"Chapter ZERO: Rewrite"

If you were to change one event or chapter from the Iliad, and replace it with your own story, what chapter or episode will that be?

If I was given a chance to be the great Homer and rewrite a part of Iliad, I would make Helen a monster with peerless beauty. She was made by the Gods to start a war against the Achaeans and Trojans. Helen would control Menelaus and Agamemnon. She would make them conquer countless cities, eventually expanding her domain. All the men under her domain are spellbound by her beauty. On a few armies were left, two of which are the Trojans, and the Myrmidons. They were the remaining resistance against Helen’s overwhelming armies. As if it wasn’t overwhelming enough Helen has some monsters aid her like the Cyclops, etc. The band of armies fought against Helen’s army but because of overpowering number of Helen’s armies they lost. That’s when the Gods realized that they have made a monster too strong for the humans to defeat. So the Gods called forth heroes from the band of armies. The Gods gave them strength and powerful weapons. Apollo gave Oddysseus a large bow that shoots flame as powerful as the sun. Ares gave Hector a sword that was bathed in so much blood that it brings fear to any man or beast. Artemis gave Paris a bow black as night and shoots arrows like the beams of the moon. Poseidon gave Patroclos a three-pronged spear that can deliver blows that shakes the earth’s mountains. Zeus gave Achilles a spear that can pierce anything and can strike like the harsh lightning. Hephaestus gave them armors and shields that he crafted. Athena gave them battle tactics and knowledge. Aphrodite gave them charms to protect them from the ensnaring beauty of Helen. So the heroes rushed off to battle with the Gods assisting them. The heroes defeated a lot of enemies, liberated different cities, killed numerous monsters, until they arrived at the fallen city that is Troy where Helen is staying. The heroes eventually battled against different princes under the control of Helen, two of which is Menelaus and Agamemnon. In the heroes battles against the princes they acquired a lot of injuries. The heroes made it to the throne room where Helen stays. When they entered Helen tried to seduce them but it had no effect due to Aphrodite’s charms. When she cant seduce the heroes she suddenly transformed into a demon. She had hands that can slice metal, she has a tails that can pierce armor, she has strength and speed of a demi-god, yet she still has incomparable beauty. They fought fiercely, but because of numerous wounds Patroclos slowed down and was pierced by Helen in the heart. This angered the heroes and made them fight with more fury. The heroes’ strength, courage, and cooperation finally defeated Helen and has brought peace to Greece.

Imperfections of the Gods

2. For the Greeks, the Gods are personalities with human failings. This is clearly seen in the character of Zeus in books 11-17. Cite some events that show Zeus' weaknesses.

In Greek mythology Gods is viewed as powerful and wise, but it is also evident in Greek mythology the human natured failures in these Gods. One of the greatest examples of which is Zeus. Zeus may be the king of the Gods but he has the most failures. One of which is in book 13 of the Iliad, it is when Zeus was able to help the Trojans to breach the walls of the Achaians. Zeus turned his attention away from the Trojans and left them to fight because he was already confident enough that the Trojan would win. Unfortunately, what Zeus didn’t expect is that Poseidon Earthshaker would go up the shore and help the Achaians to rally because of Poseidon’s indignation against Zeus. We could see here the insolence of Zeus Cloudgatherer, where he overlooked the fact that there is still a chance that a God would help the Achaians especially since most of the Gods hate him or at least have tried to bring him down from his throne.  

Another failure of Zeus Cloudgatherer is his inability to control his sexual urges. Like in book 14, Hera seduced Zeus Cloudgatherer, but what Zeus didn’t know is that it was a part of the plan of Hera which resulted to Zeus Cloudgatherer to fall asleep. Poseidon getting the news of zeus falling asleep, from Sleep, grabbed the chance to help the Achaians more, which eventually led to Trojans loss of men. Another failure of Zeus because of his sex drive is, Zeus having children from different women, which was said by Zeus himself in book 14 when he tried to describe his love for Hera. So in all we can not say that the gods in Greek mythology is perfect because in reality the Gods are made by men, so the qualities of these Gods are the same qualities that the men of Greece wanted themselves like the ability of Zeus to seduce different women.

Light Out of Darkness

3. Wars do not only claim many lives but also spoil/destroy a man's character. Do you agree with this statement? Cite details from the book to prove your answer.


In my opinion this statement is true but not entirely. Yes war has more of a destructive effect than it has a constructive one, but we can not say that it can only bring suffering and destruction. Yet still amid all the chaos it still can bear fruit to something good. Good, because in war we could see the things that we had done wrong that caused the war. In war we would be able to realize ones capacity to do something bad. We would be able to see the obscure and criminally insane tendency of the human capacity because of vengeance, wrath, anger, greed, lust, pride, and a lot more. In war we could see the ugly truth of the human nature, and how it can traumatize other people. Yet because of all this madness, discord, and darkness, we would be able to change for the better, because even with all of man’s ill-naturedness the only thing that is certain is man’s capacity to change for the better. We could say that because mankind have experienced war that they desperately thrive to prevent it from happening again.

In the Iliad, the person that I saw that changed for the better was King Agamemnon. He changed because of having so many men die in the war and was at the verge of being defeated. He change in a way that he was able to realize that his greed has given him this ill-fate right in front of him. He was able to realize the bad thing that he did to Achilles. He was able to realize that he will not be able to win without the help of Achilles. Lastly, because of all this King Agamemnon gave peace offerings to Achilles to appease Achilles.

"The Greedy King and the Garbage Swimmer"

A king the sole man deciding the fate of a kingdom and it’s men. Naturally a king would things that are better for the kingdom, he would hear out to his people, and expand and protect it’s domain. A good king would also know that a war is won by having the fewer casualties. All of these are traits of a good king, but King Agamemnon did not have all these traits. King Agamemnon was so greedy that he ignored the plea and ransom given by Chryses to free his daughter, because of this Chryses prayed to Apollo Shootafar tio help him. Hearing this, Apollo Shootafar pulled the string to his bow and unleashed a wrath to the Danaans, resulting to the destruction of many ships and deaths of countless men. This continued for nine agonizing days, but still King Agamemnon’s greediness gets the better of him and still refusing. Then, the tenth day came and Prince Achilles, the son of Peleus and Thetis, called for a meeting, the king with the other princes gathered. In the meeting Prince Achilles tried to argue to King Agamemnon to give back Chryseis to her father, Chryses, and yet even with Apollo Shootafar destroying their army King Agamemnon refuses. Instead, King Agamemnon proposed that he will give Chryseis back only if he would be able to have Prince Achilles’ girl, Briseis.  This angered Prince Achilles to enough to want to kill King Agamemnon, but because of Hera he did not draw his sword, instead he warned King Agamemnon that he will withdraw from battle if King Agamemnon continues his plan. King Agamemnon knows that Prince Achilles is the strongest warrior in his army, but still because of his stubborn nature he did not try to stop Prince Achilles he even insisted that Prince Achilles leave.

King Agamemnon’s stubbornness only had given his army casualties and problems. His selfishness only gave way to the destruction of his forces and loss of his greatest warrior. He never had shown any qualities of being a good king. He would only use his men like pawns to get what he wants and not caring his men like they were nothing but toys.

An example of Agamemnon-like quality resides in Sen. Manny Villar. Although he is not as greedy or as stubborn as King Agamemnon she has quite some greediness. An example of which is when he pass a bill to do some renovations to some roads, he would purposely want it to hit one of his privately owned lands to make the government pay him. We would be able to see his greediness here because he wants to have more money. He would want more money for himself even though he knows that the government already lacks money and in debt, so instead of going of the money going to the poor people it goes to his greedy hands.