The Iliad

1
The Iliad

• Background and Study Tools

2
Homer

• Lived in the eighth century B.C.
• Nothing certain is known of
• his life.
• His name means hostage.
• He is commonly referred to as the Ionian Bard or
  poet.
• He likely came from Ionia in the eastern
  Mediterranean, where Eastern and Western cultures
  met and new intellectual currents were born.

3
Homer (continued)

• The Iliad contains several accurate descriptions
  of Ionian landscapes, whereas his grasp of
  mainland Greece seems less authoritative.
• Legend holds that Homer was blind.
• This may have been true, but it may have arisen
  because of its symbolic implications.
• The Greeks contrasted inner vision with physical
  vision.
• The image of the blind bard singing the myths of
  his people is a powerful image for the beginning
  of Western Literature.

4
Homer (continued)

• Homer is the ultimate spokesman for a long and
  rich tradition of oral poetry.
• Homer did not create the plot or characters of
  The Iliad or The Odyssey.
• Generations of Greeks preserved these stories,
  Homer gave them shape and connection.

5
Homer (continued)

• Both epics take place during the Late Bronze age,
  five hundred years prior to Homers life.
• Homers audience, the landed warrior aristocracy,
  claimed descent from the heroes of legend and the
  Gods, therefore these stories formed a type of
  tribal and national family history.

6
Homer (continued)

• The Iliad was considered history.
• Children in the fifth century memorized portions
  of the poem and practiced its ethical teachings.
• Homers influence was, and is, vast.
• His epics have become a common text for the
  Western world.

7
The Epic

• Over time bards had developed standard
  expressions, phrases and descriptions that fit
  the rhythms of the epic genre.
• Homers characters frequently reveal their
  thoughts in lengthy speeches addressed to other
  characters.
• Homers characters do not analyze their thought
  processes or emotions.

8

• Homer begins the epic by stating the themes and
  invoking one of the Muses.
• He begins the story in medias res, Latin for in
  the middle of things.
• Many of the significant events have already
  happened.

9
Historical Background

• The Iliad recounts only part of a long series of
  events in the Trojan War.
• The Trojan War was fought, according to legend,
  because of a quarrel among gods and the resulting
  incidents of betrayal among mortals.

10
How Did The Trojan War Begin?

• King Peleus and the sea-goddess Thetis wer the
  parents of Achilles, the epics hero.
• When Peleus and Thetis were married all the gods
  were invited except Eris, the goddess of discord.
• Angry at being excluded, she tossed a golden
  apple among the guests on it was inscribed, for
  the fairest one.

11

• Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite each claimed the
  prize.
• They chose Paris, a Trojan prince, to decide who
  was the fairest.
• Each goddess offered him a bribe and he chose to
  accept Aphrodites bribe.
• Aphrodite promised Paris him Helen, the most
  beautiful woman alive, who was already married to
  Menelaus, the king of Sparta.

12

• Paris violated the sacred bond of hospitality by
  going to Menelaus court as a guest and abducting
  Helen.
• Menelaus sought the help of his brother,
  Agamemnon, king of Mycenae and the most powerful
  ruler of the time.
• Together with other kings they mounted an
  expedition against Troy, to reclaim Helen and to
  sack the city famed for its opulence.
• The war lasted for ten years.

13

• Homer chose to focus on a period of less than two
  months in the tenth year of the war.
• Homer chose to focus not on the war as such, but
  on the Greek warrior Achilles and the
  consequences of his rage.

14
The IliadCharacters
15
The Greeks(also called Achaeans, Danaans and
Argives)

• Achilles Son of Peleus and Thetis, the Achaeans
  best warrior leader of the Myrmidons. Also
  called Pelides, Aeacides.
• Agamemnon King of Mycenae, husband to
  Clytemnestra, brother of Menelaus, leader of the
  Greek expeditionary force. Also called Atrides.
• Ajax The strongest warrior on the Achaen side
  other than Achilles.

16

• Helen Wife of Menelaus, king of Sparta, prize
  of Paris.
• Clytemnestra Wife of Agamemnon, sister of
  Helen.
• Menelaus King of Sparta, son of Atreus, brother
  of Agamemnon, husband of Helen.
• Nestor- King of Pylos, serves as a wise old
  counselor.
• Odysseus- King of Ithica. The smoothest talker
  and the wiliest thinker among the Greeks. A
  favorite of the goddess Athena.

17

• Patroclus Son of Menoetius, a companion and
  henchman of Achilles. Achilles best friend.
• Peleus Father of Achilles, husband of Thetis.

18
The Trojans(also called the Dardanians and
Phrygians)
19

• Andromache Wife of Hector
• Astyanax Infant son of Hector and Andromache.
  Other name Scamandrius
• Briseis A Trojan captive girl, named after her
  father Briseus, given as a prize to Achilles.
• Chryseis The daughter of Chryses, priest of
  Apollo. A captive girl given to Agamemnon as his
  prize.

20

• Hector Son of Priam leader of the Trojans and
  their greatest fighter.
• Paris Son of Priam the cause of the war.
• Priam King of Troy husband of Hecuba, father
  of Hector and Paris

21
The Immortals
22

• Aphrodite Goddess of love, beauty protects
  Helen and Paris and favors the Trojans. Other
  name Lady of Cyprus.
• Apollo The archer god a god of light and of
  healing. He not only heals, he visits pestilence
  on men. He favors and protects the Trojans.
  Other names Phoebus, Smintheus.
• Ares A god of war favors the Trojans

23

• Athena Daughter of Zeus only (she has no
  mother) She emerged from her fathers head fully
  armed and is associated with victory in war and
  clever thinking and speaking. She protects the
  Greeks. Other names Pallas and Tritogenia.
• Hades Ruler of the dead and the underworld,
  brother of Zeus
• Hera Sister and wife of Zeus favors the Greeks

24

• Hermes Messenger god, son of Zeus
• Thetis Sea goddess wife of the mortal Peleus
  and the mother of Achilles.
• Zeus The most powerful of the gods, known as
  the father of men and gods.