The Iliad Study Guide
The Iliad Study Guide
The Iliad Study Guide
Study Guide
What is a hero?
Do humans have free will or are we all pre-destined?
What is friendship? What is loyalty?
Can courage be defined? Is revenge ever justified?
Does might make right? How valuable is perseverance?
How important are family and family obligations?
As you read the Iliad, keep these questions in mind and make note of when
you think Homer is offering answers to these questions. These questions can
guide you as you construct your dialectical journal. Perhaps you will see
other important questions that the poet is asking. Make note of these
questions as well.
The following pages will give some guidance to you as you tackle this very
important piece of literature. The expectation is that you will read the entire
poem. The following books are most important and should be read very
closely: Books 1, 2, 3,6, 9, 11, 16, 18, 19, 22, 24. Read the remaining
books less closely and focus your attention on the broad ideas and general
plot.
1. It might be helpful to maintain your own list of names that repeat themselves and
seem important.
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2. Use this evolving study guide for assistance in isolating what's important.
3. Use the glossary at the back of your book to help keep track of who is who.
1. The following are names that the poet uses to signal "The Greeks" (that is, the Greek
army):
* Achaeans =
* Danaans =
* Argives =
* Hellenes =
* Greeks
* Troy =
* Ilium
3. The poet uses two names for Paris (the son of Priam who took away Helen of Sparta,
thereby starting the war)
* Paris =
* Alexander
4. The "sons of Atreus" are Agamemnon and Menelaus; also known as the Atridae
(singular Atrides)
And, again similarly, the two Ajaxes are sometimes called Aeantes.
We'll learn soon why the poet uses a variety of names to refer to the same thing.
Note that for the following summaries, you are expected to know (of course) much more
in detail about the episodes and people. What this guide will help with is isolating which
people and episodes are the important ones on which to focus.
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Book 1 Plague. Anger of Achilles.
* The proem (what does it announce about the nature of the poem?)
* The priest's appeal and the plague (what do we learn about Agamemnon?)
* The assembly and the quarrel (how might "gift-exchange" be thought to underlie the
central interactions between Ag. & Achilles?)
* Achilles and Thetis (what principal theme is introduced into the poem?)
* The assembly of the gods (how does this mirror, and how does it contrast, the mortal
assemblies we saw at the opening of the book?)
* Thetis, mother of Achilles, a goddess (one of the 50 Nereids, daughters of the Old
Man of the Sea = Nereus)
* Zeus, king of the gods
* Hera, Zeus' wife and sister
* Hephaestus, the "smithy" god, who is lame
* Athena, a virgin goddess dressed in armor and associated with cultivated wisdom
* Apollo, the "archer" god, who sends the plague, but also is the god of music and art
(as we see at the end of the book)
* Troy
* Aulis
* Mount Olympus
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Book 2 Dream. Trial. Catalogue of Ships.
* Zeus sends a (false) dream to Agamemnon, and Agamemnon decides to test his army
(what does the reaction of the army tell us? what does this episode tell us about
Agamemnon?)
* The Thersites episode (in what sense does this reflect the argument between
Agamemnon and Achilles in Book one?)
* The (fact of a) "catalogue of ships" (what is the net effect of this long catalogue?
why does the poet insert it here?)
* Odysseus (leader of the Greeks, from Ithaca, esp. known for his cleverness at
speaking)
* Thersites (deformed subversive from the lower ranks)
* the Muse (goddess of inspiration and memory, called on by the poet before
undertaking a particularly difficult poetic feat)
* Hector (principal fighter on the Trojan side, son of Priam)
Book 3 Oaths. Viewing from the Walls. Combat of Paris & Menelaus.
* Paris and Menelaus agree to fight in single combat (Abortive attempt to end the war
#1).
* Helen points out the warriors to Priam from the walls of Troy.
* Paris and Menelaus fight, and Aphrodite whisks Paris away to the bed of Helen.
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Book 4 Breaking of the Oaths. Agamemnon Reviews the Troops.
* Diomedes (Greek) and Glaucus (Trojan) meet: the story of Bellerophon: D. and Gl.
decide to exchange armor.
* Hector returns to the city and visits his mother, wife, and child; as well as Paris and
Helen.
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The principal new characters are:
* Glaucus, Trojan hero who exchanges his golden armor for Diomedes' bronze armor
* Bellerophon, ancestor of Glaucus
* Hecuba, wife of Trojan king Priam, mother of Hector (and many others)
* Andromache, wife of Hector
* Astyanax, infant son of Hector
Book 7 Combat of Hector and Ajax. Burial of the Dead. Building the Wall.
