Book One study sheet

Samiha Islam Study Sheet for Iliad Test : Book One

1. in medias res- in the middle: straight in or into the middle of a sequence of events,
especially in a literary narrative that has no introduction .

2. arête- narrow mountain ridge: a narrow ridge of bare rock situated between two or more
deep smooth-sided semicircular areas cirques, found in a mountainous area that has been
glaciated.

3. formidable- difficult to deal with, awe-inspiring because of size strength, or ability,

frightening

4. hecatombs- ancient Greek or Roman sacrifice: in ancient Greece or Rome, a public

sacrifice and feast, originally involving the slaughter of 100 oxen

5. pyre- pile of burning material: a pile of burning material, especially a pile of wood on
which a dead body is ceremonially cremated

6. portent- omen or indication of something (often unpleasant), an ominous or prophetic

significance, a marvel

7. insatiate- always wanting more: always needing more and impossible to satisfy

8. faction- dissenting minority within lager group, a group that is a minority within a larger
group and share conflicting beliefs with larger group.

9. insolent- rude and disrespectful

10. pommel- the knob at the end of the hilt(handle) of a sword or dagger.

11. execration- a curse or swearword

12. appease- pacify, satisfy need

13. assent- expression of agreement

14. revere- to regard somebody with great respect and admiration

15. ominously - threatening: suggesting or indicating that something bad is going to happen
or be revealed

16. epithet- an insult

17. prowess- valor in combat

 18. renounce- give up claim

The muse suggests that the story is being told from the point of view of someone else
besides the author,

The counselor- King of Pylos is holding the meeting in order to appease the war

It uses antonyms to describe the sea- saying shore of the tumbling clamorous whispering
sea.

Stock epithets-

Achaeans- the Greeks

The son of Zeus by Leto- Apollo

Atridae- one of many families of kings- ie. Agamemnon and Atreus are both the sons of
Atreus.

old man- Chryses

Sminthian- Apollo- destroyer of mice

Danaan- Greeks

whose arms are white as ivory- Hera

god who bears the storm cloud- Zeus

ILIAD TEST ON BOOKS 22-24

English

1. “Archer of heaven, deadliest of mortal gods, you put me off track, turning me from the
wall this way.” Apollo’s deception of Achilles’ foreshadows Athena’s deception of
Hector. How does this scene prove that even the greatest heroes are no match for the
gods?

2. Why does the death of young warriors distress King Priam, less than the death of old
people?

3. “He placed 2 shapes of death, death prone and cold upon them, one of Achilles, one of
the horsemen, Hector, and held the midpoint, pulling upward.” What does the statement
 mean? Who are the main gods in control of this situation? In short, how was Hector’s fate
sealed?

4. Explain the quote, “In Homer, the kleos, or glory of the heroes, is the only defense
against death.”

5. There are similes to embellish the battle scene. For example, Achilles’ spear is compared
to the evening star, Achilles and his weapon are compared to the stars indicate…

6. How does Homer increase sympathy for Hector, after he was slain? How does the
passage make you feel about Achilles?

7. Andromache, Hector’s wife, was preparing his bath, while he was being killed. How are
these scenes paced? What kind of irony is this?

8. Explain Andromache’s speeches about her son. What is this literary device?

9. Describe the meeting between Achilles and Priam. Did your opinion about Achilles
change? Explain, using events form the story eg. What does dining together indicate?

10. Helen of troy, too, lamented hector's death. why might many members of priam's family
treat Helen badly?

11. How does Achilles apply the parable of the two urns to Peleus? What seems to be his
philosophy of life? What do you think of this philosophy?

12. Some of the most touching scenes, in the iliad, are those describing the interludes of
peace. Describe one scene.

Essay: explain the quote-

“the iliad has been called a great novel, but it is also a plea for peace when the happiness of men
can flower, far from the blood and dust of the battlefiled.”

