So my blogging friends (whoever you are), to let you know, the Iliad is a long piece of epic poetry. To save you guys, I'm going to try and make each book into one paragraph(whereas they're actually about 20 pages each), but the story is so good that I might make them longer, you know by now how I like to discuss the text. I'll give you the main ideas and important moments of the text, then I'll make a separate post about importance of teaching, much like last week. Here we go!
Book I is titled "The Quarrel." Sounds exciting, doesn't it? Well, it is. The poet first prays to the Muse, goddess of poetic inspiration (if you've ever seen the Disney movie, Hercules, you have an idea of who the Muses are. If not, YouTube it. You will absolutely love it. Speaking of Hercules, if you did watch the movie, you have an idealized notion about the gods; they aren't that nice and loving.), and asks her to tell the tale of Achilles and Agamemnon. If you're reading it for the first time, you might be a little confused because you have no idea who these two guys are. Well, that's a literary device poets, bards, and even writers today use. The story starts in medias res, or in the middle of things. So, the story starts in the middle (actually it's kind of the end of the Trojan War, but you get what's going on). Achilles is the most powerful warrior for the Achaeans while Agamemnon is the king and they are both part of the Achaean army who is fighting against the Trojans in the city of Troy.
Backstory: Why are they fighting? Well, Paris, Prince of Troy (ahh! an epithet; Homer loved those things and they're used both in this text and the Odyssey. An epithet is a descriptive word or phrase accompanied with a name), stole Helen who was wife to King Menelaus of Sparta. Menelaus wasn't too happy his girl was stolen, so he turned to his brother, Agamemnon for help. Agamemnon got troops together and sailed to Troy, but they weren't as successful as they hoped they would be, so they had to settle into a siege of the city. That was nine years before the text began.
Okay, now back to the text. Chryses, a priest of Apollo, is heading toward Agamemnon's camp to ask for his daughter, Chryseis back, as she had been taken by Agamemnon and he wanted to keep her saying, "The girl I will not/ Let go!" (33-34). He likes her better than his own wife. He's pretty rude to Chryses and all Chryses was trying to do was get his daughter back. Chryses then prays to Apollo to essentially reek havoc on the Achaeans because Agamemnon won't give him his daughter back. Apollo heard Chryses' prayer and "Down from the peaks of Olympus he came with a heart/ Full of wrath and his bow and closed quiver about his shoulders" (51-52). Apollo is beyond angry and he shoots his bow into the Achaean camp which sends a plague into the camp for nine days.
Achilles finally has enough and calls a meeting. He asks the soothsayer (kind of like a fortune teller; he knows just about everything) Calchas to tell everyone why Apollo is so mad. Achilles thinks that if the wants an offering or there has been an unperformed vow, they can do them and Apollo will be appeased. Calchas, knowing why Apollo is actually mad, makes Achilles swear that he will protect him, knowing Agamemnon is going to be irate when Calchas tells the truth. Achilles says that he won't be hurt and Calchas tells everyone that Apollo is made because Agamemnon won't give Chryseis back to Chryses. Agamemnon is mad at this point and yells at Calchas. Then he says he'll give Chryseis back if only he gets her equal in return. Not it's Achilles's turn to be mad. He says that Agamemnon won't get anything until they sack Troy. Agamemnon says there's no way he's going to give Chryseis back unless he gets another of the chieftan's women. Achilles is raging by now. He says that he should just quit from the army altogether. The Trojans haven't done anything to him, so the only reason he is fighting is because of Agamemnon. Agamemnon doesn't like this challenge to his authority, since he is the king and all, and he will only accept Briseis, who is in Achilles's possession, as a suitable replacement for Chryseis.
Achilles is about to let loose his rage and kill Agamemnon, but then Athena comes down from Olympus and is only visible to Achilles. Athena says that she came on account of Hera (Zeus's wife) and that Achilles needs to "wound him with words" (244) instead of killing him. She says that since he has been so highly insulted by Agamemnon that he will receive splendid gifts. Achilles, rightfully, says that he should not disobey two such powerful goddesses as herself and Hera, so he puts his sword away and tells Agamemnon off. Achilles then quits the army and tells his fellow soldiers that they'll have a fun time trying to deal with Hector, the best fighter for the Trojan army. Nestor, who is an old, wise man for the Achaean army, tells Agamemnon not to take Briseis and Achilles not to stand up to Agamemnon.
