Reading Notes: Homer's Iliad, Part A

(Menelaus holding the body of Patroclus; source: Wikipedia)

Plot:

• The King of Sparta made all the suitors for his beautiful daughter Helen promise to help her future husband rescue her if she was ever taken away. Helen chooses Menelaus, brother of King Agamemnon of the Greeks, to be her husband. One day, Prince Paris of Troy steals Helen away and Menelaus and Agamemnon call upon the Greeks to uphold their vow.
• Agamemnon unknowingly angered Apollo by refusing to return Chryseis to her father, Apollo's priest. Even after finding out what has angered Apollo, Agamemnon agrees to send Chryseis back but refuses to offer up beasts for sacrifice. He claims he'll take up other chiefs' share of the spoils to make up for his loss. Achilles grows angry at this and verbally argues with Agamemnon in front of the assembly. Things are about to get physical when Athena intervenes and calms Achilles down. Achilles claims he will no longer fight in the war.
• Eventually, Achilles is forced to give up Briseis and is very upset at this fact. He calls for his mother, Thetis, and asks her to convince Zeus to let the Trojans overpower the Greeks for a while so the Greeks regret shaming Achilles.
• Thetis does as she is asked and convinces Zeus to restore Achilles' honor. Hera, who favors the Greeks, finds out and is angry at Zeus. Zeus retaliates and then Hephaestus distracts the gods. Zeus sends Agamemnon a false dream that tells him he can take Troy without Achilles' help.
• Hector tells his mother, Queen Hecuba, to pray to Athena and offer her a sacrifice. The mothers of Troy do this but Athena does not listen. Hector then goes to his brother Paris and successfully convinces him to rejoin the battle. Hector searches for his wife Andromache who has gone to the wall.
• Andromache laments the loss of her family and fears for Hector's life. She begs him to stay away from battle. Hector says that it would be a great dishonor to do that and prays to the gods that his son Scamandrius/Astyănax will grow up to be a great warrior. He returns to battle with Paris.
• Agamemnon, having realized he cannot defeat Hector without Achilles, sends an envoy consisting of Ulysses, the two warriors Ajax, and Phoenix to convince Achilles to fight. After all the men feast and drink, Ulysses reminds Achilles of his father Peleus' plea to control his pride. He offers all of Agamemnon's gifts to Achilles.
• Achilles says a man who risks his life on the battlefield and the man who stays at home meet the same end. He says Agamemnon can consult any of the other chiefs he did not shame for advice on how to defeat Hector. He rejects all of the gifts and claims he will sail home the following morning.
• Patroclus, fearing for the Greeks' plight, asks Achilles for permission to go out into the battlefield wearing Achilles' armor while leading his troops, the Myrmidons. Achilles consents but asks Patroclus to stop fighting once the Greek ships were safe.
• Achilles prays to Zeus for the safe return of Patroclus and his troops. Patroclus succeeds in driving the Trojans back and kills Sarpedon the Lycian king. Sarpedon appeals to Glaucus to avenge his death and not let the Myrmidons take his body.
• Patroclus fought Hector and the Trojans back to the walls of Troy and thought to take the city. Fearing Apollo's warnings, Patroclus retreats but still fights fiercely against the Trojans on the ground. Eventually, Apollo strikes Patroclus and disorients him, allowing Hector to drive a spear into him. As Patroclus is dying, he prophesies that Achilles will kill Hector to which Hector responds that he plans to slay Achilles.

Characters:

• Agamemnon - arrogant king, believes he deserves respect from everyone, takes lion's share of the spoils
• Achilles - arrogant soldier, believes he is the best warrior amongst the Greeks, feels wronged and refuses to fight in the war due to being shamed
• Thetis - fiercely loyal to her son, devoted mother
• Zeus - partial towards the Trojans, upholds his word
• Hera - favors the Greeks, distrustful of Zeus
• Hector - responsible leader of the Trojan forces, thinks poorly of Paris
• Paris - cowardly, stayed away from battle because he was afraid of losing
• Andromache - lonely, afraid of losing Hector to battle
• Patroclus - Achilles' close confidante, empathetic towards the Greeks, has trust in Achilles

Setting:

• The main setting appears to be on the shoreline outside of the city of Troy. Here, the Greeks have set up camp next to their ships.
• The battleground and the city of Troy also feature as settings.

Style:

• Starts with "once upon a time."
• Uses many similes and metaphors throughout.
• Long sentences with many commas.
• Dialogue was interspersed with ample descriptive writing.

Bibliography. The Iliad retold by Alfred J. Church (1907).