the old people alreayd lived their lives nd the young soldiers must lvie to protect their old parents
nd such?
what did you get for that question about the paced thing?
its dramatic irony
yea
more the water warmed the closer Hector was to hsi death
like every moment Andromache thoguht abotu her husbands arrival the closer she was to gettign
to the truth abotu his death
the young, if they die have no future like with hector
but the old have no future
fr #8 the literary device is foreshadowing right
yeah, i'm pretty sure
ok and #10 the reason eveyroen else hated Hleen was bcus it was due to ehr selfishness f rnto
goign bakc to ehr husband that the Trojan war starte din the 1st place
nd so many casualties occured nd etc.
and that she caused the war which killed
*hector
yea
i still cnt fidn who Peleus is
wat liens his charcter on?
i'm not sure but i think the answer to it is that is everyone has good and bad luck
and he was just an example
or something like that
: nd fr 6 after hector was slain Homer shwoed hwo mutilized the greks treated hsi body nd that
promoted sympathy?
yeah we feel bad about the defilement
and we feel bad for hector
fr quesiton 1 its basically how the mortals r always ifneirro to the gods bcus the gods have pwoer
and live a carefree lif eonyl beign involved wiht mortals when their favored onz are beign hurt or
injured and the gods have wpoers as well as dotn ahve the fear of death as hector and Achilles do
and even the extremely powerful like achilles bow down to their will
: rightttt
: wats the quesiton 12 mean wen it says interluides peace
is it like times of chaos:
its like that scene with Andromache in her house
how?
it was like peaceful, no warfare
interlude of war
interludes war bt not peace
isnt their a difference?
its talking about a peaceful time
not a warring time
question 3 the cold shaoe is achiles nd the death is hector nd hecotr has his fate decided alreayd
cus he's gonna die right?

Character list:

Achilles: the son of a mortal king, Peleus, and the sea-goddess Thetis. King of the Myrmidons,

Achilles is the mightiest of the Greek warriors.

Agamemnon: king of Mycenae and commander of the Greek forces. He is Menelaus’ older

brother.

Ajax: one of the greatest Greek warriors.

Calchas: a seer or prophet who counsels the Greeks.

Clytemnestra: Agamemnon’s wife and Helen’s sister.

Helen: the wife of Menelaus, who abduction by Paris is the cause of the legendary war.

Nester: king of Pylos. The oldest of the Greek leader at Troy, he serves as a counselor.

Odysseus: a wily, middle-ages Greek warrior. He is the protagonist of Homer’s Odyssey.

Patroclus: Greek warrior and dearest friend of Achilles.

Andromache: faithful wife of Hector.

Astyanax: youngest son of Hector and Andromache.

Briseis: a girl captured from the Trojans by Achilles as a prize of war.

Chryseis: a girl captured by Agamemnon during the plunder of Chrysa. Her father, Chryses, is a

priest of the god Apollo.

Hector: the son of King Priam and Queen Hecuba and commander of the Trojan forces.

Hecuba: the queens of Troy; Priam’s wife.

Paris: the son of King Priam and Queen Hecuba. He is also known as Alexandros.

Priam; the king of Troy; the father of Hector and Paris.

Gods and Goddesses

Aphrodite: the goddess of love. She sides with the Trojans during the war.

Apollo: the god of poetry, music, and prophecy; he also sides with the Trojans. He is often

referred to only as the son of Zeus and Leto, the daughter of Titans.

Athena: the goddess of wisdom; she takes the Greeks’ side in the conflict.

Hera: wife of Zeus; enemy of the Trojans.

Hermes: messenger of the gods; also called the Wayfinder.

Thetis: a sea-goddess; mother of Achilles.

Zeus: the father-god; he remains more or less neutral throughout the conflict.

OTHER RANDOM TEST-

English

Words possible to use: formidable, arête, hecatomb, pyre, potent, insatiate, faction,
insolent, pommel, execration, appease, assent, revere, ominously, epithet, in
medias res, prowess, renounce.

1. “The gods who hold Olympus, may they grant you plunder of Priam’s town
and a fair wind home, but let me have my daughter back for ransom, as you
___________ Apollo, son of Zeus!”
2. Achievement of person honor/excellence by the Greeks is ___________
3. Agamemnon was furious with Calchas Thestorides. He said, “Calamity is all
you care about, or see, no happy ___________-; and you bring nothing
agreeable.”
4. Hera, “whose arms are as white as ivory,” is an ___________.
5. The soldiers murmured their ___________to Priest Chryses for the return of his
daughter, Chryseis.
6. Prince Achilles, furious with Agamemnon, called him “the most ___________ of
men.”
7. The gesture to have the plague lifted was to make a ___________, to quiet the
 archer god, Apollo.
8. In ___________, Achilles referred to Agamemnon as having cur’s eyes, the eyes
of a coward.
9. Agamemnon was asked by Newtor to ___________Bresies. He said the army
had allotted her to Achilles.
10.Achilles was said to have great ___________, because a goddess had borne
him.
11.___________ describes the telling of the Iliad for Book I.
12.The “men-at-arms” were sent ___________ on their way, to take Bresies from
Achilles to give to Agamemnon.

