is portrayed in media. He showed a picture of a very handsome pilot sitting in the cockpit of his plane. It looks like a picture taken during WWII. The pilot is smiling and though he is getting ready to clearly fly into battle, he shows neither fear nor doubt. Indeed, he looks eager to enter into the fray and radiated confidence. However, the reality of WWII was that it was a hellscape of mass destruction and death on a scale seen before only in WWI. The professor, therefore, talks about the immediate and most visible paradox of war: the image compared to reality. While the heroic image of the young, vital soldier goes with the idea of war as a means of fighting and triumphing over evil and America’s enemies, the act of war is rooted in acts of extreme violence, and the path of victory inevitably results in loss of many many lives.
In grade 9, in history class, we briefly touched on this subject when we learned about ancient Greece. In Athens they also greatly glorified war as a way of recruiting soldiers in their fight against other Greek city-states, and of course against the Persians; Spartans of course made war a way of life. Therefore, each society was deeply invested in making sure that their citizens see war, death, and personal sacrifice as an act of patriotism and heroism, with death in war the ultimate heroic act. We can see this in their great literature like Homer’s Iliad, where great emphasis is placed on Achilles, actively seeking a glorious and heroic death in battle. I remember reading somewhere that for ancient Greeks, killing or dying by arrow was seen as less worthy than death by spear. An arrow implies that you are not physically close to your enemy and therefore not at the heart of danger, unlike the spear which requires you to be close to the enemy and enables you to see their eyes when they die. Thus, as Achilles is felled by an arrow shot by Paris, he fails to achieve the heroic death he actively sought.
This may be an unpopular opinion, but I think Hector, who dies at the hands of Achilles in brutal hand-to-hand combat, is the true hero of the Iliad. He may have lost, but he will forever be remembered as the mortal who fought bravely and died at the hands of the greatest of Greek heroes. Hector also has many of the heroic qualities which not only the ancient Greeks admired, but which are still admired today: modesty, patriotism, loyalty, devotion, and courage. Perhaps many people do not share my idea about Hector, but whenever I reread my favorite parts of the Iliad, I always feel that Hector is a truly underrated character who deserves a lot more notice.
Sorry, I went off tangent but I couldn’t resist. Talking (or I should say writing) about war, the Iliad, and Archilles/Hector is one of my favorite things to do. I have to go and do some homework now, but I will be back after I listen to more of Professor Centeno’s lecture.
