Parallel Themes in The Iliad and The Odyssey

The Iliad is an epic about the rage of Achilles. Achilles is a warrior on the Greek side of the Trojan war. The Iliad starts with Achilles's excessive anger towards Agamemnon and ends with Achilles killing Nestor. Although Achilles does not do much fighting within the epic he plays a large role in one of the main themes within the epic; the theme that nothing is good in excess. Achilles has excessive rage and his friend Patroclus has excessive pride while fighting in Achilles's armor. This theme can also be seen in The Odyssey . The excess of the suitors's stay in Ithaca leads them to death upon the return of Odysseus. The theme of excess in anything leading to trouble is seen in both The Iliad and The Odyssey.
In The Iliad Homer stresses one very important theme, that theme is to do nothing in excess. He first shows this through Achilles excessive rage. Achilles becomes excessively angery with Agamemnon, in the first scene of the book, because Agamemnon took Achilles...