The Implied Metaphysics of "bitterness" in Homer's Iliad
Summary:
Homer's Iliad is replete with "bitterness," a term employed for its absolutist depictions of the ferocity and prolonged spite of ancient Greek warriors. The myriad shades of "bitterness," unfortunately, cannot be pinned in concise and pithy language. In the field of natural sciences, "bitterness" is used to characterize tastes and smells which are unpleasantly sharp or pungent--be they cough syrup, thick smog, or the scent of fresh garlic.
Homer's Iliad is replete with "bitterness," a term employed for its absolutist depictions of the ferocity and prolonged spite of ancient Greek warriors. The weight of this term is made apparent in the opening passage: "What god was it then set [Achilleus and Agamemnon] in bitter collision"" (I. 8). The seeds of bitterness have been planted and this story--an epical account of the Greeks pillaging the land of Troy in the final year of the Trojan War--is narrated not to recreate history, but to furnish a backdrop of wartime valor that brings to fore the struggles of pride entertained by Achilleus vis-à-vis Agamemnon. Their fueled interactions form the basis of The Iliad, advancing the plot-line and revealing peculiar insights into their self-absorbed and selfish natures--the ultimate focus of The Iliad.
The myriad shades of "bitterness," unfortunately, cannot be pinned in concise and pithy language. In the field of natural sciences, "bitterness" is used to characterize tastes and smells which are unpleasantly sharp or pungent--be they cough syrup, thick smog, or the scent of fresh garlic. The chemical makeup of these substances may be assessed against objective criteria to determine whether "bitterness," in this regard, is an accurate label. But when importing the term into the realm of psychology, this consistency in meaning is tragically lost. The bitter cold, a bitter struggle, and the bitter truth--phenomena which evoke an unpleasantness of the senses but elude precise and scientific analysis--may be understood subjectively but lose the bulk of their essence when articulated in abstract, universal terms. Clearly, "bitterness," as an emotional psyche, has a more personalized and nuanced meaning than its scientific counterpart. Acknowledging these difficulties, the term "bitterness" may nevertheless be defined tentatively, here, as 'an entrenched mental feeling of discomfort and sourness.'
In context of Homer's Iliad, the notable aspect of this definition is that it conceives of "bitterness" as a firmly-embedded condition. "Bitterness," it may be thusly inferred, is felt regularly in the course of life, but in its pure form experienced solely by infected carriers: an individual who haplessly bites into an unripe peach may feel a temporary bitterness of the mouth, but the "bitterness" itself remains nestled within the acrid fruit; people may react to animosity with bitter, vitriolic language, but, again, the "bitterness" itself stays inhabited within the soul of the provocateur. Bitter relations, fortune, and dispositions are widespread glimpses into the real "bitterness," an intrinsic quality that breeds from within and rears its ugly head only occasionally to leave sour, albeit short-lived impressions on others.
This distinction, which regards "bitterness" as a recognized and stable entity, enables Homer to project an animistic metaphysics. The philosophy of animism sees various notions--fear, sleep, and death, to name a few--as organized and embodied in godly spirits. By way of example, Achilleus does not feel an instance of "bitterness" when Agamemnon demands his slave girl; the psyche of Achilleus, instead, is hijacked by a mystical being identified--though not textually--as Bitterness.
Elements of "bitterness" in the world may present themselves in the form of hardships and misfortune, but are merely just that: elements. "Bitterness" in its pure form remains embedded within the human soul or the cosmos. In a mishandled attempt to motivate the Achaian fighters, Agamemnon asserts that Zeus has destined the Trojan War to a "bitter futility" (II. 111). Here, the implied "bitterness" may refer to an entire host of things: pride, as the galvanizing force in starting the Trojan War; war itself, as an irrational armed clash between two peoples; and fate, as a generally unbending course that stifles human agency. The futility of re-entering Troy is no more than a symptom of a greater "bitterness" that rests comfortably within some larger phenomena such as pride, war, and fate.
The word "bitterness," unaltered, appears first in a speech by the bird-interpreter, Kalchas (I. 82). Kalchas intends to reveal the root causes of the plague affecting the Achaians but first demands immunity against Agamemnon, whom he will indict as responsible for the wrath of Apollo. His plea for immunity uncovers an essential quality of "bitterness": "suppose [Agamemnon] swallow[s] down his anger, he still keeps bitterness that remains until its fulfillment deep in his chest" (I. 81-3). This remark, that "bitterness" dwarfs "anger" in its duration and intensity, is especially powerful due to Kalchas' revered intellectual status. He "knew all things that were," including that "bitterness" was not a fleeting concept, but a residual one built deep within the human psyche (I. 70). Predictably, Agamemnon received Kalchas' news with animosity, eying him "bitterly," with "his two eyes show[ing] like fire in their blazing" (I. 104-5).
The final instance of the term is during a feeble attempt by Nestor to settle peacefully the conflict of pride bustling between Achilleus and Agamemnon: "[Agamemnon], give up your anger; even I entreat you to give over your bitterness against Achilleus, he who stands as a great bulwark of battle..." (I. 282-4). The word "even" suggests that the latter request is more taxing than the former, that it would require greater sacrifice to squash "bitterness" than it would to squash "anger" (I. 282-3). Yet again, a socially respected thinker--first Kalchas and now Nestor "the fair-spoken" and experience-ridden King--acknowledges that bitterness is more firmly-established than anger, that from its presence one develops specific justifications to feel angry, and that bitterness as a condition exists not among but within embattled aggressors (I. 248).
Homer's word choice, here, is not capricious, but delicately calculated. The usage of "bitterness" develops a complex picture of society where grudges are seldom forgotten and individuals of stature are unlikely to flatly pardon violations of their dignity. In ancient Greece, the virtues of compassion and empathy were not extolled as they are today, but condemned as a hallmark of weakness. Homer's political goal of conveying the leaders of this age as unyielding, brutish, and henceforth virtuous is assisted through his linguistic constructions of "bitterness." The text of The Iliad, as cited previously, ranks "bitterness" on a higher scale of intensity than competing emotional states, such as the more superficial "frustration" or "annoyance." In addition to this, the existential nature of "bitterness" as a 'living and breathing' subject that inhabits human beings "deep in [their] chest," treating them as empty-vessel proxies, is suggested (I. 83). Whether Agamemnon is abusing his political authorities, Achilleus is rejecting honest pleas for clemency, or either is vainly desensitized to the plight of their best warriors, an entire ethos--the moral fabric of ancient Greece--is communicated through a tailored use of "bitterness" in this way.
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