PART II.

1. What are the central themes of the Iliad, as revealed in the invocation by the
Muse?
2. Describe the character of both Achilles and Agamemnon.
3. In the Iliad, Homer describes the sea as “whispering and clamorous,” as
Priest Cryses leaves, after his meeting with Agamemnon. Why did Homer
choose to describe the sea with two expressions? What does this imagery
imply?
4. According to Calchas Thestorides, what two things must occur, before Apollo
will lift the plague?
5. How were Soothsayers regarded in Greek Society? Cite an example.
6. What internal conflict arises for Achilles, as he struggles to make a decision
about Bresies?
7. Since we are led to believe that Athena is visible to no one except Achilles,
what does Athena’s presence reveal about the Greek’s view of the role of the
gods in human affairs? How might a modern reader interpret the appearance
of the goddess?
8. Explain Achilles’ oath to the Achaeans. In addition, define this literary
element.
9. Nestor, King of Pylos, refers to Achilles as a “Sea wall for Achaeans in the
black waves of war.” Identify this literary element, and explain the quote.
10.Who does Agamemnon appoint to lead the journey to Chryse? Why?
11.Achilles was described as alone by the seashore praying, after Bresies was
released. What similar scene did Homer describe earlier in Book I?
12.Explain why Zeus was indebted to Thetis, Achilles’ mother.

Part III.

In lines 422-452, Achilles summarizes what has already happened and what
the Homeric audience already knows. This kind of summary is verbatim and
repetitious and is a convention of Homeric epic. Why might this be a very useful
dense for an oral poet?

Summary: Book 22
Hector now stands as the only Trojan left outside Troy. Priam, overlooking the battlefield from
the Trojan ramparts, begs him to come inside, but Hector, having given the overconfident order
for the Trojans to camp outside their gates the night before, now feels too ashamed to join them
in their retreat. When Achilles finally returns from chasing Apollo (disguised as Agenor), Hector
confronts him. At first, the mighty Trojan considers trying to negotiate with Achilles, but he soon
realizes the hopelessness of his cause and flees. He runs around the city three times, with
Achilles at his heels. Zeus considers saving Hector, but Athena persuades him that the mortal’s
time has come. Zeus places Hector’s and Achilles’ respective fates on a golden scale, and,
indeed, Hector’s sinks to the ground.
During Hector’s fourth circle around the city walls, Athena appears before him, disguised as his
ally Deiphobus, and convinces him that together they can take Achilles. Hector stops running
and turns to face his opponent. He and Achilles exchange spear throws, but neither scores a hit.
Hector turns to Deiphobus to ask him for a lance; when he finds his friend gone, he realizes that
the gods have betrayed him. In a desperate bid for glory, he charges Achilles. However, he still
wears Achilles’ old armor—stolen from Patroclus’s dead body—and Achilles knows the armor’s
weak points intimately. With a perfectly timed thrust he puts his spear through Hector’s throat.
Near death, Hector pleads with Achilles to return his body to the Trojans for burial, but Achilles
resolves to let the dogs and scavenger birds maul the Trojan hero.
The other Achaeans gather round and exultantly stab Hector’s corpse. Achilles ties Hector’s
body to the back of his chariot and drags it through the dirt. Meanwhile, up above on the city’s
walls, King Priam and Queen Hecuba witness the devastation of their son’s body and wail with
grief. Andromache hears them from her chamber and runs outside. When she sees her husband’s
corpse being dragged through the dirt, she too collapses and weeps.

