Iliad: The Trojan War in Homer's Epic Poem

ILIAD
THE TROJAN WAR
Instructor : Salirick S. Andres
Course : Literatures of the World

 Critique the personalities of the characters revealed
by how they look like, and by what they say, think
and do.
 Interpret the meaning of the significant events in the
plot and the symbols employed in the epics.
Objectives
12/15/2019 1:23 AMSalirick S. Andres | World Literature | College of Arts
2

“Is this the face that launched a thousand ships…” ~
Marlowe
Iliad
3

Background of Iliad
 The Iliad is an ancient Greek epic poem
written in dactylic hexameter.
 It narrates an episode of the Trojan War fought between
the Achaeans (Greeks) against the Trojans.
 It centers on the battles and events during the weeks of
a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the
warrior Achilles.
 The story covers only a few weeks in the final year of
the Trojan war. 12/15/2019 1:23 AMSalirick S. Andres | World Literature | College of Arts
4

Background of Iliad
 The story is narrated in Medias Res.
 The epic narrative takes up events prophesied for the
future, such as Achilles' looming death, the fall of Troy,
and the capture of Trojan women.
 It contains 15,693 lines written in Homeric verse.
 It comprises 24 books of varying length.
 The events are usually dated to around the eighth
century BC.
5

12/15/2019 1:23 AMSalirick S. Andres | World Literature | College of Arts6

Characters (Greeks)
1. Agamemnon - King of Mycenae, leader of the Greeks.
2. Achilles - Leader of the Myrmidons, half-divine hero.
3. Odysseus - King of Ithaca, the wiliest Greek commander
and hero of the Odyssey.
4. Ajax the Greater - son of Telamon, with Diomedes, he is
second to Achilles in martial prowess.
5. Menelaus - King of Sparta, brother of Agamemnon.
6. Neoptolemus – son of Achilles, killed King Priam of Troy.
7

Characters (Greeks)
7. Diomedes - son of Tydeus, King of Argos.
8. Ajax the Lesser - son of Oileus, often partner of Ajax the
Greater.
9. Patroclus - Achilles’ closest companion.
10. Nestor - King of Pylos, and trusted advisor to Agamemnon.
11. Antilochus – son of Nestor.
12. Philoctetes – arms bearer of Hercules.
13. Calchas – a prophet of Mycenae.
14. Tiresias – a blind prophet. 12/15/2019 1:23 AMSalirick S. Andres | World Literature | College of Arts
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Characters (Trojans)
1. Hector - son of King Priam and the foremost Trojan
warrior.
2. Aeneas - son of Anchises and Aphrodite.
3. Paris - Helen’s lover-abductor
4. Deiphobus - brother of Hector and Paris.
5. Priam - the aged King of Troy.
6. Polydamas - a prudent commander whose advice is
ignored; he is Hector’s foil.
7. Agenor - a Trojan warrior, son of Antenor, who attempts to
fight Achilles.
9

Characters (Trojans)
8. Sarpedon - son of Zeus killed by Patroclus.
9. Glaucus - friend of Sarpedon and co-leader of the Lycians.
10. Euphorbus - first Trojan warrior to wound Patroclus.
11. Dolon - a spy upon the Greek camp.
12. Antenor - King Priam’s advisor, who argues for returning
Helen to end the war.
13. Polydorus - son of Priam and Laothoe
14. Pandarus - famous archer and son of Lycaon
10

Characters (Trojan women)
1. Hecuba - Priam’s wife, mother of Hector, Cassandra,
Paris, and others.
2. Helen - abducted by Paris, the cause of war
3. Andromache - Hector’s wife, mother of Astyanax
4. Cassandra - Priam’s daughter; courted by Apollo, who
bestows the gift of prophecy to her
5. Briseis - a Trojan woman captured by the Greeks; she
was Achilles' prize of the Trojan war.
6. Chryseis – daughter of Chryses, a Trojan priest of Apollo
11

Characters (Deities)
1. Zeus (Neutral) – the King of the gods/goddesses
2. Hera (Achaeans) – the queen of the gods, wife of
Zeus
3. Artemis (Trojans) – the goddess of the hunt and the
moon
4. Apollo (Trojans) – the god of truth, prophecy and
healing
5. Hades (Neutral) – the god of the underworld
6. Aphrodite (Trojans) – the goddess of love and12/15/2019 1:23 AMSalirick S. Andres | World Literature | College of Arts
12

Characters (Deities)
7. Ares (Trojans) – the god of war
8. Athena (Achaeans) – the goddess of wisdom
9. Hermes (Neutral) – the messenger/herald of the
gods
10. Poseidon (Achaeans) – the god of the sea
11. Hephaestus (Neutral) – the divine forge and
armorer
12. Iris (Achaeans) – the messenger of Zeus
13

Setting
 Takes place in the tenth
year of the Trojan War
 Various territories in
Greece.
 Trojan plains, Trojan
gates and walls.
14

Prologue
1. The wedding banquet
of Peleus and Thetis
(the parents of Achilles)
 All the Olympian gods
were invited except Eris,
the goddess of discord.
 She vowed revenge and
strife for the insult.
12/15/2019 1:23 AM
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Salirick S. Andres | World Literature | College of Arts

