Courage Shown by Characters in "The Illiad"

In “The Illiad” I noticed that all the characters showed courage which is their similarity, but their difference is that they all showed it in different ways. Some gods were courageous in good ways and bad ways; and I even think it sounds crazy but it’s true. It takes courage for someone to look after, defend, hunt, and try to steal or kill knowing that they have obstacles to go through before defeating their opponents. The gods with this type of courage doesn’t impress me at all but it entertains me while I’m reading. It also open up much more thought while I’m reading. As for the positive courage, I can appreciate their courage shown by them battling their enemy knowing it’s a matter of life and death. I was actually influenced by some of these gods due to their heroic actions. I might take their actions a little to serious but one thing I know the gods do whenever I read or watch anything about them it is that you should face your fears and defend what you honor or have very close to you. They also inspire me to make smart sacrifices in life due to their leadership shown. When I read about them I always try to relate what I do everyday to what the gods do during their time. I ask myself: Do I make smart sacrifices, am I brave enough to go on a journey and face my fears, can I achieve a goal that many tried to complete and has failed, can I be the ruler or king of success, etc. As I read or watch anything with the gods I always ask myself a large amount of question that compares my life with theirs. This is actually how their courage makes me react; it makes me think of what I’m doing right in my life. Even the negative courage helps me realize what I’m doing wrong. As I said earlier in my response the negative courage that some gods show open up much more thoughts. When I see a god like Atrides I try to ask myself do I show some of the attitude he shows. Atrides is selfish, arrogant, and he even tends to lead his people in a reckless way. I sometimes catch myself acting like this and I will immediately stop. I don’t want to be selfish nor arrogant, and I really don’t want to lead my peers in a reckless attitude because I will just be continuing what is already being done today by many. So with this said I think that the courage of all the gods mentioned in “The Illiad” has a bigger impact on me than others would think. Reading about the gods is something that helps me think outside the box much more than other pieces of reading. And I think the reason for this is that I find the gods much more interesting than anything in Greek times. I actually enjoy what they do and what they represent. I find their duties and courage interesting to read about. The god’s jus catches my attention and keeps me engaged into their every move. And I hope to read more about the gods and not just the gods in “The Illiad”.