Iliad (Magill Book Reviews)
At a glance:
- Author: Homer
- First Published: 750
- Type of Work: Epic Poetry
- Genres: Poetry, Epic, Narrative poetry
- Subjects: Mythology or myths, War, Kings, queens, or royalty, Legends, Gods or goddesses, Heroes or heroism, Greek or Roman times, Battles, Greece or Greek people, Trojan War, Bronze Age
- Locales: Troy, ancient, Hades, Mount Olympus (mythic)
Homer’s epic begins in the tenth year of the Trojan War, in which the Greek army besieges the walled city of Troy in Asia Minor. According to legend, the Greeks had sailed to Troy to win the release of Helen, wife of King Menelaus, who had been abducted by the Trojan prince Paris. The twenty-four books of the ILIAD incorporate a body of legend that may date back to the twelfth century B.C. Rather than recount the entire conflict, Homer concentrates on the events which follow the feud between Greek warriors Achilles and Agamemnon.
After Agamemnon takes away Achilles’ war...
[The entire page is 611 words long]
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