In book 9 of the iliad, achilles rejects the offers made by three of agamemnons ambassadors in an attempt to get him to end his feud with agamemnon and rejoin the war against troy, because. Homer calls upon the goddess of poetry and inspiration the muse to sing of achilleus anger. Chapter summary for homers the iliad, book 16 summary. This contains a book by book summary and analysis of. Chryses, priest of apollo, comes to the greek camp to ransom his daughter, chryseis, held captive by agamemnon. Engage your students during remote learning with video readalouds. Poseidon comes down to the battlefield and takes the form of calchas the seer. The trojan war, as youll know from the backstory section of our summary of book 1, involved a massive army of achaians a.
The iliad book 16 death of patroclus american literature. Homer begins with a oneparagraph invocation requesting the muse a goddess to inspire him in the telling of. It was hector that drew nigh to aias 115 and smote his ashen spear with his great sword hard by the socket, at the base ot the point, and shore it clean away. It is achilles who is the central figure in the iliad. The last thing the iliad is about is the horrors of war. The deaths of sarpedon and patroklos in this book introduce an elegiac tone into the last part of the iliad, as the characters that the reader sees. Homer invokes the muse goddess of epic poetry to aid him in telling the story of achilles anger and the great war for helen and troy. Mythology background and plot summary by michael j. Analysis as the story finally returns to achilles in book 16, his rage may be waning a bit, but his injured pride is still as fresh as ever.
The gods, meanwhile, were gathered with zeus on the golden councilfloor, drinking toasts of nectar from gleaming cups that lovely hebe filled while they gazed down on troy cronos son was swift to taunt hera with mocking words, and said slyly. Gill is a freelance classics and ancient history writer. This quote is taken from the end of book 16, where patroclus tells his final words to hector after hector killed him with his spear. He continues to act without humanity, showing no concern for the fate of the achaean armyin stark contrast to patroclus, who is in tears over their plight. While achilleus still refuses to return to battle, his friend, patroklos, persuades him to let him fight in his place. This is our first major requirement for classical literature under dr. Brave menelaus son of atreus now came to know that patroclus had fallen, and made his way through the. In book 22, achilles demonstrates mindless rage as he d. In the tenth year of the trojan war, tensions are running high among the achaians a superancient name for the ancient greeks. The iliad homer translated by samuel butler homer 800 bc an ionian poet. Books sixteen to twentytwo all quotations from the iliad are from the translation of richmond lattimore, university of chicago press, 1951like book nine, book sixteen marks a crucial turning point in the iliad. Many a brave soul did it send hurrying down to hades, and many a hero did it.
The analysis will first consider the placement of the twentythree book divisions. The point is, now that you know what the things are, its high time we jumped into the middle of them. Helen, the wife of a greek king, menelaos, has been abducted by prince paris son of king priam and taken back to troy. Homers book, the iliad, can be seen as historys first piece of antiwar propaganda because of the way it looks at war. Here is a userfriendly students edition of book 1, providing greek text, extensive notes, a complete glossary, and an extensive introduction to homer and his. He further introduces in the word rage one of the human qualities, along with pride and honor, that will make up a. Achilleus makes fun of him for crying, but patroklos defends himself.
Greeks who crossed the sea to lay siege to troy, a city in modern turkey. Unwittingly, achilles is uttering an ironically apt proleptic expression of distress at. Patroclus replies that achilles anger is too stubborn. As book 16 opens, achilles dear friend patroclus goes to him and says that, if he wont. He has made a fatal decision, and the deaths of sarpedon, patroklos, hektor, achilles himself, and the fall of troy all inevitably follow. Patroclus begins killing trojans, and the achaeans drive the trojans back from the warships. Patroclus asks if he can go into battle in achilles place, wearing achilles armor in order to demoralize the trojans. Chapter summary for homers the iliad, book 17 summary. Hector, his attention focused on the fleeing horses of achilles, is made to look at the scene by apollo. Homers iliad begins during the tenth year of the trojan war and opens, like most epic poems, with a request for inspiration from the appropriate muse. Patroclus death in book 16 of the iliad vations in pursuit of his own.