* Hector challenges the Greeks to single combat: Ajax is chosen by lot to fight. The
duel ends without the death of either hero.
* Antenor (a Trojan elder) advises the Trojans to return Helen; Paris objects, but
makes the offer to give back other plunder with additional payment. The Greeks refuse.
(Abortive attempt to end the war #2.)
* Ajax, Greek warrior, the "bulwark of the Achaeans": here we get our first full view
of this warrior, a huge man with little cleverness and much strength (Ajax will commit
suicide after the war when Odysseus, rather than he, is awarded the armor of the dead
Achilles-- this is the subject of Sophocles' play, the Ajax).
* Poseidon, god of the sea, and builder of the walls of Troy
* This is one of several books which gives us the feel of the back and forth of the
battle. There are no episodes of remarkable importance, but note that by the end of the
book the Greeks are very much getting the best of the battle. Read quickly, but notice
things like
o Zeus' magnificent use of scales
o the gods' agreement on the fated death of Patroclus
o the beautiful, yet ominous simile that ends the book
* None
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Book 9 Embassy to Achilles.
* The "embassy" to Achilles: an important episode. Ajax, Odysseus, and Phoenix visit
Achilles in his hut to try to persuade him to rejoin the fighting. Odysseus details the gifts
proffered by Agamemnon. Phoenix tells the story of Meleager. Ajax bluntly rebukes the
stubborn hero.
* The story of Meleager and the boar
* The aristeia of Agamemnon. After giving the Trojans a bad time, Agamemnon is
wounded and must withdraw.
* But now the battle turns badly against the Greeks, and their leaders are wounded one
by one: Diomedes, then Odysseus, then Machaon; even Ajax, though unwounded, is
beaten back to the ships
* Patroclus, at Achilles' command, goes to Nestor's hut to see who has been wounded:
Nestor suggests to Patroclus that he ask Achilles if he, Patroclus, can lead the Myrmidons
into battle and wear Achilles' armor
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Book 12 Battle about the Wall.
* The battle rages hot; more back and forth; at the end Hector breaks through the wall
and the Trojans rush in to attack the ships
* Polydamas gives a sinister interpretation to an omen, but Hector ignores him
* At 359 Sarpedon and Glaucus give a detailed statement of the heroic code; note the
simile that precedes.
* None
* Poseidon intervenes for the Achaeans, who are desperately trying to save their ships
(the last chance for safety) from the rampaging Trojans.
* None
* The "Beguiling of Zeus": to distract Zeus, Hera (with an assist from Aphrodite)
seduces Zeus, who falls asleep.
* With Zeus asleep, the Greek (with an assist from Poseidon) gain the upper hand in
the battle, and Ajax knocks out Hector, who is carried from the battle.
* None
* Zeus wakes up, and is not happy. With Apollo's help, Hector recovers, and the
Trojans rush upon the Greek ships. The Greek situation is now desperate.
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Book 16 Aristeia and Death of Patroclus.
* Patroclus returns to Achilles and tries to persuade him to relent. Achilles will not, but
does agree to what Nestor had suggested to Patroclus towards the end of Book 11: that
Patroclus lead out his troops, the Myrmidons, and wear Achilles' famous armor.
* Patroclus kills Sarpedon, Zeus' son, but not before a famous deliberation between
Zeus and Hera as to whether Zeus can intervene and save his son from his "fate" (very
important!)
* Hector and Patroclus fight: Hector slays Patroclus.
* The fight over Patroclus' body (why so much emphasis? is there significance in
Menelaus being the first defender of the body? ["like a mother cow lowing over her
calf"]).
* Hector strips the armor from Patroclus: note well that this is Achilles' armor (what's
the consequence? when Achilles later fights Hector, what does he see?)
* Achilles' immortal horses mourn Patroclus, and Zeus meditates on human mortality
(what is the effect of this rather strange sequence?)
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* Thetis asks Hephaestus to make armor for Achilles.
* A description of the shield of Achilles: city at peace, city at war; scenes of ploughing
and reaping, scenes of vintage and herding; scene of the dance.
* Note now that Polydamas, whom we saw in Book 12, is a minor but pivotal figure
* In a complex interchange, Agamemnon and Achilles "make up" (at least sort of):
study the details of how this works itself out, esp. the role of food.
