Homer
- Called the “blind poet of greece” Athena
- His country folks called him “The
Poet”
- His two epics “The Iliad” and “The
Odyssey” were learned by heart and
wherever a Greek Settled, He/She
carried with him/her a love for
Homer
- These are great epics: studies of
men and women of the time and the
way of life and ideals of great
civilization that has vanished but is
still wonderfully alive in people’s
hearts
The Iliad
- Showcases the passions and the
cruelty of war, is a story of love and
heroism
The Odyssey
- Speaks of great adventures.
Mythological Background of the Iliad
Zeus
- Father of deities, devised a great
war that would sweep like a
conflagration over Greece (Trojan
War)
Thetis
- Married to a mortal Peleus, Mother
of Achilles
Achilles
- Son of Thetis and Peleus, the great
Greek Warrior
- The greatest and bravest of the
Greek Heroes
Eris
- Goddess of Mischief, was not invited
to the Marriage feast and threw the
golden apple: To the fairest of the
Goddesses
Hera
- Goddess of marriage, women and
family, and the protector of women
during childbirth
- One of the twelve chief olympian
deities and the Goddess associated
with wisdom, craft and warfare
Aphrodite
- Greek Goddess of sexual love and
beauty. Identified with Venus by the
Romans
● Zeus parted the clouds covering
Mount Olympus, the dwelling place
of the deities, and showed the three
Goddesses a Prince of Troy named
Paris. He suggested that the three
beauty contestants take their
problem to Paris and ask him to
decide.
Paris
- Prince of troy that decided who was
the Fairest of the Goddesses
- Hera promised him power
- Athena promised him wisdom
- Aphrodite promised that she would
give him the most beautiful
woman in the world for his wife.
- He awarded the golden apple to
Aphrodite
Helen of Troy
- The most beautiful woman in the
world
- Married to Menelaus, King of Sparta
- Was abducted by Paris with the help
of Aphrodite and was taken to troy
until the end of the Trojan War
● The Greeks (Achaians) banded
together to restore Helen to
Menelaus
Agamemnon
- King of Mycenae, General of
Achaians
Odysseus
- The clever and wily warrior
Diomedes
- The bold one
Nestor
- The prudent old man
Aias
- The giant and a host of other heroes
The Iliad
- The story opens with a violent
quarrel between Agamemnon and
Achilles, Briseis (second wife) of
Achilles is unjustly taken by
Agamemnon, Achilles makes a
sacred vow to “no longer fight”
● Because of his absence, the
Trojans, led by Prince Hector, make
bold advances in battle, The
situation rapidly deteriorates until
most of the Greek leaders are
wounded and forced to leave the
battle
Patroclus
- A dear friend of Achilles
- Saddened by the growing losses of
his countrymen, he begs Achilles to
let him lead Achilles’ men to battle
- Myrmidons - Achilles’ men
● Patroclus rallies the Greeks and
makes the Trojan retreat but is killed
by Hector, Achilles, angered by the
death of his dear comrade, enters
the fight and routs the Trojans, killing
them mercilessly.
● Achilles goes after Prince Hector
and kills him, ties the body of Hector
to his chariot and drags it around the
city of Troy
Outstanding Episodes in the Iliad
- Quarrel between Agamemnon and
Achilles
- Single combat between Menelaus
(the wronged husband) and Paris
(the wife stealer)
- The farewell of Hector from
Andromache, his beautiful, gentle,
unfortunate wife, as he leaves to
fight Achilles
- The single combat between Aias
and Hector
- The games played at the funeral of
Patroclus
- The ransoming of the body of Hector
by his father, King Priam
- Lamentations of the Trojan women
over the dead body of their beloved
Hector, the magnanimous defender
of the city of troy
Formal and Informal Definitions
- Formal statement of the meaning or
significance of a word, phrase,
idiom, etc. as found in dictionaries
Formal Definition
- Based upon a concise, logical
pattern that includes as much
information as it can within a
minimum amount of space
- The primary reason to include
definitions in your writing is to avoid
misunderstanding your audience
Three parts of a formal definition
- The Term (word or phrase) to be
defined
- The class of object or concept to
which the Term belongs
- The differentiation characteristics
that distinguish it from all others of
its class
Examples :
- Water (word-term) is a liquid
(class) made up of molecules of
hydrogen and oxygen in the ratio
of 2 and 1 (differentiating
characteristics)
 - Astronomy (word-term) is a branch - Many prisoners of war have been
of scientific study (class) primarily victims of cruel and unusual
concerned with celestial objects punishment (Phrase-term): people
inside and outside of the earth’s were shocked and horrified when
atmosphere (differentiating they learned of the water torture,
characteristics) temperature extremes, and sensory
When to use definitions? overloads that the prisoners were
- When your writing contains a term subjected to
that may be key to audience
understanding and that term could
likely be unfamiliar to them
- When the etymology (origin and
history) of a common word might
prove interesting or will help
expand upon a point
Tips for writing definitions
- Avoid defining “X is when” and “X is
where” statements. These
introductory adverb phrases should
be avoided. Define a noun with a
noun, a verb with a verb, and so
forth
- Do not define a word by mere
repetition or merely restating the
word
Informal definition
- The writer uses known words or
examples to explain unknown terms.
- The definitions may be synonyms or
antonyms introduced by or, in other
words, or like. It could also be
stipulation, analogy or illustration

Example :
- Freedom also referred to as liberty
or independence is a state people
reach when they are free to think
and do whatever they please.