Analysis: Books 21–22

In this section of the epic, the feuds of the gods continue to echo the battles of the mortals. As the
human battles become ever more grave, however, the divine conflicts in these episodes seem
ever more superfluous. In their internal fighting, the gods do not affect or even try to affect the
underlying issues of the human conflict. Two of them explicitly swear off fighting over the
mortals, though one of these, Hera, ends up doing just that. It seems that the gods are not actually
fighting over the mortals but rather expressing the animosities that the mortal conflict has stirred
in them. Although the struggle among the gods may remain unexplained within the plot of the
epic, it adds variety to the poem’s rhythm and pacing, and elevates the conflict onto the epic,
cosmos-consuming stage.
But these more lighthearted or colorful episodes soon give way to one of the poem’s most deadly
serious encounters, the duel between Hector and Achilles. Homer uses several devices, including
prophecy and irony, to build a heavy sense of pathos. Priam’s speech comparing the glorious
death of a hero with the humiliating death of an old man in a fallen city comes across as
particularly heartbreaking if we know, as Homer’s audience did, that Priam himself will soon
meet the very death that he describes, amid the ruins of Troy. When Andromache bewails the
miserable life that Astyanax will have to endure without a father, a sharp sense of irony enhances
the tragic effect of her words: Astyanax will suffer this fatherless life only briefly, as he dies
shortly after the fall of Troy.
This section of the poem reveals a particularly skillful control of plot. Events interweave with
one another in elaborate patterns. The weighing of Hector’s and Achilles’ fates, for example,
recalls but inverts the first weighing of fates in Book 8, when the Trojan army’s fate rises above
that of the Achaeans. Hector must fight to the death in these episodes in order to redeem the
honor that he loses earlier; after he recklessly orders his troops to camp outside the city walls, the
men have to flee, causing Hector great shame. Furthermore, Hector’s earlier moment of glory,
when he strips Patroclus of Achilles’ armor, speeds the moment of his undoing, for Achilles
knows exactly where that armor is vulnerable. Such interconnections between events seem to
indicate that the universe has a cyclical or balanced nature: one swing of the pendulum leads to
another, and an individual’s actions come back to haunt him.
The final duel between Achilles and Hector becomes not only a duel of heroes but also of heroic
values. While Achilles proves superior to Hector in terms of strength and endurance, he emerges
as inferior in terms of integrity. His mistreatment of Hector’s body is a disgrace, compounded by
the cruelty in which he allows the rank and file of his army to indulge. As we have seen, Achilles
engages in such indignities quite routinely and does so not out of any real principle but out of
uncontrollable rage. Hector, on the other hand, entirely redeems whatever flaws he displays in
the preceding books. His refusal to return to the safety of Troy’s walls after witnessing the deaths
brought about by his foolish orders to camp outside the city demonstrates his mature willingness
to suffer the consequences of his actions. His rejection of a desperate attempt at negotiation in
favor of the honorable course of battle reveals his ingrained sense of personal dignity. His
attempt to secure from Achilles a mutual guarantee that the winner treat the loser’s corpse with
respect highlights his decency. Finally, his last stab at glory by charging Achilles even after he
learns that the gods have abandoned him and that his death is imminent makes his heroism and
courage obvious. While Hector dies in this scene, the values that he represents—nobility, self-
restraint, and respect—arguably survive him. Indeed, Achilles later comes around to an
appreciation of these very values after realizing the faults of his earlier brutality and self-centered
rage.

Samiha Islam November 8, 2009 English Homework

The Greek warrior strove to achieve arête, or personal honor and excellence. How can an ideal

excellence help to make a better society? Can the pursuit of excellence actually harm a society?

Explain in four or more paragraphs.

“The most splendid achievement of all is the constant striving to surpass yourself and to

be worthy of your own approval.” (Denis Waitley). Achieving personal excellence is a journey in

and of itself considering how hard one has to strive in order to overcome their standards to push

themselves to the limit, to see how extraordinary they can make their deeds come to be. For

example, all Greek warriors, more or less, strove to achieve arête, personal excellence, in order

to receive fame and glory and to be remembered when the die. Is it really worth it? Well, if

everyone in a society attempts to excel themselves in doing the best they can in anything, the

society will of course be better since the main goal amongst all is to do good form the smallest

tasks to the most overwhelming tasks promoting less and less problems.