Revisiting the apostrophes to patroclus in iliad 16 chs harvard. Menelaus sees the death of patroclus, and he goes to defend the body. As the story finally returns to achilles in book 16, his rage may be waning a bit, but his injured pride is still as fresh as ever. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. To repay the indignity chryses has suffered, apollo, the mouse god, rains arrows of plague on the greek forces for 9 days. Analysis this episode is the second turning point in the tragic story of achilles. In the book, there are many moments were homer tells the reader. It is a sweeping epic poem that seeks to find answers to some of mankinds most fascinating questions, questions which still intrigue and perplex us today. Then patroclus drew near to achilles with tears welling from his eyes, as from some spring whose crystal stream falls over the ledges of a high precipice. Menelaus has two goddesses to aid him, hera of argos and alalcomenean athene. Iliad book 1 ancient greek by david chamberlain, homer.
Homers similes are especially open to such analysisand especially the. A reading of homers iliad, book 1, in ancient greek. Achilles will not, but does agree to what nestor had. Then patroclus drew near to achilles with tears welling. The two are different in subject but the same in their style. This makes its ironically tragic nature at the beginning of book 16 patently clear. Like all such works except homers the iliad and the odyssey, this poem consists. Iliad book 16 study guide learn with flashcards, games, and more for free. Achilles will not, but does agree to what nestor had suggested to patroclus towards the end of book 11. Homers epic poem the iliad tells the story of the trojan war and the epic heroes and gods, including achilles, hector, odysseus, athena, ares, paris. Meanwhile, patroclus goes to achilles tent and begs to be allowed to wear achilles armor if achilles still refuses to rejoin the battle himself. The first scene of the iliad finds chryses, the priest of apollo god of the sun and a whole lot of other stuff, approaching the achaian camp to ask for his daughter back.
She has a masters degree in linguistics and is a former latin teacher. He tells off achilleus for being a jerk, and asks for permission to lead the myrmidons into battleas nestor suggested back in book 11. Mythology background in the ancient mediterranean world, feminine beauty reaches its zenith in. Thus disguised, he encourages the two aeantes great ajax and little ajax, when they are named as a pair and gives them new strength before he flies away. The iliad is an epic poem, written by homer, that covers the quarrels and fighting near the end of the trojan war. Homers iliad has captivated readers and influenced writers and artists for over twoandahalf millennia. If that sounds too circular, then just bear in mind that the iliad is an extremely long narrative poem, which deals with the heroic actions of mortals, gods, and demigods.
Achilles declines to fight but agrees to the exchange of armor, with the understanding that patroclus will fight only long enough to save the ships. As the story finally returns to achilles in book 16, his rage may be waning a. Apollos priest chryses comes to the achaian camp and asks to ransom back his daughter chryseis, who has been captured. Patroclus returns to achilles and tries to persuade him to relent. Homers iliad clst 181sk ancient greece and the origins of western culture.
May 14, 2012 there are six main arestias in the iliad. At the same time it adumbrates achilles own death and the fall of troy. Book i sing, o goddess, the anger of achilles son of peleus, that brought countless ills upon the achaeans. Little ajax knows then that some god has spoken to them, and the aeantes spirits rise. The iliad plot is an episode in the long story of the war. Homers iliad books 12 provided by the internet classics archive.
This sort of apt but not strictly logical assimilation is part of the. Antiwar propaganda has been around for many years, but what makes the iliad special is that it is arguably the oldest piece of antiwar propaganda. While the battle around the ships continues, patroklos pleads with achilles to be allowed to wear achilles armor and to lead the myrmidons, his troops, into battle. The homeric poems the iliad and the odyssey are epic, because our concept of epic comes from homeric poems. This is a reminder of that important episode in which achilleus rejected agamemnons offer of gifts, and it highlights the contradictions in achilleus position. In book 16 the stated rejection of patroclus ability to manage the pelian ash. Read book 16 death of patroclus of the iliad by homer. Quite a few comments have been posted about the iliad. Homers iliad clst 181sk ancient greece and the origins of western culture final preliminaries. The gods, meanwhile, were gathered with zeus on the golden councilfloor, drinking toasts of nectar from gleaming cups that lovely hebe filled while they gazed down on troy. Book i opens with the words, rage goddess, sing the rage of peleus son achilles. Like a girl, a baby running after her mother, begging to be picked up, and she tugs her skirts, holding her back as she tries to hurry off all tears, fawning up at her she takes her in her arms. The last couple examples i will discuss are both at the end of book 16. All editions and translations of homers iliad present the epic as a series of twentyf.
