What does the theme in The Iliad "might tempered by mercy" mean?

Question: What does the theme in The Iliad "might tempered by mercy" mean!?

Alexander the great carried a copy of the iliad by homer and i was wondering what might tempered by mercy mean Please and Thank you=DWww@QuestionHome@Com

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:

"Tempered" is the key word in the phrase!. It means something close to "balanced by", or "improved by"!. The phrase can be interpreted as:

Might balanced by mercy, or
Might improved by mercy!.

The phrase is about the struggles between using power, and showing mercy!. For example, Achilles has the choice between dragging Hector's body around Troy and showing off his might, or giving the body back to the family and displaying mercy!.

In short, "Might Tempered by Mercy" means "Strength, but balanced out by mercy"!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Um, yeah, as one of the previous answers said, the keyword is "tempered", so I'm not going to repeat that part!.

I think, though, that the theme might have a different interpretation, which is that power is improved by one having the virtue of mercy!. Think of it this way: If you have power but you don't abuse it, and if you treat people kindly despite having the power to crush them, people respect you more for it!. Raw power in itself is usually feared, not respected!. So, in a sense, tempering might with mercy is a sort of "improvement", especially in governance, because then people are more inclined to respect and trust the authorities rather than simply fearing them (which indirectly gives them more power against external threats and reduces the risk of political upheaval)!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Might is used here to mean great strength and power so "might tempered by mercy" means that having mercy stopped him using all his power to crush everything in his path - he would capture a town, for example but not kill and torture all the inhabitants even though he couldWww@QuestionHome@Com