Whether this concept is applied to one’s work, health, relationship, personal goals,

making a commitment to personal excellence in whatever a person does virtually guarantees a

life of fulfillment, success and passion. What does excellence have to do with anything? As with

most things in life, the results we experience tend to be in proportion with the quality of effort

we put forth. If we give a halfhearted effort, we experience minimal results. If we give our

absolute best, we always get excellent results, many times better then what we would have

thought for the outcome to be. A person can do something well enough and say it is good but it is

important to try and reach personal excellence in everything, whether it being cleaning your

room or dominating the other side in a war. One can get good results from good intentions and

adequate efforts, but the question everyone should ask themselves is, “Am I willing to settle for

‘good enough?’” If one isn’t then that person is sure that they are capable of so much more
taking into account that the chief reason people don’t give their best effort is because they don’t

believe they are capable of more.

Best results are more important than quick results considering how there can be several

mistake s a person encounters while in a rush- therefore instead of being agile, a person should

be perseverant and devoted to their mission. Just because a task require s a lot of effort doesn’t

mean it is worthless, one can gain a lot of knowledge and experience form running a big errand,

and if you never try anything that how will you know the product or outcome of doing something

it can have its consequences but bearing in mind the outcome can be beneficial and be of an

advantage. If a person knows they can work harder and over-do a task, or even do an outstanding

job why should they stop themselves form doing so, laziness gets the best of several humans but

not these Greek warriors who wanted to reach arête. Everything is not always about winning,

sometime its just about trying your best and to repeat if you don’t try something how can you

possibly predict the outcome.

The concept of, no matter what you do in life, doing it well reaps great rewards, induced

the people of the society to work harder, with this new ideas are revealed and revolutionary

technologies are invented. We distinguish people from good and bad by seeing their actions;

good people commit to good actions and are considered valuable members of the society.

Whereas, bad people, often commit to negative actions and are thought to have an undeveloped

state of mind and a liability to the society. Hence the pursuit of excellence abets humanity since

all of whom are in pursuit of excellence are obligated to do the right thing, the best way possible,

at the highest level of creativity they can manage.

Samiha Islam December 1, 2009 English

Page 276-277

1.) The meeting of Hector and Achilles in Book 22 is the dramatic climax of the Iliad. At this

climatic confrontation Hector trembles and then runs away. How does Homer prepare you for

Hector’s flight by his revelation of the Trojan’s thoughts and by his description of Achilles’

advance? Does Hector’s action diminish your respect for him, or could you sympathize with his

reaction? Explain your response.

2.) An epic simile is an extended simile in which an event of epic proportions is compared to

something form everyday life that would eb familiar to the audience. Reread the description in

Book 22 of the duel between Achilles and Hector, and identify all the epic similes Home rused to

describe their final clash.

3.) What new aspects of Achilles’ character are revealed by the scene with Priam in Book 24?

How would your perception of Achiles have been affected if the Iliad had ended with Hector ‘s

death in Book 22?

4.) Consider the role of the Olympian gods and goddesses in the Iliad as a whole. List at least

three incidents in the epic in which the Olympians direct or influence events. Do you think the

mortal characters in the epic are puppets manipulated by the Olympians, or do they exercise

freedom of choice or action? Give reasons for your answer.

5.) Some critics see the central theme of the Iliad as concerned with the idea that people must

exercise generosity with one another-that if people might be able to live together in peace or

harmony. Which portions of epic support this view of theme? Do you agree that it is a central

theme of the work? Why or why not?

Resolute- 1.having determination: possessing determination and purposefulness

2. characterized by determination: motivated by or displaying determination and purposefulness

Bereaving- deprive through death: to deprive somebody of a beloved person or a treasured thing,

especially through death (often passive)

Implacable- impossible to appease: impossible to pacify or to reduce in strength or force

Stamina- resilient energy and strength: enduring physical or mental energy and strength that

allows somebody to do something for a long time

Eluded- 1. escape or avoid: to escape from or avoid somebody or something by cunning, skill, or

resourcefulness 2. escape somebody's understanding or memory: to be beyond somebody's

understanding or ability to be remembered

Baleful- threatening: threatening, or seeming to threaten, harm or misfortune

Ramparts- fortified embankment: a defensive fortification made of an earthen embankment,

often topped by a low protective wall

Arbiter- influential person: somebody with great influence over what people say, think, or do

