Saturday, September 6, 2014

Small, but Unforgotten

While reading about the varying forces from the different corners of the realm coming together in the battle of the Greeks and Trojans, I was drawn particularly to a minute detail about a man named Protesilaus (pages 34-35).  In order to prevent his armies and alliances from heading home, Ulysses made an appeal to the varying masses for them to stay and fight. 

As mentioned in the "All Roads Lead to Rome" post before this, Ulysses used rhetoric by means of logos to persuade the men in power to remain for the fight, while appealing to pathos in the common soldier.  One group was provided with logical reasoning to remain for the fight and the other was pricked in their emotions—mainly intimidated—into keeping their vigil. 

Still, yet another response was produced in me, the reader, by the words contained in the Iliad.  Going back to what was previously mentioned in the opening section of this post, I was personally "rallied to the cause," so to speak, by hearing about the death of Protesilaus.  Leading his men to battle, brave Protesilaus fell, leaving his wife to mourn alone in an unfinished house.  Touched by the rhetorical appeal, Podarces, brother of Protesilaus, assumed his dead brother's role and reinvigorated the army's will to fight, bringing forty ships to aid him in battle. 

Coming from a family with three younger brothers, this section of the Iliad was small, but unforgotten.  If ever I became unable to accomplish what I had set out to do, it would be a great honor for a brother to carry on my legacy and thus, keep me alive in death. 



After reading this, can you think of an example in which someone else's experience produced a profound reaction in yourself, whether closely related to the content or otherwise?  

2 comments:

  1. I missed this detail (I got lost in the names!), but I think you make a strong point for family ties and honor. That would certainly be enough to motivate me to fight for a cause. I often go to my siblings for advice, especially being one of the youngest kids in the family. If they were strongly fighting for a cause, I would be much more willing to invest time in learning about it and in fighting for it... Much more than if a simple acquaintance or even friend suggested something to me.

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  2. After reading this post and reflecting for a bit, I was reminded of the Terry Fox Run that is hosted annually in many schools and parks all around the world. Terry Fox was 18 when cancer took his right leg. Even after the loss, he began to run across Canada to raise money and awareness for cancer research. He named his run the Marathon of Hope. Each day he would run 42 km and only rest to eat and sleep. Eventually the cancer spread to his lungs and he was unable to continue his run. After 143 days and 5,373 km, Terry Fox passed away. Even though Terry is no longer running, many people across the world were inspired by his drive and his spirit. To this day, people run every year in his name to fund cancer research. So this goes to show that just like Protesilaus, even when you lose your own fight, your determination and courage can motivate others to continue your legacy.

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