The Iliad

An Epic Poem By Homer Written around 750 B.C.

Homer

Classical Greek Poet Homer told stories orally.

He wrote about preserving honor- the most important thing.

He was a blind man whose date of birth is unknown.

Background Info

 The “Iliad” comes from the word Ilion, which was another name for the city of Troy, located in Asia Minor.

 Around 1200 B.C. the Greeks fought against Troy (the Trojans) in the great Trojan War.  Homer composed the

Iliad

, which tells only a part of the story of the Trojan War, around 350 years after it happened.

Themes



The theme stated at the beginning of the Iliad is “the rage of Peleus’s son Achilles” and the consequences of his rage.

 Other themes:  Rage  Glory of War  Role of Women in Ancient Civilization  Military Glory over Family Life  Human Life and the Role of the Gods  Hubris (arrogance and pride)

What types of epics are the Iliad and the Odyssey?

Iliad

– War Epic

Odyssey

– Journey

Epic Form: Genre



Epic= A long poem, typically one derived from ancient oral tradition, narrating the deeds and adventures of heroic or legendary figures, or the history of a nation.

Epic Form- Long Speeches



The lengthy, formal speech is another typical element of the Homeric epic form.

 Homer’s characters commonly express thoughts and feelings by

delivering long speeches

addressed to other characters. (Especially at moments of crisis, characters deliver long monologues in which they address their own souls or inner spirits.)

Epic Form: The Invocation/ “in



medias res”

Homer begins the Iliad powerfully by stating the epic’s



theme and invoking one of the Muses.

The Muses

are nine goddesses in Greek Mythology who were believed to preside over all forms of art and science.



One of the defining features of a Homeric Epic is how

 

the story opens in medias res.

“in medias res”- is Latin for “in the middle of things.” Reading a Greek epic from the beginning is like tuning into a story already in progress. Many of the story’s events have already taken place, but information about those events is revealed later in the poem through flashbacks.

Literary Element: “Homeric”

Epithet



Epithet: compound adjective used to describe a quality of a person.

 Epithets came about as a result of composing and listening to oral poetry.

 Ex. “brilliant Achilles,” or “Hector breaker of horses,” or “blazing eyed Athena.”

Iliad Beginning



The Iliad recounts only PART of a long series of events in the Trojan War.



Homer concentrated on a period of less than two months into the tenth year of the war.

 According to legend, the war was fought because of a quarrel among gods and the resulting incidents of betrayal among mortals.



How did the Trojan War start 10 years prior?....

Eris, Goddess of Discord

Angry because she, Eris, was the only god not invited to the wedding of the Sea Goddess Thetis to King Peleus, Eris tossed the Golden Apple marked “ For the Fairest ” into the banquet.

Who is the Fairest?

Aphrodite

,

Hera

, and

Athena

each wanted the golden apple.

Zeus would not choose between them because he did not want the goddesses to be angry with him.

They chose the

Trojan prince Paris

to make the decision of which goddess was the fairest.

The Offers

Hera offered to make Paris ruler of Europe and Asia.

Athena offered wisdom and skill in war.

Aphrodite offered Paris the most beautiful woman in the world.

Paris Chooses Aphrodite

The most beautiful woman in the world is Helen, the wife of King Menelaus, King of Sparta.

Aphrodite helps Paris go to Menelaus’ court and abducts Helen.

The Beginning of War

Greek King Menelaus called on all those who were loyal to him including the help of his brother, Agamemnon, King of Mycenae.

They gathered a huge army, and built a thousand ships to carry the army to Troy to reclaim Helen and to sack a city for its opulence.

Helen of Sparta was now called “ Helen of Troy ” She was “ The face that launched a thousand ships ”

The Trojan War

The battle raged for 10 years A prophet predicted that Troy could be captured only with the help of

Greek warrior Achilles.

Where the

Iliad

Starts…

o o o For nine years the Greeks attacked Troy, with the Trojans at first resisting them. Suddenly, in the tenth year of the war, an unforeseen event triggered a bitter quarrel between Agamemnon, the leader of the Greek forces, and Achilles, the greatest of the Greek warriors. It is at this point that the

Iliad

begins…

The Hero Achilles

Knowing of the prophecy, and worried that her son would be killed in war, Achilles ’ s mother dipped him in the river Styx to make him immortal. His only weakness was the place on his heals where she held him. During the war, Achilles is forced to give up his war prize, a slave girl, to Agamemnon, and so he refuses to fight.

Patroclus, his friend, asks Achilles if he may ride out in his armor so the Trojans would lose heart.

Achilles

Achilles agreed to allow his friend Patroclus to wear his armor. The next day Patroclus was killed and stripped of the armor by the Trojan hero Hector, who mistook him for Achilles.

Achilles was overwhelmed with grief for his friend and rage at Hector. Achilles kills Hector. He desecrated the body, dragging it behind his chariot before the walls of Troy.

Finally Paris, aided by Apollo, wounded Achilles in the heel with an arrow; Achilles died of the wound.

10 Years of War

The Gods are tired of watching men kill each other, and decide to help end the war. Athena whispers an idea in the Spartan hero Odysseus ‘ ear.

The Trojan Horse

Odysseus tells them they will build a huge horse of wood.

Some would climb inside and hide. The rest would sail around the tip of the island, where they could not be seen.

One would stay behind and tell the Trojans that he had been abandoned by the Greeks, and that the horse was an offering to Athena.

The Fall of Troy

The Trojans believed the trick.

They had a huge banquet to celebrate the end of the war.

At night the men from inside the horse came out and unlocked the gates to the city.

The Burning of Troy

The city is invaded by the army.

The Trojans are drunk and spent from their night of revelry, unable to fight back.

The Spartans destroy and burn the city.

Aphrodite saves Helen from the destruction.

The War Ends

King Menelaus accepts Helen back.

The warriors can now return home.

Odysseus leaves for home