Bemused- bewilder: to cause somebody to be confused or puzzled

Evaded- cleverly escape somebody or something: to escape or avoid somebody or something,

usually by ingenuity or guile

Ponderous- moving heavily: lumbering and laborious in movement

2. dull: without liveliness or wit

3. heavy-looking: disproportionately thick and heavy

Exult- be very happy: to be extremely happy or joyful about something exulted in his newfound

freedom 2. be triumphant: to be very happy or triumphant about something unpleasant that

happens to somebody else

Defiled- mountain pass: a narrow pass between mountains

Scrouge- squeeze: to squeeze, crowd, or press somebody or something

Destitute- lacking necessities of life: lacking all money, resources, and possessions necessary for

subsistence

Kite- toy for flying: a light framework covered in a thin light material, flown for fun in the wind

at the end of a long string

2. small hawk: a small slim hawk with long pointed wings and a forked tail.

Family: Accipitridae

3. light sail: a light sail used in addition to a sailing ship's standard sails

4. fake financial transaction: a negotiable bill, e.g. a check, that is fraudulently used to sustain

credit by representing a fictitious monetary transaction (slang)

5. bad check: a check that is fraudulently written against an account containing insufficient

funds and dated so as to allow the perpetrator to take advantage of the time lag required for

clearing

Amphora- narrow-necked jar: in ancient Greece and Rome, a jar, usually made of clay, with a

narrow neck and two handles, used for holding oil or wine
Diadem- 1. crown: a jeweled headband used as a royal crown

2. jeweled headband: any jeweled headband

3. regal power: royal power or dignity (literary)

Evocation- 1. evoking: a re-creation of something not present, especially an event or feeling

from the past an accurate evocation of that period

2. transfer of court case: the transfer of a case from a lower to a higher court for review

Felicity- 1. happiness: happiness or contentment

2. something producing happiness: something that creates happiness

3. appropriateness: an appropriate or pleasing manner

4. something appropriate: something appropriate or pleasing

flouting- openly ignore law or convention: to show contempt for a law or convention by openly

disobeying or defying it

broods- . vi worry: to be preoccupied with a troublesome or unwelcome thought

2. vi think unpleasant thoughts: to think resentful, dark, or miserable thoughts

3. vti hatch eggs: to sit on or hatch eggs, or cover nestlings for warmth

4. vi be heavy or ominous: to loom or hang heavily and ominously (literary)

dark clouds brooding overhead

n (plural broods)
1. young of birds or animals: the young of an animal, especially young birds, that are born and

reared together

2. family's children: the children of one family (informal humorous)

3. group of similar people: a group whose members share a common origin or background

the latest brood of avant-garde artists

deftly- 1. quick and skillful: moving or acting in a quick, smooth, and skillful way

2. clever: showing good sense and skill in achieving or acquiring things

allay- 1. calm emotion or worry: to calm a strong emotion such as anger, or diminish and set at

rest somebody's fears or suspicions

2. relieve pain: to relieve or reduce the severity of pain or a painful emotion

redoubled- 1. increase: to increase something considerably, especially the amount of effort

expended on something, or become much greater

2. echo: to echo or re-echo, or cause something to echo or re-echo

revile- 1. vt attack somebody or something verbally: to make a fierce or abusive verbal attack on

somebody or something

2. vi use abusive language: to use insulting or abusive language

shrouding- 1. cover or conceal something: to cover or conceal somebody or something

2. wrap corpse: to wrap a dead body in a cloth

quarter- give somebody lodging: to assign accommodation to somebody

Samiha Islam December 3, 2009 English

“I swear a day will come when every Achaean soldier will groan to have Achilles’ back.

That day you shall no more prevail on me than this dry wood shall flourish- driven though you
are, and a thought a thousand men shall perish before raging with remorse for this dishonor done

by you to the bravest of Achaeans.” (Achilles: Book One Iliad) The Iliad by Homer is a war epic

that condemns the brutality of war, all the losses and grief war has to offer, not proving much

benefit to any side in the war. The Iliad is a series of vignettes telling stories of events during the

Trojan War, especially concerning Prince Achilles, the son of the goddess Thetis and the chief

warrior of the Greeks (Achaeans). Achilles had several disputes and controversies, with several

characters throughout the epic. All arguments and fights were war related but some with internal

and some with external conflicts. Achilles not only portrays how brutal a war can make a man,

but as heroic the deeds the characters accomplished in the novel, none of it was very virtuous ,

considering several sins were committed.