Prologue
1. The wedding banquet
of Peleus and Thetis
(the parents of Achilles)
 Eris (the goddess of
discord) threw a golden
apple with the inscription
“For the fairest”
12/15/2019 1:23 AM
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Prologue
2. The judgment of Paris.
 Hera: I promise to make
you the Lord of Europe
and Asia!
 Athena: You will lead the
Trojans to victory against
the Greeks and lay Greece
in ruins!
 Aphrodite: The fairest
woman in the world should
be yours!
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Prologue
2. The judgment of Paris.
 The golden apple went to
Aphrodite.
 The most beautiful woman
in the world is Helen, wife
of Menelaus, rulers of
Sparta.
 Paris left the nymph
Oenone his wife at Mt. Ida.
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The cause of war – Helen’s
abduction
 Paris went to Sparta as
a visiting ally.
 Menelaus and Helen
welcomed him as their
guest.
 Paris broke this trust and
snatched Helen with the
help of Aphrodite.
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The cause of war – Helen’s
abduction
“Paris who coming
Entered a friend’s
kind dwelling,
Shamed the hand
there that gave him
food,
Stealing away a
woman.” ~ Homer 12/15/2019 1:23 AM
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The gathering of the hosts
 The army assembled at
Aulis, a seaport in
Euboea.
 Odysseus and Achilles
are summoned, the war
will not be won without
them.
 Aulis is a place of
dangerous winds and
tides. 12/15/2019 1:23 AM
21

The gathering of the hosts
 Calchas the prophet
declared that Artemis
was angry.
 Agamemnon killed her
sacred deer.
 Iphigenia must be
sacrificed.
12/15/2019 1:23 AM
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The landing at Troy
 Protesilaus was a suitor
of Helen fulfilling his
vow.
 He was the first casualty
of the war, killed by
Hector.
 His name means “first
to be slain.”
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The landing at Troy
 Hermes brought him up
from the dead to see
once again his deeply,
mourning wife,
Laodamia.
 But Laodamia killed
herself.
 So Protesilaus begged
Hermes to die again to
join his wife in 12/15/2019 1:23 AM
24

The stalemate war
 The war lasted for nine
years with no clear
victor.
 Troy still intact, army
undefeated.
 Achilles attacked the
allies in the south and
Ajax the allies in the
north.
12/15/2019 1:23 AM
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The Plague (Book1)
 Apollo’s priest Chryses,
whose daughters
(Chryseis and Briseis)
were kidnapped prayed
for revenge.
 Apollo shoots deadly
arrows of plague to
Greek camp.
12/15/2019 1:23 AM
26

Achilles vs Agamemnon (Book 1)
 Agamemnon returns
Chryseis but got Briseis.
 Feeling dishonored,
Achilles refused to fight.
 He recalled his troops,
the Myrmidons who are
the best warriors, back
to camp.
12/15/2019 1:23 AM
27

Zeus intervenes (Book 2)
 Achilles asks his
mother, Thetis, to
ask Zeus for punishment
to Greek army.
 Zeus sent a dream to
Agamemnon, urging him
to attack Troy but they
lost a lot of men due to
Achilles’s absence.
12/15/2019 1:23 AM
28

Menalaus vs Paris (Book 3)
 A duel was set between
Menelaus, the wronged
husband; and Paris, the
abductor.
 The result will determine
the outcome of war.
 Everyone will respect
the outcome of the duel.
12/15/2019 1:23 AM
29

Aphrodite intervenes (Book 3)
 Menelaus is the clear
winner of the duel.
 Menelaus is about to
finish Paris when
Aphrodite snatches
Paris and whisks him to
Helen’s bedroom.
12/15/2019 1:23 AM
30

Athena intervenes (Book 4)
 Athena and Hera was
determined that Troy be
destroyed.
 She persuaded Pandarus
to break the truce and
shoot an arrow to
Menelaus.
 The fighting rages anew
and many men died that
day. 12/15/2019 1:23 AM
31

The gods fight (Book 5)
 Diomedes and Athena
vs. Pandarus and
Aeneas and Aphrodite
and Apollo.
 Ares and Hector vs.
Diomedes and Athena.
 Ares vs Athena
 Diomedes vs Ares
12/15/2019 1:23 AM
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The divine rumble follows…
33
 Aristeia – an episode/day glorious bravery and gallantry
in battle
 Book 5 is the aristeia of Diomedes. Book 5 is also entitled
Diomedia
 Other heroes have their own aristeia too.
 Ichor - the ethereal fluid flowing in the veins of the gods

Diomedes and Glaucus (Book 6)
 Glaucus and Diomedes
challenged each other to
a combat.
 After learning their
common lineage, they
became friends and
exchanged armors.
12/15/2019 1:23 AM
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Hector and Paris (Book 6)
 Hector chastises Paris
for his cowardly acts
after finding him in bed
with Helen.
 Hector visits his wife
Andromache with his
son Astyanax, to whom
he said, “Greater is he
than his father.”
12/15/2019 1:23 AM
35

