The Homeric epic has become a staple of modern assessment of the ancient Greco-Roman world. It is one of the great literary works of history, having withstood the tests of time and remaining so popular. Whether we believe that Homer was an individual, a group, or an evolution of oral tradition, it cannot be argued that an assessment of ancient Greek culture that does not include Homer's works is incomplete. They reflect not only the culture of the time, but also the specific views of those who lived during that time. In terms of magical practices, in Homer's works it appears that magic is used as a way to describe the belief that the gods control the mortal world in terms of physical attributes as well as power, but when these are non-physical aspects of the world. , the gods leave control in the hands of those who live there. Magic is used as a way to describe what mortals can control - when it comes to the physical world, war, strength and power, the gods decide what results will occur and how they will occur. will happen - humans don't practice magic in this area. areas. But when magic is practiced, it relates to non-physical areas of the mortal world, showing that mortals have control over that part of the world in which they live. Illustrating this idea, magic is an invaluable element in Homer's works because it makes duality possible. of these apparent spheres of control. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay However, before magical practices can be evaluated in a work of literature, history, or any other paradigm, it is essential to establish certain criteria to differentiate them. magical practices from similar actions or ideas. For the purposes of analyzing magical practices in Homer's works, the criteria presented by Sir James Frazer in his essentialist approach (also known as the "etic" perspective) seem well suited to distinguishing magic from such things as religion or science. Frazer advocates other ideas within the essentialist approach, such as taking an outsider's perspective on cultural practices, as well as the relationship between magic, religion, and science. For the purposes of this analysis, these ideas will be set aside and only Frazer's ideas regarding what indicates magic will be used. Frazer states that magic is coercive in nature, meaning that the practitioner controls the forces involved in the magic. It also asserts that magical forces are impersonal – that there are no personal characteristics or attributes associated with the forces controlled by magic. Compare this to religion, for example, which is supplicatory (the practitioner asks the forces involved to accomplish something, rather than forcing or controlling them to do it) and personal (the forces have names and personal characteristics , rather than being anonymous). Specifically in the Iliad and the Odyssey there are instances that show the difference between magic and religion or other ideas. For example, Chryses prays to Apollo after his daughter is taken by the Achaeans, and Apollo responds by unleashing a plague on the Achaean armies (Iliad, book 1). This is not magic, since the practitioner (Chryses) acts in a supplicant manner by praying to Apollo, who may not respond, instead of acting in a coercive manner. It also invokes a personal force (Apollo) rather than an impersonal one. Another example is Machaon, one of the healers (along with his brother Podalirius) who uses methodsscientists to heal wounds, such as surgery or removing poison (Iliad, book 11). The difference between science and magic, according to Frazer, is that science is correct, while magic is not. Another example of non-magical practices is disguise, used several times by Odysseus in the Odyssey. Towards the end of the story, he infiltrates his own palace disguised as a beggar (Odyssey, volume 17). Although the disguise is an impersonal force, the practitioner does not use force in a coercive manner; he simply uses his own abilities to disguise himself. Having established the difference between magic and other forces, we can look to the Iliad for examples of human magical practices. The only two characters who can even be considered close to magic practitioners are Machaon and Calchas. Swallowtail, as has already been explained, does not so much practice magic as uses scientific methods to heal the injured. Calchas is a prophet of the Achaeans who knows how to read the signs of birds (auspice) and reveal the will of the gods (Iliad, book 1). However, auspiciousness is a form of divination which, at best, is arguably a form of magic. It focuses on time, communication, reflection and intervention - basically terms which reveal that it is focused on time and the gods, meaning that it places little power in the hands of the practitioner or humans. Furthermore, auspices in particular aim to reveal the will of the gods. As such, this reinforces the idea presented in the Iliad that the Gods control the physical world, since humans are limited to simply trying to divine their will as to the outcome of the war. In this sense, there is a complete lack of human magical practice in the Iliad, and these characters looking very much like magic practitioners are merely tools promoting the idea that the Gods control the physical aspects of the mortal world. . in the Iliad indicates that whatever the central point of the story, it