They don't listen. After Achilles has stormed off, Agamemnon sends two heralds to get Briseis and he lets her go, but he is distraught. He cries on the shore of a beach to his mother Thetis, a sea-goddess. She had relations with Zeus and they made Achilles. You can imagine that Hera doesn't like that too much. Thetis comes to Achilles and he wants her to tell Zeus to drive the Achaeans back to their ships so they'll know how much they miss Achilles. All the while, Agamemnon is giving Chryseis back and he's sending Odysseus (he's the main man in the Odyssey) to do the job. Back to Thetis and Achilles. She laments that she has given him this short, miserable life because there's a prophecy that says he'll die at a young age and she's only made his life harder. She says she'll talk to Zeus because he owes her a favor.
Thetis goes to Zeus and begs him to help her. He's a little reluctant because Hera doesn't like him messing with the Trojans, but Thetis reminds Zeus how she helped him when he was tied up by the other gods. Zeus eventually agrees to help, knowing that Hera is going to be mad. And she is. She nags at Zeus. Their son, Hephaestus tells Hera to stop quarreling with Zeus, so she does. All the gods have a feast and laugh at Hephaestus as he's serving them because he walks with a limp (the gods/goddesses aren't very nice).
WHEW! That was rather long. I apologize, but the story is action-packed and I don't want you to miss out. Book II is titled "Trial of the Army and the Catalogue of Ships." It's a doozy. It starts at Mt. Olympus with all the gods sleeping peacefully except Zeus. He's trying to come up with a scheme to help Achilles and hurt the Achaeans at the same time. Finally, he comes up with the idea to send a Dream to Agamemnon. He tells the Dream to tell Agamemnon that the gods have all bought into what Hera is saying and that Troy will soon be captured, but they must attack soon with full force. Agamemnon is thrilled when he wakes up and he calls his generals together and tells them that they must attack that day, but first, the soldiers must have a test of loyalty. Agamemnon will tell the soldiers they can go home while the generals will hold the men back. Agamemnon gets in front of the soldiers and tells them that Zeus said they can go home. They are all a little too excited as they run back to their ships, and Agamemnon isn't too happy about the low morale of the group. Hera sees this so she sends Athena to stop the soldiers. As you can tell, Hera doesn't like the Trojans.
More backstory: A while back, Zeus was having a good time with his lady friend, Thetis. Usually, he doesn't have second thought when copulating with a woman, but he heard a prophecy. The prophecy said that Thetis would have a child who was more powerful than his father. So, Zeus has Thetis marry someone who is weaker than him, not realizing that Achilles could be more powerful than his father and Zeus, but he wasn't thinking. Thetis is then married to Peleus. On the day of their wedding, all the gods and goddesses are invited except Eris, the goddess of Hate. Obviously, she is a wedding crasher. So Eris comes in and throws a golden apple with the words, "For the Most Beautiful" on it. There were three lovely goddesses there who thought they deserved the apple, Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. Well, Paris, before he got Helen, was known to have a keen eye for the ladies, so he was asked to pick out the most beautiful. Paris picks Aphrodite because she promised him the most beautiful woman in the world, who happened to be Helen. She helps him take Helen from Menelaus, and we know that got us to the Trojan War. The two losers, Hera and Athena, were not good losers, so they've had a thing against Troy ever since.
This brings us back to the story. Athena is helping Hera help the Achaeans beat the Trojans. Athena goes down to the Achaeans and talks to Odysseus, her favorite Achaean, and she tells him to intervene. Odysseus is a smooth talker and tells the soldiers about the omen that predicted the war would be over after nine years, so it has to be over soon. Nestor agrees and says it's time to start fighting. Nestor tells Agamemnon to arrange the soldiers to fight by city, so there will be camaraderie and boost morale as they fight. Agamemnon thinks this is a great idea so they get the men together, have a big breakfast, then calls to assemble the men. The next portion is a list cataloguing all the men and there's so many names that it would take up too much space to write it all down. Read it. As the poet is recalling all the cities and people, he says that Achilles isn't fighting and neither are the people of his city, but he'll fight again soon. Zeus sends Iris to warn the Trojans, they get ready to fight, and there's more cataloguing.
