Read the excerpt from The Iliad of Homer. "I entreat you by your life, by your knees, by your parents, do not let the dogs feed on me by the ships of the Achaians, but take yourself the bronze and gold that are there in abundance, those gifts that my father and the lady my mother will give you, and give my body to be taken home again, so that the Trojans and the wives of the Trojans may give me in death my rite of burning.” What ancient Greek belief does this excerpt best illustrate?
Answer
A
the value of funeral rituals
B
the power of fate
C
the importance of heroic acts
D
the influence of gods
Explanation
The speaker begs that his body be returned home so his people can perform the proper funeral rites, including burning his body. This shows the importance ancient Greeks placed on honoring the dead through funeral rituals. The passage focuses on burial customs, not fate, heroic deeds, or the gods.
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