Not only is the father the primary concern in the Iliad, but the heroic code is based on paternal injunction. That way the father determines the values and behavior of the heroes in the Iliad.

Throughout the Iliad the warriors are identified by their genealogy. The first line begins, "Sing, goddess, the anger of Peleus' son Achilleus..." (1, 1). With the opening we see how important the father's name is in describing the identity of the hero. The same occurs in the lines to follow, "...Atreus' son the lord of men..." (1, 7). In this line the name Agamemnon is not even mentioned, even though it introduces the hero for the first time. The fact that he is the son of Atre

Hekabe and Helen are not true counter-voices to the paternal injunction. Hekabe, Hektor's mother, tries to offer food and drink to Hektor, and Helen wants him to rest. Both women offer their services to Hektor so that he can be revived quicker and go back to the battle. "But stay while I bring you honey-sweet wine, to pour out/ a libation to father Zeus and the other immortals/ first, and afterwards if you will drink yourself, be strengthened./ In a tired man, wine will bring back his strength to its bigness,/ in a man tired as you are tired, defending your neighbours," pleads Hekabe (6, 258-262). Hekabe is enforcing paternal injunction through her care for Hektor, because she wishes Hektor's strength to be restored so that he can re-enter the agon.

Being reminded of the paternal injunction and the greatness of their fathers urged many warriors into battle. Diomedes was forced into the battle by Agamemnon, who spoke to him these words, "Ah me, son of Tydeus, that daring breaker of horses,/ why are you skulking and spying out the outworks of battle?/ Such was never Tydeus' way, to lurk in the background,/ but to fight the enemy far ahead of his own companions./...they say he surpassed all others./...yet he was father/ to a son worse than himself at fighting, better in conclave" (4, 370-400). Not fighting face to face with the enemy or using crafty, technologically advantageous ways to win is considered cowardly by the heroic code. Action is what is needed to win glory, not words that is why being "better in conclave" is considered a bad characteristic.

Toward the end of the Iliad we see what a strong impression the father can make. The aged Priam comes to offer Achilleus ransom for the return of Hektor's body. Priam is able to appeal to Achilleus by evoking memories of Achilleus' own father. "Honour then the gods, Achilleus, and take pity upon me/ remembering your father, yet I am still more pitiful;/...So he spoke, and stirred in the other a passion of grieving/ for his own father" (24, 503-508). Until now Achilleus has been merciless toward Hektor's body and the Trojan people, but at the memory of his own father he is able to sympathize with Priam. This demonstrates that the father plays a major role in societal values.

The other counter-voices are those of women. Naturally women will be opposed to the paternal injunction because it destroys the lives of sons and husbands. A strong female character in the Iliad is Andromache, the wife of Hektor. She begs her husband to stay home and not go to the war.

The only other true counter-voice to the patriarchy is Aphrodite. Aphrodite attempts to save the life of every man she cares about. She is the goddess who helps Paris escape death in the agon with Menelaos. "But Aphrodite caught up Paris/ easily, since she was divine, and wrapped him in a thick mist/ and set him down again in his own perfumed bedchamber" (3, 379-382). Aphrodite lures Paris in all the pleasures not concerned with war. She also carries off her son, Aineias, out of the fighting. Aphrodite's way of saving their lives destroys their reputation, and in the long run she has done them a greater wrong than if she let them die. Paris is seen as an anti-hero because of Aphrodite's influence over him. He does not overcome female temptation and he is not ready to enter a battle and face death. Even when he is fighting, Paris uses the archery against his opponents. Archery is considered to be the cunning tool of the coward, who does not have the stren

Some common words found in the essay are:
Glaukos Diomedes, Menelaos Aphrodite, Iliad Andromache, Throughout Iliad, Lion Gate, Iliad Homer, Hektor Helen, Brilliant Oineus, Beyond Achilleus, Thersites Thersites, paternal injunction, heroic code, own father, paternal injunction father, faced death, home heroic, injunction father, recognized society, patriarchal position, reached heroic, home heroic code, reached heroic code, heroic code warrior, hero goal,
Approximate Word count = 2366
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)