2. EPIC
- Is a long narrative poem which features
heroes, heroic deeds and exploits.
CHARACTERISTICS:
1.The setting is vast.
2.It begins with the statement of the
theme.
3.It includes epithets.
4.It shows divine intervention.
4. Introduction
• Iliad means “a poem of Ilium.”
• Put to writing, based on several oral
traditions sometime in the 7th
or 8th
centuries.
• Homer is the traditional author, from
Asia Minor, probably Chios. Asian
dialect.
• Tradition has it that he was blind.
5. Troy and Myth
• Trojan war was to have taken place
about 1200 B.C.
• The war lasted ten years, but the Iliad
51 days in the last year.
• The original audiences already knew
what preceded these days.
• Achilles’ death and the Trojan Horse
take place after the Iliad closes.
6. • What does evoking the Muse entail? What is
the epic about?
• Ancient Greeks treated this poem as a
sacred text. What does Homer teach us
about the existence of evil in the world?
• What is the basis of Agamemnon’s
authority? Characterize his leadership style.
In what ways is he an effective leader? In
what ways is he deficient?
• With which combatant, Agamemnon or
Achilles, do you side? Does either have
justice on his side? Why is Briseis
important?
• Do the interactions among the gods parallel
those among the humans? In what ways?
7. • This consists of three type scenes: the divine
visitation of Thetis to Achilles; the suppliant
scene of Priam to Achilles; and the burial of
Hector. Compare gods and humans in terms of
emotions and morality in this book.
• Some scholars have seen Priam's trip to
Achilles' tent as a symbolic journey to Hades;
how so?
• Why does Achilles surrender Hector? How do
Priam and Achilles console one another and
bring each other back to humanity? Do you
think that Achilles has grown as an individual
and learned wisdom about himself and the
world, or is he the same Achilles as before?
