This is the standard for all epic poetry. On the surface, the Iliad appears to be a straightforward tale relating the events during a few days in the tenth year of a war that the Greeks waged with Troy. Yet, the reader will realize that something deeper is happening in the work. This is not a work that glorifies war, but it does magnify the heroism of men who endure great sufferings beyond the capacity of normal humanness. One can make a good argument that the Iliad is a statement against war. The long lists of men who are killed, and the way they die, are not used for poetic effect. The reader will sense this carnage with its bloodshed is meaningless and unnecessary, in spite of any perceived "glory." The reading of the Iliad should cause all sensitive people to become revolted with the conduct of war, particularly ones of conquest and of unjust causes.
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