ALL ABOUT ILIAD
Author: Homer
- Born on c. (circa) 800 B.C
- Birthplace: Greece
- Died on c. 750 B. C.
- Author of Iliad and Odyssey
- “Blind Bard”
The Iliad
Genre: Greek Epic Poetry
- means a song about Ilium
- “ten-year siege of the city of Troy”
Etymology: Ἰλιάς, Iliás, Ilion, Ilios,
Ilium
-Earliest work in the whole Western
literary tradition, one of the best
known and loved stories of all time
- An epic poem written in dactylic
hexameter
- roughly 16,000 lines of verse and
is divided into 24 books
- written in homeric Greek, literary
amalgam of Ionic Greek and other
dialects
Gods and Goddesses
Pallas Athena: the goddess of
wisdom, Zeus’s daughter, hates
the Trojans and gives the
Achaeans valuable aid
Hermes: messenger of gods
Thetis: sea goddess, wife or
Peleus, mother of Achilles.
- gets Zeus to help the Trojans
- commissions Hephaestus to
make an armor for Achilles
Eris: goddess of chaos, strife, and
discord. She threw the golden
apple that has the words, “To the
Fairest”
Hera: queen of gods, wife of Zeus.
A conniving and headstrong
woman. She hates the Trojans
Poseidon: brother of Zeus, god of
the sea. Fights behalf of the
Greeks
Zeus: king of gods, claims
neutrality
Apollo: god of sun, medicine,
archery, music, arts. He supports
the Trojans and often intervenes
Artemis: goddess of hunt,
supports the Trojans, son of zeus,
twin of apollo
Iris: goddess of rainbow,
messenger of zeus and hera,
messenger of mortals
Ares: god of war and lover of
aphrodite, was supposed to
support the achaeans (he
promised athena and hera) but
was convinced by aphrodite to
side with the trojans
Aphrodite: goddess of love and
daughter of zeus, married to
hephaestus but has a relationship
with ares. Supports paris and the
trojans
Hephaestus: god of fire,
metalsmith, ugly and crippled
god, forged a new armor for
achilles
ACHAEANS: “Argives or Danaans”
Achilles: son of Peleus and Thetis,
most powerful warrior, takes
offense easily (pikon and laging
galit)
Patroclus: Achilles’ childhood
friend/cousin/lover/companion.
Devoted to Achilles and the
Achaean
Agamemnon: “Atrides”, king of
Mycenae, leader of Achaean army;
Arrogant and selfish but provides
strong (sometimes reckless)
leadership
Menelaus: king of Sparta, brother
of Agamemnon, husband of Helen.
Less arrogant than Agamemnon
Odysseus: a fine warrior, cleverest
Achaean commander. Odysseus
and Nestor are the two best
public speakers. Prevents
Agamemnon and Achilles from
making rash decisions and
fighting
Nestor: King of Pylos, oldest
achaean commander. Has great
wisdom, acts as an advisor to
military commanders (esp.
Agamemnon)
Diomedes: “Tydides” youngest of
achaean commanders, bold and
sometimes impulsive
Great Ajax: “telamonian ajax”
second mightiest warrior after
Achilles, fights alongside little Ajax.
Pair: Aeantes
Little Ajax: achaean commander,
son of Oileus, the stature and
strength of great ajax
complements his small size and
swift speed
Calchas: an important soothsayer
(can predict the future). His
identification of the cause of the
plague leads to the rift between
Agamemnon and Achilles.
Peleus: father of Achilles,
grandson of Zeus. He never
appears in the epic in person.
Priam mentioned him in book 24
when he took Hector’s corpse
Phoenix: a kindly old warrior who
helped raised Achilles, he also
mediates Achi and Aga during
quarrels
TROJANS
Hector: son of priam and hecuba,
mightiest warrior in the trojan
army. Devoted to his wife,
Andromache, and son, Astyanax
Priam: king of troy, husband of
hecuba, father of fifty trojan
warriors, treats Helen kindly
Hecuba: queen of troy
Paris: “Alexander” He abducted
Helen and sparked the Trojan war.
Self-centered and unmanly
Helen: most beautiful woman, wife
of menelaus but was abducted by
Paris
Andromache: wife of hector, begs
him to withdraw from the war
Asytanax: Hector and
Andromache’s infant son
Aeneas: trojan nobleman, son of
aphrodite and anchises.