Book III, titled "The Duel of Paris and Menelaus," is full of action. This is a long-time coming battle, I mean, Paris did steal Menelaus's wife. So, the armies are marching toward each other and Paris gets in front of the Trojan lines and starts jeering at the Achaeans. Menelaus sees this and thinks this is a great opportunity to go and kill him, so he rushes towards Paris. Paris sees this and backs away, behind the lines. Paris's brother, Hector, calls him a coward and taunts him. He says that Paris gets Troy into all this trouble and won't even help fight. Paris doesn't like this so he says he'll fight Menelaus one-on-one and whoever wins, wins the war and Helen. Hector likes this idea so he goes and tells the Achaeans. Agamemnon thinks this is a good idea so all the soldiers put down their weapons and armor and are ready to watch the precursor to modern MMA.
Iris appears to Helen in the form of her sister-in-law and lets Helen know about the fight. This makes her miss Menelaus and her old home and friends. Helen wants to see the fight so she goes to the top of the city gates. She sits with the king and he asks her to point out prominent Achaean soldiers. She points out Agamemnon, Odysseus, Ajax, and Idomeneus. Helen can't find her half-brothers in the crowd and assumes they didn't come to fight because they didn't like hearing the insults about Helen. The poet tells us that Helen doesn't know they're already dead and buried back home.
Back at the duel, Agamemnon gives an offering to the gods and repeats the terms to the duel. Menelaus is in the process of killing Paris when Aphrodite comes and whisks him away in a cloud of mist. She leaves Paris in his bedroom and goes to talk to Helen. Aphrodite tries to disguise herself and tell Helen to go to her husband (Paris not Menelaus--remember Aphrodite likes the Trojans), but Helen sees right through her. Helen rebukes Aphrodite, but Aphrodite tells her to listen or else (it's never a good thing to go against a goddess). So, Helen listens to the goddess of love. Helen chastises Paris for being a coward. Paris admits that Menelaus won, but tries to woo Helen. She eventually has sex with him. Back at the duel, Menelaus is looking for Paris. Agamemnon says that he won the battle and that the Trojans have to give up Helen and her treasure.
Book IV (I know, we're only halfway done. This could be a long week, my friends) is titled "Agamemnon's Inspection of the Army." On Mt. Olympus, the gods are wondering how to handle this whole duel situation. Zeus concedes that Menelaus won and that the war should be over. He asks the other gods if they should allow the armies to make peace. Hera objects to this because she's put so much effort in to trying to destroy the Trojans. Zeus and Hera fight but eventually Hera wins. She convinces Zeus to let the Trojans break the truce. So Athena is sent down to cause some mischief. She disguises herself as a Trojan soldier and tells an archer, Pandaros, to shoot Menelaus while he isn't paying attention. Pandaros will be famous and Paris will be pleased, so he shoots the arrow. Athena doesn't want Menelaus to die, so she deflects it and only gives him a small, flesh wound. Agamemnon is upset because he thinks his brother is dying, but Menelaus tells him to calm down. All the while, the Trojans are about to attack. Agamemnon gets the troops ready and encourages them Braveheart-style. Now, the battle ensues and some gods have come down to help. Ares on the Trojan side and Athena on the Achaeans. The rest of the book has some great description of gory battle. The Trojans are a little downtrodden as they see themselves losing, but Apollo steps in and tells them that Achilles isn't fighting. This is a morale booster and more slaughtering occurs.
Book V is next and is titled "The Valiant Deeds of Diomedes." Diomedes is a soldier for the Achaeans. Athena gives extra strength, courage, and bravery to Diomedes to ensure that the Trojans' butts are kicked soundly. Diomedes goes on to kill a lot of people in a bloody fashion. Elsewhere, Athena convinces Ares to let the mortals fight and he agrees. Pandaros, the guy who shot Menelaus earlier, wants to shoot Diomedes now, and he hits him but doesn't kill him. Diomedes prays to Athena and she gives him more strength and clears the mist from his eyes so he can see who is mortal and who isn't. She tells him not to fight against any immortals except Aphrodite. Diomedes proceeds to kill more Trojan soldiers.
