THE ILIAD: Homer

One of the finest achievements in Western literature, Homer’s ILIAD tells the story of the darkest episode of Trojan War. At its centre Ahilles, the greatest warrior-champion of the Greeks and his conflict with his leader King Agamemnon. The story centres on the critical events in four days of the 10^th and final year of the war between the Greeks and Trojans that led to Achilles killing Hector the leader of the Trojans. The Iliad is written in the 10^th year of the Trojan War.   

The great heroes on the Trojan side are: Aeneas, Hector and Paris (Alexanderous). On the Spartan(Greek) side are: Ajax (there were two Ajaxes), Achilles, King Agamemnon, Menelaus and Odysseus.   

Greek and Roman conceptions of myth. Mythology was at the heart of everyday life in Ancient Greece. Greeks regarded mythology as a part of their history. They used myth to explain natural phenomena, cultural variations, traditional enmities and friendships. It was a source of pride to be able to trace one’s leaders’ descent from a mythological hero or god. The profound knowledge of the Homeric classics was deemed by the Greeks the basis of their acculturation.  Homer was the “education of Greece”. But Plato the great Greek philosopher expelled the study of Homer of the tragedies and of the related mythological traditions from his utopian ‘Republic’.

After the rise of philosophy, history, prose and rationalism in the late 5^th century B.C. the fate of myth became uncertain, and mythological genealogies gave place to a conception of history which tried to exclude the supernatural such as the Thucydidean history, while poets and dramatists were reworking the myths, Greek historians and philosophers were beginning to criticise them. A few radical philosophers like Xenophanes of Colophon were already beginning to label the poets’ tales as blasphemous lies in the 6^th century B.C. Zenophanes had complained that Homer and Hesiod attributed to the gods “all that is shameful and disgraceful among men; they steal, commit adultery, and deceive one another”.  This line of thought found its most sweeping expression in Plato’s ‘Republic” and “Laws”.  Plato created his own allegorical myths (such as the vision of Er in the Republic), attacked the traditional tales of the gods’ tricks, thefts and adulteries as immoral, and objected to their central role in literature. Plato’s criticism was the first serious challenge to the Homeric mythological tradition, referring to the myths as “old wives’ chatter. Nevertheless, even Plato did not manage to wean himself and his society from the influence of myth; his own characterization for Socrates is based on the traditional Homeric and tragic patterns, used by the philosopher to praise the righteous life of his teacher.  But perhaps someone might say, “Are you then not ashamed, Socrates, of having followed such a pursuit, that you are now in danger of being put to death as a result?” But I should make to him a just reply. “You do not speak well sir, if you think a man in whom there is even a little merit ought to consider danger of life or death, and not rather regard this only, when he does things, whether the things he does are right or wrong and the acts of a good or a bad man. For according to your argument all the demigods would be bad who died at Troy, including the son of Thetis, who so despised danger, in comparison with enduring any disgrace, that when his mother (and she was a goddess) said to him, as he was eager to slay Hector, something like this, I believe, My son if you avenge the death of your friend Patroclus and kill Hector, you yourself shall die”; for straightway, after Hector, is death appointed unto you”. Achilles, when he heard this, made light of death and danger, and feared much more to live as a coward and not to avenge his friend’s death and said “Straightway, may I die, after doing vengeance upon the wrongdoer, that I may not stay here, jeered at beside the curved ships, a burden of the earth.

The story of ILIAD begins with the quarrel between Achilles and King Agamemnon over a beautiful young girl called Briseis. She was given to Achilles by the Achaeans when they plundered the city of Thebes as his share of the loot. Achilles, the tower of strength of the Greek army loved the girl and she also was in love with the great Greek warrior and stayed with him in his tent in the ship. King Apollo sent pestilence upon the host (the Greek people who had come to the seashore of Troy in many ship and anchored in the sea around the city of Troy) The Greeks have been fighting with the Trojans for the last ten years over the issue of Helen, the wife of Menelaus who had been abducted by Paris (Alexandrus), the youngest son of King Priam of Troy. Menelaus is the brother of Agamemnon, the King of Greek people. Paris is the brother of Hector of Troy. Chryses is the priest of  God Apollo and prayed to the God that he was dishonoured by the King Agamemnon. The old man had gone to the King Agamemnon and requested him to get back his daughter Chryseis and he was willing to give him ransom but the King was angry with the old priest and said that he would not free her and she would live in the household of King Agamenon. This is why King Apollo sent pestilence on the Greek people and they died in hundreds and thousands. An assembly was held and Achilles asked King Agamemnon to free the girl to her father. But Agamemnon demanded the girl Briseis from Achilles. Thus they quarrelled over the girl and she was taken away by force from the ten of Achilles King Agamemnon. Achilles is the son of mortal Peleus and his mother is the Silver-footed Thetis a goddess. She is the daughter of old Merman of Oceanus and lives with her father in the Oceanus. Goddess Juno is the sister and wife to Father Jove, the dread son of Saturn. Juno has a son called Vulcan, the lame footed semi god,  who is the smith of Olympus. King Apollo is also known as Foebus Apolo is the son of Jove and lovely Leto. Apollo is always seen as a hunter with a silver bow and aquiver upon his shoulder. When he shoots arrows one by one pestilence struck man, animals alike and fall dead like rain drops.