Hector vs Ajax (Book 7)
 Hector and Ajax fought a
duel with no clear
winner.
 They call for a truce to
let each side bury their
dead.
 Antenor suggests to
return Helen and end the
war but Paris resents.
 Zeus forbids the gods
from intervening this
12/15/2019 1:23 AM
36

Hector’s aristeia (Book 8)
 Zeus watches the battle
from Mt. Ida and decides
to give Troy victory for
the day.
 Hector is everywhere,
slaying hundreds of
men.
12/15/2019 1:23 AM
37

Greeks convene (Book 9)
 Greeks were
demoralized with the
onslaught of Hector.
 Nestor rebukes
Agamemnon for
Achilles’s refusal to fight.
 Agamemnon convinces
Achilles but he still
refused to fight.
12/15/2019 1:23 AM
38

Game of spies (Book 10)
 Greeks sent Diomedes
and Odysseus to spy on
Trojan lines by night.
 Trojans sent Dolon to
counterspy the Greeks
too.
 Diomedes and
Odysseus capture Dolon
and kill him after getting
information. 12/15/2019 1:23 AM
39

Aristeia of Agamemnon (Book 11)
 Agamemnon sweeps the
battlefield with strength
and vigor.
 But the Greeks were
slowly defeated due to
Achilles’s absence.
12/15/2019 1:23 AM
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Greeks retreat (Book 12)
 The onslaught of Trojans
were supported by Zeus
as promised to Thetis.
 The Greeks retreat in
their ships.
12/15/2019 1:23 AM
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Aristeia of Idomeneus (Book 13)
 Idomeneus, the Cretan
king, has his aristeia as
he holds off the Trojan
attackers.
 The Trojans were not
used to fight near ships,
they use to fight on
plains.
12/15/2019 1:23 AM
42

Poseidon intervenes (Book 14)
 Poseidon disguised as
the prophet Calchas.
 He stirred the Greek to
defend their ships and
fight till the end.
12/15/2019 1:23 AM
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Hera seduces Zeus (Book 15)
 Zeus was seduced by
Hera using Aphrodite’s
girdle.
 After their act,
Morpheus, god of sleep,
lulls Zeus to sleep.
12/15/2019 1:23 AM
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Death of Patroclus (Book 16)
 Patroclus got permission
to wear Achilles’s armor.
 The aristeia of Patroclus,
kills many Trojans
including Sarpedon,
Zeus’s son.
 Achilles warned him to
just defend the ships,
but he stormed the
Trojan walls. 12/15/2019 1:23 AM
45

Aristeia of Menelaus (Book 17)
 With aid of Apollo,
Hector kills Patroclus,
stripped Achilles’s armor
and dons it.
 Menelaus protected the
corpse of Patroclus and
killed many Trojans
attempting to mutilate it.
 It was finally brought to
camp.
12/15/2019 1:23 AM
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Achilles mourns (Book 18)
 Achilles mourns, vows
revenge for Patroclus.
 Thetis comforts Achilles,
reminding him of his
fate.
 Achilles decides to go
back to battle, Thetis
asks Hephaestus to
forge new arms for
Achilles. 12/15/2019 1:23 AM
47

Achilles returns to war (Book 19)
 Achilles wants the Greek
to attack right away but
Odysseus urged them to
eat and rest first.
 Achilles said he will not
eat nor rest until he
avenged Patroclus.
12/15/2019 1:23 AM
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Aristeia of Achilles (Book 20)
 Achilles slew thousands
of men in his onslaught.
 Aeneas was nearly killed
but saved by Poseidon
upon order of Zeus.
 Aeneas is destined to be
the sole survivor among
the Trojans and will be
the founder of Rome.
12/15/2019 1:23 AM
49

Achilles and the gods (Book 21)
 Achilles kills Scamander,
the god of the river in Troy
and Lycaon, son of Priam.
 He nearly killed Agenor but
Apollo saved him.
 Athena defeated Ares and
Aphrodite, Hera braided
Artemis
 Poseidon and Apollo
squared off.
12/15/2019 1:23 AM
50

Death of Hector (Book 22)
 All Trojans hide behind
the walls except Hector.
 Zeus and the gods
watch as destiny
unfolded.
 Athena disguised as
Deiphobus fakely
assisted Hector.
 Achilles stabs Hector in
the throat. 12/15/2019 1:23 AM
51

Funeral of Patroclus (Book 23)
 12 Trojans were
sacrificed to be burned
along with Patroclus’s
corpse.
 Funeral games were
conducted.
 Hector’s corpse was
protected by Apollo and
Aphrodite
12/15/2019 1:23 AM
52

Funeral of Hector (Book 24)
 Achilles drags Hectors
body around Patroclus’s
bier for 11days.
 Priam, escorted by
Hermes, ransoms
Hector’s body from
Achilles.
 Achilles grants 12 days
of truce for Hector’s
funeral. 12/15/2019 1:23 AM
53

Funeral of Hector (Book 24)
54
 All Trojans lamented Hector’s death.
 Trojans gather wood in the mountains and burn Hektor's
body.
 His bones are then placed in a golden chest.
 Afterward, a great funeral banquet is served in Priam's
palace.
 IIiad ends.

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