Iliad Notes

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Iliad Notes
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H O M E R

• It is assumed that Homer composed the epic poems,
  The Iliad and The Odyssey around 850 B.C. Little
  is known about Homer. He is credited with
  beginning the Western Canon. It is rumored that
  he was blind. It is also supposed that he was
  born on the island of Chios and was buried in
  Ios.

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THE GOLDEN APPLE

• When Thetis, the sea goddess, and Peleus were
  being married all the gods were invited except
  Eris, the goddess of discord.

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The Beauty Contest

• Angered at her exclusion, Eris tossed a golden
  apple bearing the inscription, To the Fairest,
  into the midst of the guests. Hera, Aphrodite and
  Athena each claimed that they were the Fairest
  and claimed the
• golden apple as
  their own.

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Paris Decision

• Zeus, entrusted the decision concerning the
  apples possession to Paris. Each goddess
  promised him something in return for choosing
  them. Hera promised to give him Asia. Athena
  offered fame in warfare. Aphrodite offered him
  Helen of Troy.

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Helen of Troy the face that launched a 1,000
ships

• Menalos awakes to find that Helen has left (some
  sources say abducted by Paris, others claim she
  left willingly, others say Aphrodite put her
  under a spell to fulfill her promise to Paris).
  He joins forces with his brother Agamemnon and
  they set sails to attack Troy.

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Character List

• The Achaeans/ The Greeks

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Achilles

• Son of military man Peleus and the sea-nymph
  Thetis (who dipped him in the River Styx in an
  attempt to make him invulnerable, but), the most
  powerful warrior in the Iliad, commands the
  Myrmidons. Proud and headstrong, takes offense
  easily, his wrath toward Agamemnon is one of the
  main subjects of the epic

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Agamemnon

• King of Mycenae and leader of the Achaean army,
  arrogant and selfish.

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Patroclus

• Achilles beloved friend, companion, and advisor,
  dons Achilles armor in an attempt to hold the
  Trojans back, his death leads to Achilles
  ultimate rage.

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Odysseus

• Fine warrior and the cleverest of the Achaean
  commanders, serves as a mediator between
  Agamemnon and Achilles (eventually stars in his
  own little adventure)

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Great Ajax

• The second mightiest Achaean warrior, wounds
  Hector, really big and really strong

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Little Ajax

• Fights along side the Great Ajax, his small size
  and speed compliment G.As strength.

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Nestor

• King of Pylos and the oldest Achaean commander,
  very wise

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Menelaus

• King of Sparta, younger brother of Agamemnon,
  when his wife Helen is abducted by Paris he
  sparks the Trojan War.

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The Myrmidon

• The soldiers under Achilles command

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The Trojans
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Hector

• Mightiest warrior in the Trojan army, resents
  the fact that his brother Paris brought the war
  upon their family

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Priam

• King of Troy, father of fifty Trojan warriors
  including Hector and Paris

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Hecuba

• Queen of Troy

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Paris

• His abduction of Helen sparked the war,
  self-centered and unmanly, fights effectively
  with bow and arrow (never with the more manly
  sword or spear) lacks spirit for battle

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Helen

• The most beautiful woman in the ancient world,
  leaves her husband for Paris, later loathes
  herself for the misery that she has caused

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Aeneas

• The son of Aphrodite and a poor Trojan shepherd,
  mighty Trojan warrior. His son Silvius founded
  the city of Alba Longa. The people of this city
  would one day build Rome.

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Andromache

• Hectors loving wife

Astyanax
Hectors infant son
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Polydamas

• Hectors foil, cool headed, gives the Trojans
  sound advice but Hector seldom acts upon it.

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Briseis

• A war prize of Achilles, when Agamemnon is forced
  to return Chryseis to her father he appropriates
  Briseis as compensation which sparks the great
  rage within Achilles.