Protagonist in virgil’s masterpiece
Aeneid
Polydamas: young Trojan
commander, gives advice but
Hector seldom acts on it
Glaucus: powerful warrior, nearly
fights a duel with Diomedes
Dolon: trojan sent to spy on the
achaean camp, wore a wolf skin
and a weasel-skin cap
Antenor: trojan nobleman, advisor
of king priam and father of many
trojan warriors, said that helen
should be returned to menelaus
Sarpedon: son of zeus - Moirae
Chryseis: daughter of Chryses,
captured by agamemnon
Briseis: war prize of Achilles,
Agamemnon returned her instead
of returning Chryseis
Chryses: priest of apollo
TROY: a great city located near
the eastern end of the
Mediterranean. It was very rich
and powerful, second to none on
the earth.
1. Judgment of Paris
- Eris of all the divinities was not
invited to the wedding of king
Peleus and Thetis, she
gatecrashed the party, throwing a
golden apple which Aphrodite,
Hera, and Pallas Athena wanted.
Zeus was asked to judge who was
the fairest of them all but he
refused and told them to go to
Prince Paris/Alexander.
- Paris was a royal prince but was
doing shepherd’s work because he
was sent away as an infant due to
Hecuba’s dream that he would be
the cause of the fall of Troy.
- Paris was living with a nymph
named Oenone who was his wife.
- He was amazed when the 3
goddesses appeared in front of
him. They made him choose which
one of them was the fairest They
bribed him, Hera offering Eurasia,
Athena promising the Trojans
would win against the Greeks, and
Aphrodite promising the fairest
woman in the world.
- Paris was lustful so he gave the
golden apple to Aphrodite.
1.2 Helen and Menelaus
- King Tyndareus exacted an oath
from all Helen’s suitors and he
chose Menelaus
1.3 Paris and Hector went to
Sparta
- Troy was an untouchable country
and in order for King Priam to
promote peace, he sent Hector
and Paris to Sparta where they
were welcomed as guests.
1.4 Abduction of Helen
- They promised to never harm
each other but Paris broke the
sacred bond. Menelaus went to
Crete and came back to find
Helen gone. He asked help from
Agamemnon, his brother, to defeat
the Trojans.
1.5. Odysseus and Achilles: gone
- Odysseus didn’t want to leave his
house and family to start a war
because of Helen. He pretended
to be crazy but was tested when
the King placed his son in the way
of the plow. He turned the plow
aside, proving that he hadn’t gone
mad.
- Achilles was kept back by his
mother because she knew that he
would die during the war. He sent
him to the court of Lycomedes,
making him wear women’s clothes
and hide among the maidens.
- Odysseus disguised as a peddler
went to the court. He saw Achilles
fiddling with swords and daggers
so he knew right away. He was
able to convince Achilles to go to
the Greek camp with him.
2. Sailing to Troy
- Thousand ships were launched
and they met at Aulis, a place of
strong winds and dangerous
tides.
- Calchas declared that the gods
had spoken to him. Artemis was
angry because Agamemnon killed
her sacred white stag deer and
bragged that he was a better
hunter. In order to calm the wind
and sail to Troy, he sacrificed sa
royal blood, Iphigenia
2.2 The Oracle
- The Oracle said that the first to
land would be the first to die so
instead of letting Achilles land
first, Protesilaus was the first man
to leap ashore. They had Hermes
bring him up from the dead to see
his wife, Laodamia. (committed
suicide)
3. During the 9 years
- Both sides were very strong,
Achilles along the Achaeans whom
no man was nobler.
- The Trojans were strong too with
Priam and Hecuba on their side
and their bravest son, Hector.
- For 9 years, victory wavered but
the quarrel between Achilles and
Agamemon turned the tide in
favor of the Trojans.
4. Quarrel between Achilles and
Agamemnon
- Chryseis was given to Agamemon
and her father, Chryses begged
him to let her go but Agamemnon
refused. Chryses prayed to Apollo
and he heard him, he shot arrows
upon the Greek army.
- Agamemnon agreed to give her
back but Achilles would have to
give him Briseis. Achilles agreed to
give her to Agamemnon but he
refused to join the battle.
4.2 gods against gods
- Thetis told her son that he had
nothing to do with the Greeks then
she told Zeus to give the victory to
the Trojans.
- The gods were ranged against
each other since they were
supporting different sides.
