The Iliad

An introduction…

What is it?•Long narrative poem told in dactylic hexameter

• Narrative: a story or telling of a story; an account of a situation or event; may be fiction or non-fiction

• Dactylic Hexameter: meter often associated with epic poetry; six sets of one stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables

•About Ilium, another name for the city of Troy

•One of two epics usually contributed to Homer, the blind poet• Epic: long narrative poem written in elevated style

that recounts adventures of a hero

•The first work of European literature• Considered one of the most important works in

Ancient Greek Literature

Who wrote it?•Homer

• Not a whole lot is known about the poet• Thought to be blind

• Thought of as renowned Greek poet who is traditionally associated with both The Iliad and The Odyssey

• Not everyone believes Homer is the true author of these epics because of varying interpretations and inconsistencies

When was it written?•Commonly dated to the 8th century BC

• This is around the time the alphabet was introduced to Greece

•Events in the story took place roughly 500 years before it was written down in about the 13th Century BC

How was it told?•The poem was passed down through oral tradition

• Oral tradition: when stories are passed down by word of mouth

•Recitation was an integral part to Greek religious festivals

•Spoken or sung (often all night) with the audience coming and going for the parts they particularly enjoyed

•Repetition is an essential part of the telling because the poem is so long; it helps keep the audience in tune with what is going on

The Epic…

Setting:•Takes place in the 9th year of the Trojan War in Troy• We don’t hear anything about the first nine years or

the very end of the war

•The epic takes place throughout a 51 day period, but mainly focuses on 4 days

Main Characters:•Achaeans

• Agamemnon• Leader of Achaeans• King of Mycenae

• Achilles• King of Myrmidons• Great Warrior

• Patroclus• Achilles’ best friend

• Menelaus• King of Sparta• Husband of Helen

•Trojans• Hector

• Son of Priam• Great Trojan Warrior

• Paris• Son of Priam• Lover who stole

Helen and started the Trojan War

• Priam• Aged King of Troy

Gods for Achaeans: Hera, Athena, Gods for Trojans: Aphrodite, Apollo, AresOther Gods: Zeus, Hephaestus, Thetis and Hermes

Family Trees:•Achaeans:• King Peleus and Thetis are the parents of Achilles

• Atreus is the father of Agamemnon and Menelaus.• Agamemnon is married to Clytemnestra• Menelaus is married to Helen• Helen and Clytemnestra are sisters

•Trojans:• King Priam and Hecuba are the parents of Hector and

Paris

• Paris is the reason the war started; he stole Helen from Menelaus

• Hector is married to Andromache and they have an infant son, Astyanax

Exposition:•The epic opens with a dispute between Achilles, King of Myrmidons and greatest Achaean warrior, and Agamemnon, the king of Mycenae and the leader of the Achaeans

• The Achaean army has just sacked a town and captured two beautiful maidens, Chryseis and Briseis, who are then given to Agamemnon and Achilles as prizes

• Chyseis father is a priest of Apollo and when Agamemnon refuses to return his daughter, Chryses prays to Apollo to send a plague down upon the Achaeans.

• Eventually Agamemnon agrees to return the girl, but will not go without a prize. At this point, he demands Achilles’ maiden and the main conflict ensues.

• Achilles refuses to fight and asks Thetis, his mother, to convince Zeus to aid the Trojans until the Achaeans beg him to come back to fight with them.

Rising Action:•Duel between Paris, a Trojan Prince, and Menelaus, the

brother of Agamemnon and husband of Helen

•Trojans gain upper hand; push Achaeans back• Continual interference of the Gods for both sides

•Patroclus takes Achilles’ armor into battle and is then slain by Hector (who then strips Patroclus of the armor).

Climax:• Achilles begins killing every Trojan he sees

• This is the first time we actually see Achilles engage in combat

• Achilles confronts Hector• Hector is ashamed of bad advice he gave his

men; refuses to flee inside the city walls• Tries to outrun Achilles but is tricked by

Athena into fighting

• Achilles kills Hector• Achilles drags Hector’s corpse behind his chariot

all through the battlefield and back to the Achaean camp. He continues this for 9 days

•

Falling Action:

•Triumphant Achaeans celebrate the funeral of Patroclus through a series of athletic games held in his honor

Resolution: Book 24•Gods decide Hector deserves a proper burial as well

•Hermes escorts King Priam to Achilles’ tent where the king pleads for the return of his son’s body

•Achilles agrees and Hector’s body is returned to the Trojans, where he receives a hero’s burial