involves the Gods' control over that given area. It is simple to see that this focal point is strength and power. The Iliad is a story focused on the importance of raw strength and power. The opening lines of the story invoke the muses to sing of Achilles' rage, thus emphasizing one man's anger and showing that the story is centered on physical power (Iliad, Book 1 ). If that doesn't make it clear enough that the story is focused on physical strength, the fact that it's about war should make it clear that physical power is important in this work. After all, the story is called the Iliad, which indicates that it is the story of the War of Ilion, or Troy. Additionally, lengthy descriptions of fighting and death are omnipresent throughout the poem. Another telling sign of the emphasis on strength is that the epic piece of this poem is Achilles' shield, representative of close combat (Iliad, book 18). Close combat is, of course, a symbol of strength and raw physical power. The final sign that the Iliad is a story based on strength is that the ultimate victor is Achilles, the strongest of all warriors. All of these examples prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Iliad focuses on the importance of strength. Keeping in mind that force is the underlying motif of the Iliad, we can assume that Homer intends to show that there is little human control over physical aspects of the world (mainly force and power, but also life and death). This is strongly supported by the severe lack of magic practiced by humans in the Iliad, especially compared to the Odyssey. Not only do humans not practice magic, but all the power exercised overlife, death, war and strength seems to be that of the gods. They (mainly Zeus, Hera and Athena) constantly change the tide of the battle, such as Poseidon empowering the Achaeans (Iliad, book 13), and Hera distracting Zeus to turn the tide of the battle in favor of the Achaeans ( Iliad, book 13). book 14). Another example is the plague of Apollo which was unleashed on the Achaeans (Iliad, volume 1) or its role in the death of Patroclus (Iliad, volume 16). Additionally, it should be noted that the strongest mortals, and indeed the strongest of all, Achilles, are all in one way or another descendants of the Gods. All of these elements emphasize not only that force is at the center of the Iliad, but that the Gods are also at the center of the Iliad. the force that controls that force. The lack of human influence in this area is marked by the lack of magical practice regarding these physical realms and the immense activity that the gods engage in regarding the physical aspects of the world - they change the tide of battle, affect life and death and decide the fate of the warriors (for example the destiny of Achilles to die by the arrow of Paris in the heel, the destiny of Hector to die by the sword of Achilles, etc.). Perhaps the example that most directly illustrates this message is the one Homer writes of how Apollo and Poseidon destroyed the walls erected by the Achaeans in the years following the war (Iliad, book 12). This shows exactly how much control the Gods have over the physical aspects of the mortal world - creation, destruction, life, death, strength and power. The Odyssey, on the other hand, is a story focused on an opposite quality – that of trickery. It is full of disguises, tricks, and clever plans, rather than the combat and feats of strength omnipresent in the Iliad. The poem is full of disguised characters, such as Athena appearing to Telemachus under the name Mentes (Odyssey, volume 1) or Ulysses dressing as a beggar to avoid being recognized (Odyssey, volume 17). Cunning often prevails over strength, like the clever tricks of Odysseus defeating the superior strength of the Cyclops Polyphemus (Odyssey, volume 9). In addition, the epic piece of this poem is the arc of Ulysses, representative of distance combat (Odyssey, volume 21). Close combat represented more "loose" forms of combat at the time, which can of course be linked to cunning and deception. And just as the strongest man is the victor in the Iliad, the victor in the Odyssey is Odysseus, the most cunning man in history. All these signs mean that trickery and more cerebral questions are at the center of the Odyssey. We can connect the emphasis on trickery in the Odyssey to the constant appearance of human and mortal magic. Unlike the Iliad and its lack of magic in relation to physical domination, the Odyssey is full of magic, directly relating to mental, not physical, domination. For example, the song of the Mermaid lures sailors towards death by encouraging them to approach the rock on which mortal temptresses live (Odyssey, volume 12). It is a perfect example of magic practiced by those in the mortal world, and it is magic that affects the mind, instilling great temptation in men. Another example is that of the land of the lotus eaters, where men fall asleep against their will by eating lotus flowers (Odyssey, volume 9), yet another example of magic actually affecting the mind. Odysseus and his crew travel to the Land of the Dead by performing certain magical rites (Odyssey, Book 11), again using magic for non-physical purposes, in this case to figure out how to make their journey bring them home . One of the most famous practitioners of magic, Circe, is found in the Odyssey, and she uses magic to.