Iliad

In Book 12 of The Iliad, the Trojans interpret the sight of the eagle dropping the blood-red snake after being attacked by it as an omen that the Achaeans still have some fight left in them. The...

You might first want to do some research comparing the outline of Homer's The Iliad to the movie Troy. We know, for example, that the directors of the movie went to great lengths in order to...

From one perspective, the answer is very easy. Achilles is responsible for the death of Hector, because he killed him. If we probe a little deeper, we can say a few more things. 1. Achilles...

It can often seem as if everything is preordained in the Iliad, but there are many places where individuals exercise free will or can make their own choices. Achilles is a case in point. He is...

In the words of Christopher Marlowe, she was the "face that launched a thousand ships." Helen of Troy was certainly one of the most desired women in all history (in fact and myth). Abducted when...

In "The Iliad," usually attributed to Homer, Achilles is a great hero among the Achaeans. At the beginning of the epic, he refuses to help the Achaeans fight agains Troy because he is angry at the...

Homer’s Iliad begins with the kidnapping of Helen, the beautiful wife of Menelaus. The King of the Achaians happens to be Agamemnon, the brother of Menelaus. Loyalty to his brother forces Agamemnon...

This is a good thesis, but there are a few weaknesses that you need to consider. First, you should ask whether anyone would disagree with you? I think the answer is no one. Everyone already knows...

Like so much in Homer, the Iliad depicts a complex relationship between war and its effect on people. On one hand, war is depicted as an issue of glory. Achilles fights for the glory of his name...

You can find the answer to this in book 9, when the Achaeans have been routed by the Trojans and beaten back to their ships (which the Trojans plan to set fire to, trapping the Achaeans on the...

Homer's Iliad helps to define tragedy as the collision between separate courses of action that are equally desirable, but ultimately incompatible. This can be seen best in Hector. The Prince of...

Essentially, the Gods' intervention in Achilles' reintegration is prompted by the appeal to Achilles' intense despair over the death of Patroklos. The Olympians recognize that this is a...

Cassandra, the daughter of Priam and Hecuba, and the sister of Hector and Paris/Alexander, made a number of predictions before the Trojan War and during the course of the war. Therefore, answering...

One theme of the Iliad is an exploration of love. For example, Hector shows love for his wife, Andromache, and their very young son, Astyanax, as he (Hector) goes off to fight. Andromache shows her...

For the most part, I think that the role of the wives in the Iliad is to explore the domestic realm and to expose the pull of the personal in the collision between desire and duty. Homer's...

This is an interesting question. Book 9 is a major turning point in the story. We read about Agamemnon finally apologizing and sending gifts to Achilles (including the return of Briseis, the...

I'm not sure each book has one simple meaning. The purpose of all the books is really to focus on Achilles and Agamemnon's disagreements and how that plays a role in the entire war and the outcome...

Book 18 allows readers to see more layers to the character of Achilles. He is not just a fierce warrior, but a man who loves in the truest sense of the word. His reaction to the death of...

Aphrodite bribes Paris in order to get the apple by offering him Helen as a reward. She helps him abduct or seduce Helen. In Book 3, she saves Paris by physically interfering in a battle. She...

Can you please tell me what the Book #/line # is and what translation you are using? I remembered the Greek: Time with the accent over the e means honor in classical Greek, thus in the Iliad.

I think that I notice the dualistic conception of intense anger and striving for arete. Homer's characterization of Achilles allows the reader to see someone capable of the highest of glory along...

In book 8 of the Iliad, Odysseus's fleeing shows that he respects the power of Zeus, who's just sent down an enormous thunderbolt from Mount Ida and a flash of lightning upon the Achaeans. It may...

In answering this question, it’s important to understand that the Greeks have been laying siege to Troy for ten long years. This would put a huge psychological strain on anyone, including trained...

In Homer's Iliad, Achilles is driven largely by pride and rage. He makes decisions based on emotions rather than on the good of his fellow warriors and their cause. In this, he is quite unlike some...

Hera and Athena are both sympathetic to the cause of the Greek people, and their dynamic in book 8 reflects that strong desire as the two work together well. In book 8, the two goddesses work in...

Achilles and Agamemnon are both prideful and obsessed with their status. Agamemnon takes Briseis from Achilles out of pride, to show his status as a leader of the Greeks, and Achilles resents this...

"Beware of Greeks bearing gifts" is still a fairly common proverb in the twenty-first century. It no longer applies to Greeks but to anyone--particularly to a stranger--bringing you a gift....

The conflict between Achilles and Agamemnon is the driving force behind events in the Iliad. In the first book, the Achaeans have recently sacked a small city and taken, as prizes, two women,...

Hector is a main hero of the Trojans, who shows great courage in battle. Part of Hector's heroism lies in leaving his wife Andromache and young son to go to battle in book 6 of the Iliad, despite...

It depends on whether you think he's teaching things overtly, consciously, or if he's teaching Achilles through his death. The role he certainly plays is as a plot device. His life, as he dons...

In my opinion, Agamemnon is quick to "freak out" about Calchas's prophecy because it offends his honor. In the Greek society of this time, a warrior's honor was more important to him than his...

There are so many themes in Homer’s Iliad that it is hard to select a single event that outdoes all others. Highlights include Achilles’ retreat to his tent after being spurned by Agamemnon....

The Shield of Achilles is described in Book 18, lines 478–608, of Homer's Iliad. This description is considered an iconic example of ekphrasis. Ekphrasis is a rhetorical device that involves...

This is a difficult question to answer, because when it comes to ancient mythology, there are different of sources and many sources that we have lost; in other words, these sources are no longer...

Early in the final book of Homer's Iliad, the god Apollo criticizes the other gods for allowing Achilles to defile Hector's corpse by dragging it behind his chariot. Apollo argues that Hector had...

This is a good question and we can say that there were many differences. Let me list a few of them for you. Achilles was dead by time of the Greek made the Trojan horse to take over the city....

The Lycian warrior Sarpedon was a son of Zeus and in the Trojan War he was an ally of the Trojans. Sarpedon has a significant appearance in Book 5 of Homer's Iliad, where he spurs Hector on to...

Since your question is in the history section, I will offer some information on the historical context of the Iliad. This book deals with the Trojan war. The Trojans in the city of Troy were...

Three important characters in Homer's Iliad are: Odysseus: He is a human hero, who is the King of Ithaca. He fights on the Greek side in the Trojan war and is known for his cleverness, and devising...

What Homer is saying about these types of situations is that they are connected, that there's an intimate link between war and peace. In book 18 of the Iliad, the god of fire and forges makes...

In my mind, the short answer is that Hera really lacks any solid justification behind her disdain for the Trojans. I see her as part of Homer's thematic purpose, and what I consider to be one of...