Discussion Topic
Epic Conventions in Homer's Iliad
Summary:
Homer's Iliad exemplifies epic conventions, starting in media res during the Trojan War, with gods like Zeus and Athena influencing events. The poem features noble heroes such as Achilles and Hector, embodying cultural values and possessing superhuman traits. It includes epic catalogues, epithets, and long speeches, all typical of oral-formulaic composition. The setting spans vast areas and involves significant divine intervention, reinforcing its status as a classic epic.
List the epic conventions in books 1 and 2 of the Iliad.
An epic is an exceptionally long poem that depicts a tale of epic proportions—usually about a famous or legendary hero's adventures and journeys. Epic conventions are the characteristics that the majority of epics have in common. Homer's Iliad is a great example of a classic epic, and many different epic conventions can be spotted throughout it.
In book 1 and book 2, perhaps the most notable epic convention is the fact that it begins in media res, or "in the middle of things." Book 1 finds Achilles nine years into the Trojan war. Although the plot is chronological, the reader learns about events before the Trojan war, such as Achilles's birth, throughout the Iliad through flashbacks.
Book 2 also opens in media res. However, it focuses on the events happening with the gods, while book I focuses on the humans on Earth. Zeus helps the Trojans by planting...
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a dream in Nestor's mind and indirectly leading the Achaeans away from Troy.
Most epics use in media res as a way to delve right into the action from page one. They are generally extremely long poems, so utilizing in media res is a great tool for the poet to grab the reader's attention immediately while still being able to fill them in on the rising action later on.
What epic elements are present in Homer's Iliad?
The structure and themes of Homer's epic poem the Iliad have become the exemplar for many of the subsequent epic poems in the Western literary canon. For your assignment, consider the following "epic elements" and how they appear in the poem:
1. An epic usually begins in media res, a Latin phrase meaning "in the midst of things." The Iliad opens in the final days of a decade-long war, in the encampment of the Achaeans, who are suffering from a mysterious plague. Homer provides no formal prologue explaining how and why the Achaeans have come to this place, nor when the plague started, nor introductions of any characters. He instead goes directly to the scene which catalyzes the action of the poem, the argument between Achilles and Agamemnon:
Begin, Muse, when the two first broke and clashed,
Agamemnon lord of men and brilliant Achilles.
This is because epics weave together many elements of myth and folklore into a larger narrative. The context that is missing from Homer's opening scene would already have been known to his audience, in the same way that, for instance, the legends of King Arthur or stories from the Bible are known to modern Western audiences.
2. The natural and the supernatural together make up the setting of an epic, so that the action in the story takes place not just on earth, but also in the heavens and the underworld. In the Iliad, the events on the battlefield are often affected by the events on Mount Olympus, and gods, demi-gods, nymphs, and nature spirits all help and hinder the human characters in various ways throughout the poem.
3. The main characters of an epic are larger than life, sometimes of divine or otherwise supernatural parentage, and often possessed of superhuman abilities. The Iliad's main character, Achilles, is the son of a mortal king and a sea-goddess. He is the pre-eminent warrior of all the Achaeans, referred to as "brilliant," "godlike," and "swift-footed." His Trojan counterpart, Hector, is fully human, but also described as "godlike" and "mighty," the crown prince of Troy and his city's valiant defender. Both Achilles and Hector are characters of legendary status whose virtues and faults have tremendous impact on the course of narrative. The events of the Iliad will finally bring them face-to-face at the climax of the poem, and the clash of these two heroes determines the fates of their respective armies.
4. The structure of an epic poem is a key aspect of what makes it an epic. Epics often contain epithets, descriptive phrases attached to specific people, places, or things. These were used as mnemonics by poets in the oral traditions from which the Iliad arose, and the Iliad is full of them. Examples include "gray-eyed Athena," "rosy-fingered Dawn," "Tiryns of the mighty walls," "Zeus of the lightning bolt," and "Hector, breaker of horses." Epics also tend to contain long similes describing people, places, or things; the most famous simile in the Iliad is that of Achilles's shield, which takes up the whole of Book 18. Digressions into personal histories, genealogies, and related myths are also part of the fabric of an epic, enriching the main narrative with a large amount of background information.
If you review the text with these elements in mind, you will find many more examples than the few I've given here.
What significant epic conventions are found in the Iliad?
Homer's poem The Iliad is a classic example of an epic poem because it adheres to the traditional epic form in so many ways. For instance, the story takes place over a wide area. Specifically, The Iliad takes place during the Trojan War and so follows people over vast distances and through varying environments as they travel to and from battles. The Gods are also involved, and they are specifically invested in the outcome of events in the story. Zeus himself makes an appearance in The Iliad, as do Aphrodite, Athene, and others. The Iliad also starts in the middle, which functions to drop readers into the action directly and leaves explaining the setup for later. These are some of the most prominent epic conventions that can be found in the poem.
The Iliad is an example of what is known as "oral-formulaic epic." Rather than originally having been composed in written form by a single individual, it is an accumulation of traditional materials concerning the Trojan War, perhaps shaped by a single "monumental poet" from earlier materials. It displays many characteristics of formulaic composition.
One of the most obvious elements of this in the Greek text (something reproduced more or less faithfully by various translators) is the presence of epic epithets or formulae, repeated phrases that fill out a particular metrical portion of a line. These can be noun or verb phrases, such as "the laughing Aphrodite" or "beating the sea with their oars." These phrases, repeated over the entire epic, irrespective of relevance to context (the phrase "laughing Aphrodite" is used even when Aphrodite is crying), not only facilitate oral improvisational composition but help to create the strongly delineated flat characters, defined by a limited set of characteristics, typical of oral epics. Formulae exist on the level of scene as well as lines, such as "donning armor" and combat scenes.
Another typical epic characteristic is that The Iliad is highly agonistic, not just in terms of the overall story arc, which is about a war, but also in terms of the way people compete to be the best ("aristos," somewhat equivalent to an MVP in modern sports) in the day's fighting.
Another characteristic of epic we see in The Iliad is that it is agglutinative. It creates its effects not by analysis but by heaping up details. A typical battle, for example, is shaped using the rhetorical structure known as gradatio or climax, in which a hero kills a series of opponents, beginning with weaker nameless ones, progressing to stronger named ones, and finally engaging in a climactic battle with a powerful opponent.
I think that Homer's work embodies several conventions or elements of the epic poem. On one hand, the oral recitation element is of vital importance to the epic poem, and something that Homer's work embodies. The work is meant to be read aloud, even from its opening words calling to "Sing" to the "Goddess." This is also a representation of an epic conventions in the muse invocation to commence the work. Additionally, the setting of the work is the in the midst of the Trojan War. The War has been raging for some time in the Homeric work, fulfilling the convention of the epic as being taken place in media res. The setting of the Homeric work as being taken place all over the vast settings where the battles take place, vast fields where Achilles, Hector, and Agamemnon must wage war. Probably one of the most representative elements of the epic poem is the use of the heroes in the narrative. Achilles and Hector lead the many heroic characters in Homer's work. Finally, I think that the presence of the Gods and Goddesses in Greek belief is significant in enabling Homer's work to embody a characteristic of the epic poem. The divine are seen as constantly intervening on behalf of or against the mortals, helping to make the work one of epic proportions and conventions.