* Achilles laments Patroclus and will not eat: Athena gives Achilles divine food.
* Xanthos the horse foretells Achilles' death (notice the effect here: we now enter the
realm of the fantastic, and books 20 & 21 will continue this theme!)
* We now understand why the horses of Achilles were described as "talking horses"
* Food, though not a "character", is very important here
* Zeus unleashes the gods to battle for Trojans or Greeks as they will: and the gods do
battle! (Why does Zeus do this?)
* Achilles and Aeneas in single combat; and Aeneas (with Poseidon's help) takes a
wondrous leap.
* Achilles wreaks havoc among the Trojans, and almost kills Hector (who however is
hidden by Apollo).
* Achilles slays so many Trojans in the river Scamander that the River (as a god) rises
up and fights him.
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* Fighting among the gods: Athena & Ares, Athena & Aphrodite, etc. (What is the
effect here on our view of the divine world? How does this fold into human concerns on
the battlescape?)
* The bulk of the Trojan force escape within the walls of Troy, as Apollo deceives
Achilles.
* Scamander, chief river of the plain before Troy, here conceived as the river god.
* The death of Hector: note (1) Zeus' role, (2) the entreaty by Hector and Achilles'
reply, (3) the role of Athena, (4) Hector's last request.
* Funeral feast and games for Patroclus. Note especially: how the dispute over the
chariot race is resolved-- what are the social interactions; how Agamemnon is treated.
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The principal new characters are:
• Niobe, a mother who boast that her 12 children (6 male, 6 female) are better than
the mere two children of Leto (= Apollo and Diana), a hubris that merits a
spectacular divine revenge.
As you read the Iliad, uses these questions to help focus your attention on
the larger, more important themes of the poem. You do not have to write
responses to these questions, but use them to help guide your dialectical
journal. Pick passages/quotations from the poem that may give answers to
these questions and then record your reflections on these passages.
1. How are the gods represented, and how does the divine condition compare to the
human? How influential are the gods on human action? Compare especially the council
of heroes in Book 1 with that of the gods; the dream sent by Zeus and Agamemnon’s
response in Book 2; Aphrodite’s interventions, and Paris and Helen’s responses in Book
3.
2. Are there distinctions drawn between Greeks and Trojans? Does Homer take sides in
his representation of the heroes? Which group is portrayed more favorably?
Iliad 5-8
3. How are women represented, and what are the positions of women in the poem? See
especially Helen in 3 and 6, and Andromache in 6. Is there any psychological or
symbolic linkage to be made between the actions and attitudes of the women and of the
goddesses Thetis, Hera, Athena, Aphrodite?
4. Study Hector’s meeting with Andromache and their child Astyanax (6. 462-600). Is
Hector fighting for something different from the other heroes? What is the importance
and role of family in the heroic world?
5. Study the attitude and activity of Zeus at the end of Book 7 and the beginning of Book
8. Is there any consistency or design to the actions of the king and father of gods?
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Iliad 9-12
6. What is Agamemnon’s offer of recompense to Achilles in Book 9, and how (and why)
does Odysseus modify it? Why does Achilles refuse Agamemnon’s offer? How does
Homer shape your response to this critical rejection? What is your attitude toward
Achilles at this point in the narrative?
7. In Book 11, note the successive wounding of the various Greek heroes, and the
entrance of Patroclus. How has Patroclus’s relationship to Agamemnon been represented
thus far, and what’s the narrative effect of the poet’s
announcing, “from that moment on his doom was sealed” (11. 714
Iliad 13-16
9. Homer employs the same stallion simile to describe Hector (15. 313-18) as had earlier
described Paris (6. 604-09): Compare and contrast Hector and Paris as characters.
10. What is the effect of Patroclus dying the way he does, and why is Apollo so actively
involved in it (16. 903ff.)?
Iliad 17-20
11. Why are so many willing to battle and die over Patroclus’s corpse?
12. What is at stake for Achilles in Patroclus’s death, and why does it change his mind?
13. Study the symbolism and the thematic function of the shield which Hephaestus forges
for Achilles (18. 558-709).
14. Briseis’s only words in the epic are her lament for Patroclus (19. 333-56). Why?
Iliad 21-24
15. What ironies frame Hector’s death? Does he die a “heroic” death?
16. Why are the funeral games for Patroclus included so late in the narrative? What is
their purpose in the story as
a whole?
17. Reflect carefully on Achilles’s change of heart in Book 24. What brings it about?
Does it seems possible to you?
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