Aphrodite T: bcuz of Paris
Hera, Athena Achaeans
Poseidon Achaeans
Apollo and T: cared for
Artemis Hector
Zeus Liked T but
wanted to be
neutral
- Zeus could not resist Thetis, he
had a hard time with Hera but he
told her he would hurt her if she
didn’t stop talking. Hera was silent
but was busy thinking how to help
the Achaean
5. War: Battle without Achilles
- Zeus sent a dream to
Agamemnon promising him
victory if he attacked. Achilles
stayed in his tent while king Priam
watched the contest on the wall of
Troy
5.2 War: Duel of Menelaus and
Paris
- Menelaus challenged Paris to a
duel. Paris agreed but he can only
fight by throwing his spear. Paris
was about to be killed but
Aphrodite intervened and whisked
Paris off the battlefield. Menelaus
went through the Trojan ranks to
look for Paris but he was gone.
- Agamemnon declared that
Menelays won and the Trojans
should give Helen back.
- While the Gods discussed what
to do, Athena went down to the
battlefield
They promised to never harm
each other but Paris broke the
sacred bond, taking Helen with
him.
5.3 War: It is on again
- Athena possessed Pandarus to
break the truce by shooting an
arrow at Menelaus. The battle was
on again, Ajax and Diomedes on
the Greek side while Hector and
Prince Aeneas.
- Aphrodite failed to save Aeneas
but he was not killed for Apollo
carried him to Pergamos, a holy
place of Troy, where he was healed
by Artemis.
5.4 War: Diomedes and Ares
- Diomedes came face to face with
Hector but there he saw Ares.
Athena went to Olympos and
asked Zeus if he could drive Ares
from the battlefield. Hera and
Athena were helping Diomedes, he
rushed to Ares and hurled his
spear with the help of Athena.
Ares fled to Zeus and complained
but was told he was as intolerable
as Hera.
5.5 War: Offer to Athena
- Hector offered the most
beautiful robe to Athena and
prayed to her. He turned aside to
see Andromache and Astyanax for
the last time.
5.6 Another Battle
- Zeus remembered his promise to
Thetis, he ordered all the other
immortals to stay in Olympus. It
went hard with the Greeks while
Achilles sat in his tent. The battle
ended and the Trojans had driven
the Greeks back to their ships.
Agamemnon was about to give
back and sail back to Greece.
Nestor said that if he hadn’t
angered Achilles they wouldn’t
have been defeated.
5.7 Convincing Achilles
- Agamenon confessed that he
acted like a fool. Odysseus and 2
chieftains found Achilles with
Patroclus. When they told him to
rejoin, he refused.
5.8 Hera’s Plan
- Hera prepared herself and
seduced Zeus. While Zeus was
distracted, Ajax hurled Hector to
the ground and the Greeks drove
the Trojans away. If Zeus had not
awakened, the Trojans might have
been defeated that day. Hera
blamed Poseidon, telling that he
had been helping the Greeks. He
summoned Iris and commanded
Poseidon to withdraw from the
field.
- Apollo revived Hector and gave
him power, the Greeks were
frightened and the Trojans were
near to setting the ships on fire.
5.9 Patroclus pretending as
Achilles
- Patrcolus saw the chaos and told
Achilles to join the battle but he
refused again. Patroclus asked
him to give him his armor so that
the Trojans would be afraid.
- The trojans were frightened when
they saw “Achilles”. Patroclus did
his best and at last he met Hector.
Hector’s spear gave him a mortal
wound and Patrcolus died.
- Hector took his armor off,
realizing that he was Patroclus.
Achilles was devastated when he
found out that Patroclus died
6. Achilles joined the battle
- Filled with hatred, Achilles joined
the battle. Thetis commissioned
Hephaestus to forge him an
armor.
- The great River of Troy, Xanthus
and Scamander took part and
strove down to drown Achilles.
7. Gods vs Gods
- Zeus laughed as he saw the gods
fighting against each other.
- Athena felling ares to the ground
- Hera seizing the bow of Artemis
and boxing her ears
- Poseidon provoking Apollo
8. Hector’s fate
- Priam and Hecuba told Hector to
save himself but Hector refused
to.
- Achilles was with Athena but
Apollo already left Hector.
- Athena appeared beside Hector
in disguise as his brother,
Deiphobus. He hurled his spear
and missed its aim, he turned to
Deiphobus but he was not there.
He realized that Athena had
tricked him.