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The Role of the Gods
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Zeus
Zeus is Neutral, but He does tell Thetis to Make
Achilles Return Hectors Body.
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Gods who side with the GreeksHera

• Hera sides with the Greeks, because she is mad at
  Paris for choosing Aphrodite as the most
  beautiful goddess.

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Athena

• Athena is also mad at Paris, and therefore she
  hates the Trojans.

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Poseidon

• Respects the ocean-fearing Greeks, and dislikes
  Troy because they never properly thanked him for
  building the walls of Troy.

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Gods who Support TroyApollo
Apollo resents that Agamemnon Disrespected one
of his priests.
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Artemis

• Shes Apollos sister so she supports him.

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Leto

• The mother of Apollo and Artemis wants to support
  her children.

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Aphrodite

• Likes Paris because he picked her as the winner
  of the beauty contests.

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Ares

• Hes Aphrodites lover, so he agrees to help her.

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Summary
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• In the tenth and final year of the Trojan War,
  Chryses, a priest of Apollo, attempts to ransom
  his daughter from Agamemnon, who has taken her
  captive while on a raid. When Agamemnon treats
  him roughly and refuses the ransom, Apollo is
  angered and brings plague on the Achaeans.

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• The Achaean prophet Calchas correctly identifies
  the cause of the problem, and he suggests giving
  the girl back with gifts to Apollo. Agamemnon
  demands that he be compensated for the loss of
  the girl, and Achilles objects. The two men
  quarrel viciously.

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• Agamemnon says he will take back Briseis, a
  captive woman who was given to Achilles as a
  prize for valor. Horribly dishonored, Achilles
  returns to his ships and refuses to fight.
  Agamemnon has Briseis taken from Achilles, and he
  returns Chryseis. He then sends an embassy to ask
  Achilles to return to battle.

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• Agamemnon offers rich prizes, but Achilles
  refuses the offer and remains withdrawn from
  battle. The Achaean fortifications are breached,
  and many of the greatest remaining Achaean
  warriors are wounded.

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• Achilles beloved companion Patroclus begs
  Achilles to do something to help their fellow
  soldiers. He asks that he be allowed to put on
  Achilles armor, so that the Trojans will think
  that Achilles has returned.

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• Achilles grants the request, but warns Patroclus
  to return once he has driven the Trojans back
  from the ships. Patroclus drives the Trojans back
  all the way to their own city walls, but there
  Hector kills him with the help of Apollo.

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• Hector strips his armor and puts it on himself,
  the Achaeans barely manage to save Patroclus
  body from desecration. Achilles goes berserk with
  grief and rage. Thetis warns him that if he kills
  Hector, he will die soon afterward.

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• Achilles accepts his own life as the price for
  revenge. He reconciles himself to Agamemnon,
  receives his new armor, via his mother, forged by
  Hephaestus. He charges into battle, slaughtering
  Trojans left and right, routing the Trojan army
  almost single-handedly. He meets Hector, chases
  him around the city, and eventually kills
• him.

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• He then drags the body from the back of his
  chariot, running laps around the city of Troy so
  that the Trojans can watch as their champions
  body is horribly desecrated.

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• Achilles returns to the camp, where he holds
  magnificent funeral games for Patroclus. He
  continues to abuse Hectors corpse. Zeus sends
  Thetis to tell Achilles that he must accept the
  ransom that Priam will offer in exchange for
  Hectors body. Priam himself comes to see
  Achilles and Achilles is suddenly reminded of his
  own father who, as Priam has, will outlive his
  most beloved son.

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• He understands what he has done, and his rage and
  grief give way to compassion. He returns the body
  and offers a cease-fire so that the Trojans can
  bury Hector. With the word of Achilles as their
  guarantee, the Trojans take 11 days to give
  Hector a proper mourning and funeral.

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• Achilles will not live to see the fall of Troy.
  He is killed after Paris shoots him in the heel
  with an arrow. Apollo guides the arrow into
  Achilles only weak point. Though Achilles will
  not see the end, Troy is still doomed. Odysseus
  uses the famous Trojan horse trick to deal the
  final blow.

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The End