Iliad | Reading Pointers for Sharper Insights - Page 2
The Trojan Horse
The fall of Troy, which occurs after The Iliad ends, is accomplished by means of a clever trick which the Achaeans play on the Trojans. The Achaeans build a giant wooden horse and fill it with soldiers. The rest of the army hides the Achaean ships, making it look like a Trojan victory is at hand. One Achaean soldier is designated to bring the wooden horse to the Trojan gates, with the story that the horse is an offering to the goddess Minerva. Afraid of her wrath, the Trojans decide to bring in the wooden horse and celebrate their victory over the Greeks. The Achaean soldiers then wait for nightfall, when they creep out and open the gates, letting the rest of their army in. The Trojans are then massacred, and the city is sacked and burned.
The Odyssey
The Odyssey, also attributed to Homer, is considered something of a continuation to The Iliad. It follows the adventures of the character of Ulysses (Odysseus), a minor character in The Iliad, as he tries to return home after the end of the war. This journey takes twenty years.
The Aeneid
The Aeneid, written by Virgil in the first century B.C. is an epic poem which describes the adventures of Aeneas, one of the few surviving Trojans, as he travels to the region of present-day Italy. The character of Aeneas becomes an important figure in the story of the legendary founding of Rome.
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See Also:
- - For teachers, the Iliad Lesson Plan.
- - Iliad summary and study guide in the eNotes.
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