Civilization and Savagery in The Iliad.

... Civilization and Savagery in The Iliad The urge to compete is a large part of the human psyche. When this sense of competitiveness is taken to the extreme, a war may erupt. Throughout the history of humanity wars have been waged, even before the advent of writing, when poets where there to capture their essence. The epic poem The Iliad by Homer describes a war that took place almost two thousand, seven hundred years ago. The Greek society in which Homer lived was considered more violent than any in existence today. This gave him all the inspiration needed to create an epic war poem. By revealing to the reader the futility and horror of war, Homer's Iliad offers an excellent critique of society, more specifically the fragility of human civilization and the savagery of human nature, when under the extreme pressures of combat. This masterful piece of literature, although written

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