The Iliad

The Iliad

Book 1

The epic poem is about how the Troy Prince, Paris, kidnapped Helen, wife of Menelaus' wife (the king of Sparta). It is chiefly about how the war was started by the Greeks because they wanted Helen back. It is about the war against the city of Troy and the Trojan people. But its main focus is the wrath of the Achilles. The first eight lines are the summary of the whole poem in which the main theme of complete epic is introduced i.e. “Rage”. This rage, its transformations, combination, consequences and influences together make the themes of the Iliad.

Nothing about the Briseis who is the daughter of Briseus is hinted at this point of the poem. The quarrel between Agamemnon and Achilles was over the woman and they fight over it. That is why these lines reveal their angry attitude towards the gain of woman.

To be a warrior was the fate of Achilles. His meeting with the mother helps him to determine his fate because after that meeting he realized that if he kept on fighting, he will gain the glory but his way back to home will give him the love of his land but he will lose his glory.

Book 2

The work of the Iliad is the world of cosmic conflicts. In the Iliad the Gods helped their favorite mortals either directly or indirectly. Their vital role in the poem tells us that accepting the will of God was a recurring trend in ancient Greek.

Book 3

Helen has small but one of most interesting characters in the Iliad. She is described to be the most beautiful woman on earth. She labeled herself as a hateful being and her confession about her death the day Paris brought her to Troy shows her self-loathing and shame. The poem and the critics suggest that Helen was abducted by Paris and her words also show that when she insults Paris:

“You've come back from the fight. How I wish you'd died there, killed by that strong warrior who was my husband once. You used to boast you were stronger than warlike Menelaus, [430] more strength in your hands, more power in your spear. So go now, challenge war-loving Menelaus to fight again in single combat”. 

Book 6

The narrator has presented Hector in the way to which audience can more sympathize. He is meant to symbolize the thematic conflict between private and public duty which is appreciated in the Iliad VI. In order to present Hector as the more realistic hero the narrator uses the private conversations he had with three ladies at his home. It shows that he had both political and familial responsibilities. His death also shows the death of a family man a warrior which overcame by the values he upholds.

Book 9

Achilles is presented as the dominant lover and an angry warrior. He gradually learns from the Patroclus that sacrifice is based on the surprising role of the death. The change in his character centers on the belief that the only thing that ...