The Home-coming Of Two Heroes

Homer's epics have always been the headwater of western literature.The epics of Trojan War and the returning heroes after war have fully depicted the spirit and pondering of ancient Greeks.The returning home of Odysseus and Agamemnon could be seen as the metaphor of the relationship between mankind and the world and all the trials and tribulations they encountered on their journey home are often indicated as the symbolic power of the world.The forbearing of Odysseus and the pretentious of Agamemnon,which eventually led to different endings of the two heroes,represent two diverse perspectives of ancient Greeks on dealing the force of the world.To some extent,these divergent perspectives imply a kind of 'identity acknowledge' that illustrates the desire of ancient Greeks to acknowledge the status of mankind in this world.The profound meanings of the journey home of heroes can be classified into three levels.Primarily,voyage home with trophies after winning the war signifies great glory.The pursuing of glory of the heroes reveals the attitude and thinking of ancient Greeks towards life.Moreover,returning home also suggests returning to life before the war as well as returning to one self.The emphasis on man as himself expresses some kind of self-awareness of ancient Greeks.Lastly,the journey home indicates fighting one's fate.Odysseus and Agamemnon had both faced great deal of hardships and dangers along the journey.The heroes,however,had acted affirmatively towards the so-called doomed destiny,which displays the independent status and the courage of mankind.All the three levels can be concluded as the pursue of 'self-identity acknowledgement' of man which later induced the philosophic thinking of ancient Greek.The home coming in the Odyssey also signifies the great changes in history and culture.The epic demonstrates social conflicts in the transition period of matriarchal to patriarchal society.More importantly,it shows the pursuing of 'self-identity acknowledgement' of human as a kind.