A common brutality of war would be all the casualties each side of a war suffers. In this

case, being the Trojans and the Greeks; the Greeks with a plague over their heads, prevalent in

Book 1. Apollo, in response to Chryses tears, who had pled for his daughter back, but selfish

Agamemnon had kidnapped as a spoil of war, his medal of honor, his prized possession that

augmented his arête- his glory- would not return despite all his men being killed. With war

comes stubbornness and revulsion of comrades, seeing that Achilles and Agamemnon both

Greeks and commanders of the same army, as well as both being skilled warriors have fought

like no other almost to a point, where death may have risen upon one of them. War raises threats

and impious views of ending clashes, such that Agamemnon unrightfully taking away Briseis

from Achilles. Briseis was not only content to be with Achilles, but was Achilles’ spoil of war,

with this deed Achilles had lost much of his arête, an embarrassing event to have occurred where

Achilles himself dropped into tears not only for his diminution but losing his lady fair. Losing

friends and family over the malice of war greatly affects a warrior, such that Hector had killed
Patroclus, Achilles’ best friend whom he loved so dear and allowed to use his armor considering

the interval Achilles wasn’t in battle. With this, Achilles dark side was revealed, his hatred and

vindictive side where he was bound to kill Hector and provide him with the foulest of all

dishonor such that Achilles refuted Hector’s pact of giving back the corpse to it’s family for

whoever won this final clash- to which Achilles responded with his superiority, “As between

men and lion there are none, no concord between wolves and sheep, but all hold one another

hateful through and through, so there can be no truce between us.” Not only does this show the

conceitedness of men at times of war, where Achilles always proved himself to be of greater

value than of Hector but showed how at times of panic it is very hard to compromise and with no

compromise there is no end but only death and sorrow.

With Achilles killing Hector as it was meant to be and fate had allegedly claimed, to

which the Olympians hadn’t had the slightest disapproval to, all of Troy came in melancholy, as

Achilles stripped Priam and Hecuba of their beloved son, Hector, not to mention that 19 of

Priam’s other sons were killed by Achilles and his army as well, Helen of a brother, Andromache

of a husband, Astyanax of a father and bestowing him with a fate similar as of Hectors, death, as

well as stripping the Trojans of their most prominent soldier, which would be a downfall for the

Trojans. Achilles was proven cruel and heartless as he allowed for all his Greeks to come and

puncture the dead body of Hector for every soldier that came to see the corpse, mutilating the

body then putting holes into his heels then dragging him around throughout the city merciless

and with infamy. With war comes regret and evocations, with which others take advantage of,

such that Priam evoked thoughts of Achilles’ family and friends whom he has been away form

for such long, in order to achieve his right to his son, Hector’s body in order to bury considering

how an unburied body could not escape to the underworld with ease. War can also bring the soft
side of men, after Priam’s success, Achilles was shown to be sentimental and tender, where he

was empathetic towards Priam and his misery of those he lost in war.

“Achilles wild fury in his heart pulled in upon his chest his beautiful shield- his helemnt with

“Conspiciuoius as the evening star that comes amid the first heavan, at fall of ngiht, and stands

most lovely in the west, so shone in sunlight the fine pointed spear Achilles posed in his right

hand, with deadly aim at Hector, at the skin where most it laid exposed…”

“The dogs and kites will rip you body. His will lie in honor when the Achaeans give him

funeral.”
“But when Achilles’ heart had known the luxury of tears and pain within his breast and bones

had passed away, he stood then, raised the old king up, in pity for his gray head and graybeard

cheek, and spoke in warm rush of words.”

“This is the way gods ordained the destiny of men, to bear such burdens in our lives, while they

feel no affliction.”

The Iliad portrays both a condemnation of the brutality of war and a celebration of heroism that

war can inspire.

“Sack of wine with your cur’s eyes and antelope’s heart! You’ve never had the kidney to buckle

on armor among the troops, or make a sorite with picked men-oh no; the way dtah might lie.