Meanwhile, Aeneas (who is in the Aeneid) is looking for Diomedes. He sees Pandaros and tells him to take another shot at Diomedes. Pandaros complains that some god must be helping him because he has already shot Diomedes once and he didn't die. Aeneas and Pandaros team up in a chariot to go kill Diomedes. Another Achaean soldier sees this and tells Diomedes. Diomedes says it won't be a problem. Diomedes kills Pandaros with a spear to the face. Aeneas hops out of the chariot to help already dead Pandaros and Diomedes throws a boulder at Aeneas which crushes him. Diomedes goes in for the kill, but Aeneas's mom, Aphrodite comes to help. This is good for Diomedes since he can attack her. Aphrodite wraps Aeneas in a cloak to carry him away. Diomedes then strikes Aphrodite and slashes her wrists. Her brother, Apollo, swoops in and takes Aeneas to safety. Diomedes taunts her and Aphrodite flees to Mt. Olympus. She then complains to Zeus while Hera and Athena are making fun of her. Zeus tells her she deserved the wounds because she meddled in mortal business (nothing like calling the kettle black, huh pot?).
Back on the battlefield, Diomedes is still attacking Aeneas, who is being carried by Apollo. Apollo tells him to stop and Diomedes does. Apollo takes Aeneas to his temple where he is healed and Apollo puts a ghost-like replica of Aeneas in the battlefield. The Trojans rally behind him. Now, Ares is helping Hector fight and Diomedes tells everyone not to go near them because they're killing everyone in sight. Athena and Hera don't like that so they come down to help the Achaeans. Athena tells Diomedes she doesn't care if he attacks Ares and she helps him. Ares goes back up to Zeus and complains, and Zeus doesn't really care. After that, Athena and Hera go back up to Olympus.
Books VI (FINALLY) is titled "Hector and Andromache." The battle is still going on and people are dying. Menelaus is about to kill one of the Trojans, but he asks for mercy. Menelaus contemplates this, but then Agamemnon tells him that they shouldn't show any mercy to the Trojans and should kill them all. Menelaus is convinced and they both tag-team and kill the Trojan.
The Trojans are about to retreat when Helenus, another prince, comes up to Hector and Aeneas to rally the troops. Helenus also tells Hector to go tell the women to pray and protect them from Diomedes. Hector listens, rallies the troops, then goes to order the women.
Now, a man named Glaukos, is going to fight Diomedes. Glaukos spends a long time explaining his ancestry. After Glaukos talks, Diomedes figures out that was once a guest in his home, which makes him, in Ancient Greek terms, kind of like family. Now it's impossible for them to fight each other. Instead, they exchange armor as a form of respect.
Back to Hector. He is back to Troy and tells the women to pray and offer sacrifices and a robe to Athena. The poet tells us that she does not accept this offering. Hector then goes to find Paris and yells/taunts at him for not fighting. Paris says Helen was getting him ready for battle, so now he's ready to fight. Helen tells Hector to come relax with her, but he says that he must go find his wife and son. He doesn't find them at home, but at the city gates.
There is wife, Andromache, is with their son Scamandrius, but others called him Astyanax, which means Lord of the City. Andromache asks Hector why he keeps fighting, she predicts that he will die. He is all that she has left because Achilles has killed her brother and father, although gave them proper burials. She tells him that her mother was also taken by Achilles, but then released because they paid the ransom. Hector tells Andromache that he has been worrying, as well. He foresees the day when Troy is taken and his wife is put into slavery. He says he would rather die than see that happen. Hector then goes to kiss his son, but the boy is afraid of the helmet Hector is wearing. The parents share an endearing moment. Hector tells Andromache that if he does die, that was his destiny and you can't change that. He tells her to go back to her housework and she agrees to do so. But she doesn't. Once Hector leaves she gathers women to mourn for him, even though he's still alive. Once outside, Paris is ready to fight again. Hector tells him he's a good warrior and they head off to fight.
My goodness. That was long. I lied when I said it would only be a paragraph for each book, but there are so many details that I want you guys to know! I will post again soon about the first six books and teaching them. Rest your weary eyes, for now.
Cassy
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