This is a list of principal characters in homers iliad and odyssey greeks in the trojan war. The iliad is attributed to the poet homer and is the earliest surviving work of western literature. In the iliad certain heroic characters play major roles in the battles even though the reader knows that many more common soldiers must be involved. Later in the middle ages, dante noted this aspect of the passage and placed diomedes and odysseus in the 8th circle of hell, bolgia, the evil counselors.
Severus is a latin word meaning severe, serious or grave. Rodents do spread plague, so the association between a divine mouse function and delivering plague makes sense, even if the greeks werent completely aware of the connection. Now the gods were sitting with jove in council upon the golden floor while hebe went round pouring out nectar for them to drink, and as they pledged one another in. It took another 10 years for everyone to return home. Homers iliad begins during the tenth year of the trojan war and opens, like most epic poems, with a request for inspiration from the appropriate muse. Dolon passes by the hiding diomedes and odysseus, and the pair spring upon him, chasing him down. Now the other princes of the achaeans slept soundly the whole night through, but agamemnon son of atreus was troubled, so that he could get no rest. The iliad is a masterful investigation of a character whom we just cant help but look up to. Some may have a divine or semidivine parent, though the hero himself is still mortal and subject to death, unlike the gods. Set during the trojan war, the tenyear siege of the city of troy ilium by a coalition of greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the. The first three books of the iliad introduce us to the plot, some of the main characters. Calchass identification of the cause of the plague ravaging the achaean army in book 1 leads inadvertently to the rift between agamemnon and achilles that occupies the first nineteen books of the iliad.
It is a curious fact about the iliad that, for all its focus on the theme of death, it rarely shows characters longing for immortality. Zeus favors the greeks in the battle of the trojan war, but he makes shortterm concessions to the gods that favor the. Book 10 takes a break from the simple if chaotic headon battles described in the rest of the poem. The first scene of the iliad finds chryses, the priest of apollo god of the sun and a whole lot of other stuff, approaching the achaian camp to ask for his daughter back. In the iliad, with the exception of book 10, the enemy does nothing secret or. Find helpful summaries and analyses for every chapter in homers the iliad. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of the iliad and what it means. Way back in the bronze age, when the iliad takes place, people went by the names of dominant tribes or regions. The achaeans also called the argives or danaans achilles.
Sing, o goddess, the anger of achilles son of peleus, that brought countless ills upon the achaeans. The brothers speak and agamemnon tells menelaus to go and wake ajax telamon. Apollos priest chryses comes to the achaian camp and asks to ransom back his daughter chryseis, who has been captured. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Here are major characters, both mortal and immortal, from the iliad. When the iliad opens, the greek forces have been besieging troy for nearly ten years and.
The events in book x are still violent, but there is no honor or nobility to offset the brutality. Although the episodes in books 9 and 10 take place during the same night, providing a. One of the more famous english versions of homers iliad, andrew lang collaborated with ernest myers and walter leaf for this prose translation. He has absolutely no reason to participate in that war as he was not allied with agamemnon. The foray of diomedes and odysseus is a foray behind enemy lines by men without scruples. The iliad book 1 book 2 book 3 book 4 book 5 book 6 book 7 book 8 book 9 book 10 book 11 book 12 book book 14 book 15 book 16 book 17 book 18 book 19 book 20 book 21 book 22 book 23 book 24 notes books 112, by hal cardiv and erwin cook books 24, by natalie trevino and erwin cook names in the iliad. And its even more impressive that those films were actually fantastic.
I got the feeling that homer whoever he was, if indeed he was one person at all was having. Check out our revolutionary sidebyside summary and analysis. The questions on this worksheet and quiz will test you on the events and characters in book 6 of homers the iliad. Dolon asks to be taken alive, and the achaeans use the opportunity to gather information from him. Iliad 10s status as the epics most doubted book with iliad 2 as a close rival. The other troops were there because all of their leaders had been suitors of helen at one time, so they swore an oath to protect he. Later achilles would play the lyre, as chiron and i listened. Dolon tells the two all about the trojan position, letting them know the best place to attack. The point is, now that you know what the things are, its high time we jumped into the middle of them.
Join a live hosted trivia game for your favorite pub trivia experience done virtually. Even though two greek heroes are the central characters and although they. Several greek and trojan characters are worth a special mention in these homeric poems because of the roles they played in the battles before the war was won, how they conducted themselves to help. A cast of thousands readings tuesday night classsept.
Agamemnon fears losing and proposes sailing away while the army still fights. The iliad is an ancient greek epic poem in dactylic hexameter, traditionally attributed to homer. However, the transition from page to screen required that a lot of cuts be made, and it also required that some pretty integral characters didnt get their moment to shine. We reached for each other and i thought of how many nights i had lain awake in this room loving him in silence. A trojan sent to spy on the achaean camp in book 10. This project will discuss how the wizard war of harry potter can be compared to the trojan war of the iliad. The will of zeus always prevails, despite any efforts of the other gods to change it. Odysseus contemptuously rejects the idea, and diomedes offers a better plan. Major characters of the iliad one of the challenges of reading epic poetry is keeping track of all the names. Book 10 involves both the greek and trojan sides sending out spies during the night.
