The+Iliad

= One of Homer's Greatest Poems = = = Michael English 9 15 December 2011 = = The Iliad = = ====What if someone killed your best friend? Achilles did in the book, __The Iliad__. It is a story about the fury and pain Achilles went through during the Trojan War. The Iliad, written by Homer, takes place during the Trojan War when Achilles was at the top as the greatest warrior of the Greek army.====

__Iliad__ starts when the prince of Troy, Paris, kidnaps the Helen of Troy from Menelaos during the Trojan War. (Home
== ====r) The story then shifts to Agamemnon and how he offended Apollo by stealing one of the priest’s daughters. He then forces Achilles to give up his battle prize and lover, Briseis. Achilles feels to much pain to fight and refuses to fight in the war. His mother then goes to Mount Olympus and convinces Zeus to have the Greeks start to weaken until Achilles realizes he needs to fight and help to Greeks out. The story then shifts back to Menelaos and Paris and their epic duel. It seems Menelaos is going to win. Suddenly, Aphrodite saves Paris. Then controlling a Trojan warrior, she shot Menelaos in the back ending the duel. Meanwhile, the Greeks are not doing so well. Agamemnon hadno choice but to try to have Achilles come back and fight. He offers Briseis back but he refuses and keeps within his tent. Achilles remains but allows his partner in war, Patroclus, to wear his armor and use his sword. While trying to lead his troops back, Patroclus gets killed by Hector, a Trojan warrior. The news soon comes back to Achilles. He is furious. He goes back to battle in search of Hector. Hector thought Athena was on his side, but when she leaves, Achilles finds Hector and chases him down. Finally, Achilles got revenge and attached his body to a chariot and ride the it around Troy. The poem ends there (Jaynes).==== = = ====The Iliad took place during the time of the Trojan War, a violent war between the Greeks and Trojans. The battle lasted for ten years between them though one day, crafty Odysseus prepared a plan to finally put an end to the war and m ost importantly, Sparta and all Trojans. Having all the Greeks ships in hiding or sent away, the Trojans assumed that they had one ( Fleischman). At the foot of Troy, they left a gift. A massive horse called the Trojan Horse made of wood with wheels at the bottom so they can bring it inside Troy. It seemed like an offering from the goddess, Athena, but this was not the case at all. The Trojan Horse actually had many Greek warriors inside ready with their weapons to surprise the Trojans. While all the Trojans were out partying and getting drunk thinking they had won. When finally falling asleep, the Greeks came out of the Horse and flanked them and killed all of them finally ending the war between them for the last ten years (Trojan). ====

====One of the main characters in the Iliad is Achilles, one of Greece’s great warriors. During the Trojan War, he was the greatest and fastest hero. Though he dies before the Greeks take the city of Troy, he helped defeat them with the Trojan Horse. In the Iliad, it does not describe his death. It begins with him withdrawing from the Trojan War. He dishonored Agamemnon, the Greek commander-in-chief. After Agamemnon kidnapped the daughter of a priest of Apollo, he begged to have her back. Agamemnon refused so Apollo sent a plague though the Greek people. Achilles vowed to protect him, which he did, but Agamemnon made Achilles gave up his battle prize and lover, Briseis. He decides to give her up but he then refused to fight in the war. Wearing Achilles’ armor into battle, Patroclus tries to fight against the Trojans, but later killed by Hector. The information eventually got back to Achilles. He decided to fight in the war in honor of his beloved companion. After chasing Hector, Achilles killed him and did not respect Hector’s last wish, for him to treat his body with admiration. Achilles finally got his vengeance (Jaynes).==== = = ====Now knowing that the Iliad is about Achilles and his fury toward the Trojans, sometimes we forget who caused all of his pain and anger through the story. Agamemnon always treated Achilles wrongly and was cruel at some points in the story. Like how in the beginning how he stole a girl who was the daughter of one of Apollo’s priests. He then forced Achilles to give up his battle prize and lover because he refused to give back the priest’s daughter. He never realized by doing this, he almost doomed the entire society of Greece. After forcing Achilles to give up his lover and prize, Achilles stayed in his tent while the war was going on without him. Agamemnon knows that if the Greeks do not have Achilles, they will be doomed so he offers him to give back Briseis but Achilles declines the offer and stays within the safety of his tent. Some of the finest Greek warriors and Agamemnon become injured in battle while Achilles is safe in his tent. The Greeks were becoming very weak and could not bear the force of the Trojan empire. Agamemnon realizes he has to resolve the differences between them and start fighting back against the Trojans. Achilles comes back to fight after the death of Patroclus and Agamemnon and Achilles finally come to conclusion and stop fighting with each other. The story ends with Hector's death by being dragged by a chariot with Achilles driving it(Jaynes).====

====Although this book is interesting, some challenge that Homer, author of Iliad and Odyssey, did not write this book. Some say multiple authors wrote it and Homer got the credit because he was most well-known. Homer does not have a lot of background information, but his writing can tell us some things about him (Ancient Greek Poet). If he really did exist, he would have lived during the ninth century. Bards developed theses stories about four centuries before and people pasted it down to generations and eventually Homer wrote it down as far as we know. Though we are not certain that Homer wrote the Odyssey and Iliad, we know he was a writer. He wrote hymns now called Homeric Hymns. These were a series of short poems celebrating the various gods. He was considered one of Greece’s greatest writers (Homer).====

====The Iliad, one of Greeks finest and most historical pieces of literature, possesses action, love, and great courage from Achilles, the main character. Literature and mythology still have great importance in today’s culture and understanding of the past for future references.==== = =

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==== "Trojan War - Major Events in the Trojan War." //Ancient / Classical History - Ancient Greece & Rome & Classics Research Guide//. Web. 14 Dec. 2011. . ====

Homer, Robert Fagles, and Bernard Knox. //The Iliad//. New York, N.Y., U.S.A.: Viking, 1990. Print.
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