- He asked Achilles to bring his
dead body back to his family but
he refused
- Achilles drove the spear at the
opening near Hector’s throat. He
was not content, stripping the
armor from the corpse and
piercing its feet, fastening them
with thongs to the head trail.He
dragged Hector around the walls
of Troy.
8.2 Redeeming his body
- Zeus and the gods were
displeased. He sent Iris to Priam
and ordered him to redeem
Hector’s body.
- He went to the Greek camp and
he was accompanied by Hermed.
He knelt down and kissed the
hands of Achilles. Achilles felt
guilty, ordering his men to wash
and anoint Hector’s body then
cover it with a robe.
- Priam brought the body home
and they lamented him for 9 days.
9. Death of Achilles
- Achilles knew that his death was
near.
- Prince Memnon of Ethiopia
helped Troy but in the end he was
killed by Achilles.
- Paris shot an arrow to Achilles
and Apollo guided it so that it
struck his heel.
- He was burned and his ashes
were placed in the same urn that
held the ashes of Patroclus
9.2 Achilles’ armor
- Ajax and Odysseus tried to claim
it but in order to prevent
bloodshed, they let the other
kinds decide. Odysseus won and
Ajax felt embarrassed that he was
determined to kill Agamemnon
and Menelaus.
- Athena struck Ajax with
madness. He thought that the
flocks and herds of the Greeks
were the army so he killed them.
When he regained his reason, he
felt disgraced and decided to kill
himself.
- The Greeks didn’t burn his body,
they buried him because a suicide
shouldn’t be honored with a
funeral pyre
10. The arrows of Heracles
- Calchas had no message from
the gods but there was a man
among the trojans who knew the
future. Prophet Helenus told the
Greeks that Troy would only fall if
they fight them with the bow and
arrows of Heracles which is
currently in the hands of Prince
Philoctetes.
- Philoctetes was bitten by a
serpent and his wound won't heal
so they left him at Lemnos
- They sent Odysseus to get the
weapons by tricking Philoctetes.
Other accounts say that
Diomedes and Neoptolemus
(Pyrrhus) , the young son of
Achilles, went with him.
- They were able to take the bow
and arrows but they couldn’t leave
Philoctetes so the physicians
healed him and went into battle
with them.
10.2 Paris was shot
- Paris was shot by Philoctetes and
he begged to be carried to
Oenone, his wife that he left on Mt.
Ida. Paris begged her to heal him
but she refused.
11. The Palladium
- Troy didn’t fall because Paris was
dead. The Greeks decided to steal
the image of Pallas Athena, the
Palladium.
- Diomedes climbed the walls and
found the Palladium then he took
it to the camp.
12. The Trojan Horse
- The Greeks found a secret way to
enter the city by hiding the
chieftains inside a huge wooden
horse.
- Other Greeks would hide beyond - The end was near, all the leaders
the nearest island where they were dead except Aeneas. He
couldn’t be seen escaped and saved his family,
- They placed the figure of a horse Aphrodite was the only god that
in front of the Scaean gates day who helped a Trojan.
- The next morning, the Trojans - Aphrodite also helped Helen and
thought that the Achaeans were brought her back to Menelaus
gone and had given up. They went - When the morning came, there
to the Greek camp and found the were only women left. Their
abandoned tents. children and husband were killed
- They gathered around the and they are waiting for their
wooden horse, thinking what to do masters to carry them overseas.
with it. - Chief among captives was
- Sinon was a Greek who had been Hecuba and Andromache
left behind, he was a plausible - Andromache still had Astyanax
speaker. He pretended that he no in her arms but she had no choice
longer wished to be a Greek but to let them throw him. The
- Sinon told the Trojans the death of Astyanax was the last
masterpiece of Odysseus. He told sacrifice of Troy.
them that the Greeks were
punished. The Trojans believed
him and he became a Trojan
- He also said that the wooden
horse was an offering to Athena
and it was huge so the Trojans
won’t take it into the city. The
Greeks hoped that the Trojans
would destroy it and would anger
Athena
- The priest Laocoon said that
they should destroy the horse.
Laocoon was killed by 2 serpents,
people thought that he was
punished so they decided to bring
the horse in the city.
- In the middle of the night, the
chieftains attacked and the
Trojans woke up when Troy was
burning.
- Achilles spared Priam but
Neoptolemus killed him in front of
his wife and daughters.