Thersites

[Gunny]

https://www.worldhistory.org/Thersites/

Interesting that Homer uses this character to speak the voice of the troops to/against the elites squabbling over prizes. Naturally, being of the elites, both Homer and later Shakespeare present him as a some malformed miscreant.

Looks like not much has changed politically since the 8th-9th century BC. Always the soldiers doing the bidding of the elites for solely the latter's gain.

[Kathianne]

https://www.worldhistory.org/Thersites/

Interesting that Homer uses this character to speak the voice of the troops to/against the elites squabbling over prizes. Naturally, being of the elites, both Homer and later Shakespeare present him as a some malformed miscreant.

Looks like not much has changed politically since the 8th-9th century BC. Always the soldiers doing the bidding of the elites for solely the latter's gain.

Truly, Thersites sounded familiar, but wasn't sure from where. Of course, something I struggled with seriously like 6 times between high school history, English, ditto with college. Iliad and Odyssey, only slightly more acceptable than Beowulf, my absolute most hated reading ever! Assigned a grand total of 7 times. Good lord!

Now you've gone and done it, I may have to look at it again.

[Gunny]

Truly, Thersites sounded familiar, but wasn't sure from where. Of course, something I struggled with seriously like 6 times between high school history, English, ditto with college. Iliad and Odyssey, only slightly more acceptable than Beowulf, my absolute most hated reading ever! Assigned a grand total of 7 times. Good lord!

Now you've gone and done it, I may have to look at it again.The first thing I had to do was switch gears. This isn't the usual mindless internet fare. I had the Iliad and the Odyssey and the Epic Cycle in English lit. History generally acknowledges it's existence, but questions its accuracy at every other word. With good reason. That the Trojan War was a proxy war amongst the Greek Gods doesn't go over well in history class where factual events, evidence with dates are paramount.

Philosophically it's a nightmare, but good insight into the minds of those who waged the war. As I touched on previously, the basics can easily be compared to same crap we're facing as a people today, and however many times in between. Apparently Man has been bent on repeating the same course of history for a long, long time.

It is my opinion that Thersites is more afterthought to the oral tradition to include a voice for the commoners in contrast to the elites/government than a real person. Perhaps Homer's attempt to include all voices? He certainly does not describe Thersites as anyone to envy/endear oneself to. Could also be Homer's way of taking a shot from afar at Agamemnon and the other elites.

The opinion in the OP is rather clear though: while Thersites gave voice to the commoners as some form of evidence of Ancient Greece's democracy and freedom of speech, his speech was stopped by Odysseus clubbing him over the head and given no further thought by the elites who were too busy fighting among themselves about how to get richer.

Which of course leads me to wonder just where the OP is going using this excerpt as a stand alone point. In this particular article, he/she doesn't go any further.