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The iliad

The iliad. Sarah Davis Erin Rinaldi David Townsend. Homer. Revered as the greatest of ancient Greek epic poets The Odyssey and Iliad have had an enormous influence on the history of literature Unsure of when Homer lived … 7 th or 8 th century BC

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The iliad

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  1. The iliad Sarah Davis Erin Rinaldi David Townsend

  2. Homer • Revered as the greatest of ancient Greek epic poets • The Odyssey and Iliad have had an enormous influence on the history of literature • Unsure of when Homer lived … 7th or 8th century BC • Some believe the epics were oral traditions and Homer was the only one to take time to write it all down

  3. Trojan war Background • Waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus king of Sparta • War originated from a quarrel between the goddesses Athena, Hera and Aphrodite • Paris judged Aphrodite as the fairest in exchange Aphrodite made Helen fall in love with Paris • Many scholars believe Troy existed and there was an actual war with the greeks

  4. Main events • Agamemnon takes Briseis from Achilles and Achilles refuses to fight in the war. • Both sides declare a cease-fire, Melenaus and Paris make a pact and duel to the death • Aphrodite saves Paris and therefore breaking the pact starting the war back up • Trojans push Achaeans up against their ships and they beg Achilles to return to battle.

  5. Main events • Patroclus wears Achilles armor and is slayed by Hector • Achilles wants revenge and kills every Trojan he sees • Fights the god of the river Xanthus • goes after and slaughters Hector • Achilles drags Hectors body in circles until the gods make Achilles give King Priam the body • Temporary Truce for the funeral

  6. Epic Qualities

  7. Begins in medias res • The epic poem begins in the tenth year of the war • The “Rage” of Achilles (1.1)

  8. The setting is vast • Battle takes place outside of the Trojan city • Takes place on Mt. “Olympus” (1.680)

  9. Begins with invocation to a muse • “Begin, Muse” (1.7)

  10. Begins with statement of theme • “countless losses, hurling down to the House of Death” (1.2-3) • Theme of impermanence of human life • “The most violent man alive” (1.170) • Glory of war

  11. Includes the use of epithets • “Godlike Achilles” (1.154) • “Breakneck Hercules” (5.460) • “Lord Marshal Agamemnon” (9.15)

  12. Contains epic lists • “First he wrapped his legs with well-made greaves, fastened behind the heels with sliver ankle-clasps, next he strapped a breastplate round his chest, … and last he grasped a spear that matched his grip.” (6.386-395) • “All he divine daughters of Nereus deep in the sea – Glauce, Thaleia, Cymodoce, Nesaea, Speio, Thoe, ox-eyed Halie, … Orithyia, Amatheia her lovely hair and others. (18. 47-57).

  13. Epic speech • “Reckless, one my Hector – your own fiery courage will destroy you! …down to the House of Death, the great godlike runner Achilles butchered them all, … Perhaps a skilled prophet revealed the spot – or their own fury whips them on to attack.” (6.482-520)

  14. Divine Intervention • “the second sight that god Apollo gave him” (1.84) • “Aphrodite … snapped the rawhide strap” (3.433-4) • “Athena fired the fool’s heart inside him” (4.120) • “Zeus drove a swirl of panic … a shower of raining blood” (11.60-2)

  15. Embodies values of civilization • Achilles embodies value of war glory over family • Fates tell him he can go home and live a long, happy life or stay and be killed but be remembered as a hero

  16. Descent into underworld • “lord of dead beneath the earth” (15.225) • the realm is a damp place buried inside the hollows of the earth. The dead cross a river, pass through gates guarded by the Hound, and present themselves before King Haides and Queen Persephone. The ghosts of the unburied dead are allowed to return to the realm above to visit the living in their dreams and demand a proper burial. • “the steep cascading Styx” (8.422)

  17. Heroic qualities

  18. Courage • Achillies fighting even though he knows he will die • “doomed twice over” (1.498) • Patroclus fights Hector in Achilles armor knowing he can not defeat him.

  19. Strength • “plunged a sword in his temple” (5.672) • “Hector … hacked his ash-wood pike with a heavy sword and striking the socket just behind the point he slashed the head clean off” (16.136-40)

  20. Loyalty • “dark blood gushed forth … not even then did Hector quit the battle” (7.303-4) • “The famous runner Achilles rose to his challenge” (9.261).

  21. Generosity • “take a robe, the largest, loveliest robe that you can find throughout the royal halls … promise to sacrifice twelve heifers in her shrine” (6.321-5)

  22. Hospitality • “The feast laid out, they ate well and no man’s hunger lacked a share of the banquet” (7.365-6).

  23. Political skill • “Respect the priest, accept his shining ransom” (1.26) • Agamemnon gives priest his daughter back

  24. Literary elements • Antagonist – Achilles • Alliteration – “round his shoulders he slung the bronze sword silver-studded” • Simile – “Both seized their lances … and went for each other like lions rending flesh or a pair of wild boars whose power never flags” • Metaphor – “death swirling around him” • Idiom – “let bygones be bygones”

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