He and euphorbus trade insults, and menelaus reminds him that he killed euphorbus brother hyperenor. Litcharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in the iliad, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. Detailed summary, analysis and reading guide by summaries, bright isbn. Diomedes in books 46, agamemnon in book 11, hector in book 15, patroclus in book 16, menelaus in book 17 and achilles in books 1922. This lesson focuses on book 16 of the iliad by homer. Iliad book 16 study guide arts and humanities flashcards. Information on the first book of the iliad of homer.
Find a summary of this and each chapter of the iliad. A group analysis on homers iliad, where we deal with books 19 and their relevance on the flow of the epic. The poet is putting in achilles mouth words that have a double meaning. As a cow stands lowing over her first calf, even so did yellowhaired menelaus bestride patroclus. Achilles tells him he has no reason to grieve, saying that agamemnon s men are repaid for their offenses. In an attempt to capture the tension and emotion between sarpedon. He leaps between the decks of the beached ships, using a massive pike to hold back the trojan forces almost singlehandedly. This description of ajaxs incredible defense makes for one of the iliads most memorable images. Follow this link for a detailed summary of the iliad includes a capsule summary, and a summary of which sides the gods take in the iliad.
The iliad begins with the poet calling on the muse to sing of the wrath of achilleus and its consequences. Homer, throughout the iliad, illustrates that although it can be difficult to reach, the rough road to compassion is noble and ultimately superior to the easier paths of anger and rage. Iliad study guide contains a biography of homer, literature essays, a complete etext, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. Book xvii brave menelaus son of atreus now came to know that patroclus had fallen, and made his way through the front ranks clad in full armour to bestride him. Summary and analysis of book 16 of homers iliad, with a focus on patroclus pride, lust for glory, and death. Euphorbus attempts to strip patroclus armor, but menelaus kills him. Zeus begins moving the battle in the trojans favor but relents long enough for menelaus and meriones to carry away patrocluss body. He is insulted and sent away, and apollo sends a plague on the greeks. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools.
Rodents do spread plague, so the association between a divine mouse function and delivering plague makes sense, even if the greeks werent completely aware of the connection. The trojans, seeing the fresh reinforcements and thinking that achilles has returned, immediately begin to fear for their lives. The battle rages on between the trojan and achaean forces, and patroclus devises a scheme to free the achaean ships from the trojans. Book xvi thus did they fight about the ship of protesilaus. Whatever the case may be, the influence of the two enduring epics attributed to him is indisputable. On the ot hand, the sacrifice, feasting and truce have no continuous effect. This study guide consists of approximately 114 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of the iliad. First, a literary analysis from a moderately informed modern viewpoint. Menelaus sends antilochus for help from achilles, who still doesnt know of patrocluss death. The iliad takes place in the tenth year of the trojan war. With patroclus leading them, the myrmidons swarm into battle, and are described as being like wasps that a boy has angered. In the very first line of the iliad, the poet addresses the muse, who inspires him with song, and asks her to sing through him the story of the wrath of the son of peleus, aka achilles. The story opens nine years into the war, which basically started because paris. Historians cannot agree where homer was born, whether he was blind, whether he wrote both the iliad and the odyssey, or even if he actually existed.
78 1419 1485 884 143 63 85 967 1301 913 19 479 1403 1362 1191 699 872 1082 1451 613 1165 133 848 1354 531 415 993 354 1432 1216 311 40 696 917 1456 412 1163 1358 398 1437 1099 624 1167 1013 732 803 1065