Now the other princes of the achaeans slept soundly the wholenight through but agamemnon son of atreus was troubled so that hecould get no rest. I obviously could teach the book without rereading it, and besides, no one requires me to. Agamemnon dons a lions hide and menelaus sports a leopard skin in a book of the iliad containing much animal imagery. Achilles then went after the man he blamed for the death, hector, the prince of troy.
Information on the first book of the iliad of homer. Play sporcle s virtual live trivia to have fun, connect with people, and get your trivia on. Set during the trojan war, the tenyear siege of the city of troy ilium by a. The quiz will test you on key characters and their actions, including the name. The iliad is an epic ancient greek poem set during the trojan war and tells the tale of the arguments between king agamemnon and the hero achilles. Minerva is named for a the latin goddess of intelligence. The heroes, however, are presented literally as greater human beings than the ordinary warriors. We are told from the beginning that the story is going to be about the rage or anger of achilles, the greatest warrior in achaia greece. The most powerful warrior in the iliad, achilles commands the myrmidons, soldiers from his homeland. To repay the indignity chryses has suffered, apollo, the mouse god, rains arrows of plague on the greek forces for 9 days. In homers iliad, the epic poets heroes are often motivated by kleos, a greek word which can carry meanings such good reputation, fame, and glory. Instead, it examines the murkier realm of spying and psychological warfare. The main characters in the iliad are achilles, hector, agamemnon, and menelaus achilles is the greatest of the greek warriors.
Proud and headstrong, he takes offense easily and reacts with blistering indignation when he perceives that his honor has been slighted. Each chapter of the the supernatural section of the odyssey odysseus journey, books 9, 10 and 12 has three episodes, the characters of each increasing in their otherness from episode. Thats because, even though the iliad is over 2,000 years old, the story it tells is even older. Book 10 involves both the greek and trojan sides sending out spies during. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. Many a brave soul did it send hurrying down to hades, and many a hero did it yield a prey to dogs. The iliad was a wondrous book about love, adventure, and conflict. The son of the military man peleus and the seanymph thetis. The iliad is a collection of poems by homer describing the 10year siege on troy by greeks in what is now famously referred to as the trojan war. Hearing the sounds of battle, nestor gathers the wounded achaean commanders. The fact that achilles rage has a central importance in the poem is shown in the fact that his change of character is what brings about the works conclusion.
Agamemnon sends him rudely away, and chryses prays to apollo to punish the greeks. If a virtual private party is more your thing, go here for details. This is one of the few times when this happens, and it is interesting that hektor says it out of excitement wanting the moment to last forever instead of despair at a moment passing. The most general of these names are achaians, danaans, and argives. He goes to nestor and runs into menelaus who is also unable to sleep. The iliad begins with the poet calling on the muse to sing of the wrath of achilleus and its consequences.
I read both books aloud to my 10 year old, 7 year old, and 4 year old sons, and we all enjoyed them. The books are filled characters that are given latin names. What bothers me, though, is that by book 16, achilleus has no logical reason not to be fighting. Achilles brought his troops known as the myrmidons, was insulted by the leader of the achaean greek forces, and was sitting out the war until his close friend patroclus was killed. This lesson will summarize the action in book 10 of homers the iliad. There will come a dawn or sunset or high noon when a man will take my life in battle too flinging a spear perhaps or whipping a deadly arrow off his. I have just read all the harry potter books and i love jilly cooper, and many more, but. The harry potter books are so massive and so dense that its honestly a miracle that anyone managed to coherently translate them into individual films. I wish i had known, i said, the first day when he showed it to me. The most powerful warrior in the iliad, achilles commands the myrmidons, soldiers from his homeland of phthia in greece. Achilles is brutal, vain, pitiless and a true hero books the. Harry potter is filled with references to the classic world. There are hundreds of characters mentioned in the iliad, but there are really only a few that. All the commanders should go to the front, not to fight because they are wounded, but to inspire their army.
He gets up and looks with horror at the fires of the trojan camps. Although the story covers only a few weeks in the final year of the war, the iliad mentions or alludes to many of the greek legends about the siege. The iliad by homer ebook by andrew lang 9781781666340. Agamemnon tells his brother, tactics, my noble menelaus. He has absolute control over the eventual destinies of humans, but other gods can influence zeus in the short term, or even interfere with his intentions. The odyssey homer homers the odyssey is the epic of odysseus 10 year journey to return home to ithaca after the trojan war, while his wife penelope and son telemachus fight off the suitors who want claim to ithaca before.
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