Members
Login
Sign Up!!!
Categories
Arts
Business
Custom Research
Economics
Film
Foreign
Government and Law
History
Literature
Medical
Miscellaneous
People
Personal Essays
Philosophy
Psychology
Science and Technology

Support
FAQ
Customer Service
Site Search

     Home Customer Service Acceptable Use Policy Site Search

     Enter Search Topic:
 

Already a member? Go here to log in and view the entire paper!

Join Now!
by: Credit Card
Join Now!
by: Online Check
Membership Benefits

"The Shield of Achilles"

This is an excerpt from the paper...

"The Shield of Achilles" reveals much about Greek life in the eighth century B.C. and about the degree of social development reached to that time. The story of the shield suggests a society not only where metal is worked but also where there are an urban culture and a rural culture interconnected in the economy, where art is valued as a means of expression, and which is protected by a military structure and a warrior culture.

First, this is a society that has achieved a higher level of organization. Certainly, it is a society that has reached the Bronze Age. Civilization developed following a pattern based on the ability of the human population to learn to use different tools at different stages, different materials from which those tools were made, and different modes of food production. With the development of more sedentary habitats, urban centers eventually developed and produced civilizations with certain similar characteristics, though these developments may have taken place at different rates in different areas. Civilization began with agriculture, developed metalworking in the Bronze Age, and progressed to more advanced metalworking in the Iron Age. This society is still in the Bronze Age, and metalworkers such as Hephaestus know how to forge metal and shape it to their needs. In the scene depicted, Hephaestus is creating a shield which will be the strongest made. The fact that such a shield is required at all shows that this is a war-like society either in

. . .
will be used by Achilles in the Greek assault on Troy. The one city is the city of the Greeks and is marked by weddings, celebrations, and an assembly at which there is a quarrel. The other city is the city of Troy, with the Greek army surrounding it as some argue to sack it and others to spare it. The fact that these images can be placed on this shield shows that this is also a society that believes in predestination and the ability to forecast the future. These are societies with some form of self-government, seen in the way the assembly in the one town has met to make a decision and in the way the army outside the other city is stopped as the course of action is discussed at some length. The image of the assembly in particular shows a people gathered to decide an issue related to whether or not a sum is owed. one man says he paid damages in full, and the other says he has not: Each was trying to make his own case good, and the people took sides, each man backing the side that he had taken; but the heralds kept them back, and the elders sat on their seats of stone in a solemn circle, holding the staves which the heralds had put into their hands (16). This is a society that is well-organized, with a set way of making dec
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
Troy Greek, Bronze Age, Shield Achilles, Age Civilization, Achilles Greek, Riot Fate, bronze age, placed shield, Prentice Hall, Iron Age, urban rural regions, placed shield society, close nature, rural regions, gods goddesses, city city, natural world, forge metal, real world, images placed shield, shield society,
Approximate Word count = 1355
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page)

More Essays on "The Shield of Achilles"

Theory of NeoRealism 1307 words
Neorealism 1307 words
Membership Benefits
Click here to Join Now!
by: Credit Card
Click here to Join Now!
by: Online Check






to Over 32,000 Professionally Written Papers!!!
 


All papers are for research and reference purposes only!
Copyright © 2009 LotsOfEssays.com
All rights reserved. Webmasters make $$$ NEW