Priam in The Iliad

It is not uncommon when someone does you wrong, to want revenge. Some may argue that it is human nature; ‘An eye for an eye’ as the Old Testament says. However during times of war we feel as though the Golden Rule does not apply. I am sure that if a person killed someone I deeply loved, I would want to avenge that death. In the days of the Trojan war, Homer writes in the …

…who hate you. Bless those that curse you and to him that strikes you on one cheek, offer the other also.’ This is exactly the way that Priam responded to Achilles. He blessed him and turned his other cheek to Achilles; but rather than strike him again, Achilles was humbled and wept with him. I think that if we could all respond to our enemies this way, we would have a lot less of them.