The war in Ukraine is now well past its third year. Despite all the prognostications by Western punditry of imminent Ukrainian collapse or the eventual Russian defeat—nothing drastic has happened. Instead, there is only the grim, grinding machinery of war humming along. Ukraine was supposed to have run out of men by now, but there is hardly any evidence of such a shortage, and they keep fighting. Russia was technological backwards, running out of ammo and men, but Russia keeps fighting.
The many narratives constructed for and around this conflict have long run their course and are now useless—but the punditry keeps repeating them, for what else are they going to do, since they sing for their “dinners” via such narratives.
Time has now come to recognize the essential truths of all modern wars—their outcome can never be planned, let alone predicted; their devastation is so deep that there are no true winners; there are only survivors; and so, the defeat of an enemy is also the defeat of the “winner,” who has won only by showing greater brutality—or, to put it another way, by embodying a greater dehumanization.
Curiously, this pattern of modern wars is first laid out in two ancient works, the Iliad and the Odyssey, by Homer.
The Iliad (which chronicles the Trojan War) presents a complex and ambivalent view of war in order to show that there are ultimately no true winners in wars. While the Iliad celebrates martial valor, heroism, and glory in battle, it also deeply reflects on the tragic costs of war—the loss of young lives, suffering, destruction, and the brutalization of the human soul.
At the same time, Homer portrays war as an inevitable part of human and divine existence, where warriors seek glory through combat, even when they foresee the destruction it brings. For example, Hector understands the doom awaiting Troy and his family, but he continues fighting out of pride and adherence to heroic values, despite knowing the suffering that will follow.
The Trojan War is depicted as a ruthless and tragic enterprise with no simple victors. The human cost—death, loss of loved ones, enslavement, and enduring suffering—is emphasized, especially through scenes showing the pain of family members left behind.
Homer combines admiration for heroic excellence in war with a sober recognition of its dreadful price. The Iliad ends on a note of pity and mourning, such as when Achilles returns Hector’s body to his father, highlighting sorrow rather than triumph—Achilles knows that by killing Hector he has also killed himself.
In the Odyssey, war’s violence and dehumanizing effects are further explored, showing how war separates men from home, love, and happiness, thus underscoring the emptiness of military glory against the backdrop of loss and devastation, and their tragic consequences.
The Iliad emphasizes the personal grief and loss experienced by families and communities, as seen in the deaths of key characters like Patroclus and Hector, and the sorrow represented by King Priam’s plea for Hector’s body. This illustrates the deep human suffering behind the statistics of war.
Despite heroic actions and valor, the Iliad questions the ultimate purpose of war, suggesting that no glory can truly compensate for the widespread suffering and destruction, including the eventual ruin of Troy, which symbolizes the obliteration of culture and society.
Moral ambiguity in the Iliad highlights the complex ethical and emotional dilemmas faced by characters during war. Unlike simple tales of good versus evil, Homer presents war as a morally tangled experience filled with conflicting values, difficult choices, and internal struggles that affect participants, so that right and wrong cannot be easily separated. This nuanced portrayal forces us to confront the ethical challenges presented by the human costs hidden beneath heroic narratives.
In the Iliad, Achilles and Hector are neither wholly virtuous nor entirely villainous. Achilles is a great warrior driven by pride and wrath, whose anger causes much suffering, yet he also shows moments of deep compassion and honor. Hector fights to defend his city and family but ultimately participates in violence that leads to the complete destruction of Troy.
Warriors are motivated by honor and glory (kleos), but these pursuits often come with tragic consequences for themselves and others. For example, Achilles’ refusal to fight due to wounded pride leads to greater deaths on both sides, illustrating how personal emotions impact the broader human cost in war.
The gods frequently intervene, sometimes helping and sometimes hindering the characters unpredictably, complicating human moral responsibility. This divine influence blurs the line between fate, free will, and accountability.
Homer humanizes both Greek and Trojan warriors, showing their fears, loves, and doubts. This portrayal challenges simplistic views of the enemy, presenting both sides as flawed and dignified, which makes moral judgments less clear-cut.
The cycle of violence—revenge for wrongs sustained—raises questions about justice and whether any side truly “wins” morally. For instance, Achilles’ killing of Hector avenges Patroclus but perpetuates suffering, thus highlighting the tragic loop of retribution.
In both of Homer’s epics, war is often presented as a tragic destiny or divine will imposed by the gods, suggesting that humans are caught in an inevitable cycle of violence they cannot fully master or triumph over. This makes any victory partial and spoiled by larger forces beyond mortal reach.
While Homer recognizes the nobility and heroic valor in war, as noted already, he also portrays the enormous sacrifices it demands—death, grief, destruction of families and cities. For example, Hector continues to fight despite foreseeing Troy’s doom and his own death, illustrating how pride and duty compel warriors despite the tragic consequences.
Homer strives to show multiple perspectives on the war, portraying both Greeks and Trojans sympathetically to some extent and acknowledging losses on both sides. This creates a vision of conflict in which each victory involves suffering and loss, deflating any notion of a purely triumphant outcome.
In the Odyssey and the Iliad, Homer underscores that war robs men of their humanity, happiness, and life itself. Odysseus’s long, sorrowful journey home reflects the ruin war wreaks on human lives and relationships. Even heroic acts are overshadowed by an awareness of death’s inevitability and the futility of heroics in preventing it.
Homer uses sympathetic backstories for characters killed in battle to show how war abruptly ends lives that had hopes, families, and futures. For instance, young sons like Xanathos and Thoon, whose deaths leave their aging father Phainops in despair, illustrate how war breaks family lines and extinguishes human potential beyond the battlefield. This highlights how war dehumanizes by turning vibrant lives into tragic losses with no gain.
The Odyssey explores war’s aftermath by showing how veterans and their loved ones suffer emotionally. Characters such as Menelaos and Odysseus are haunted by grief, loss, and separation caused by war, which deeply affects their mental peace and relationships. Odysseus’s prolonged absence causes pain and instability for his family, emphasizing how war robs not only lives but the essence of home and emotional wellbeing.
Homer depicts warriors caught in cycles of violence that reduce them to prey-like figures—comparable to animals hunted or cut off from their herds. The description of Sarpedon’s death uses imagery of a bull being hunted by a lion, illustrating the reflexive, cruel violence that war imposes, dehumanizing combatants who become caught up in primitive survival instincts rather than moral beings. War strips Sarpedon of him humanity, pushing him and those around him into predatory and cruel roles beyond moral boundaries.
The two epics reveal how war not only kills but violates social and ethical norms, exerting a corrupting influence on characters’ identities and the natural order of life. For example, the objectification and exchange of women as war prizes link to broader dehumanizing effects characteristic of Homer’s portrayal of the conflict’s broader societal violence.
The Trojan War lasted ten years and only ended with the total destruction of Troy, made possible by a ruse rather than military prowess. When the end comes, it is the complete erasure of Troy and all Trojans, down to the slaughter of infants, with the surviving women sold off as slaves.
Whatever role we may chose to give to the two contestants in the battlefields of Ukraine, the result will be as Homer knew it—mourning and grief. All of war’s heroics must come to this end, because all wars are existential, and so we are told: Ukraine must not lose, or Russia must not lose. With hundreds and thousands killed already, or even a million or more—what does “victory” look like anymore in this war between Ukraine and Russia?
The seeds of hatred planted in blood are not easily rooted out.
