The iliad is an ancient greek epic poem by homer that was first published in 762 bc. Achilles is angered that apollo has prevented him from gaining more glory, and begins running toward the walls of troy. First, the priest chryses comes to ask their leader, king agamemnon, to release his daughter, whom agamemnon was holding captive. Hera sends a mist to confuse and slow the retreat of the men going back towards the city. The gods, however, continue to preserve the corpse so that it does not deteriorate or rot. Achilles daily drags the body of hector around troy. Nine days pass after the funeral, and on each of these days, achilles ties the body of hektor to his chariot and drags it around the barrow of patroklos.
Litcharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in the iliad, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. Achilles chases the man he believes to be agenor, but soon apollo reveals himself to achilles, taunting him for chasing a god. Then the princes of the achaeans took the son of peleus to. Oct 19, 2016 10192016 the iliad book 24 summary 24summary. The significance of the detailed nicknames and comparisons illustrates the story, thus making it easier to portray. Achilles is angered that apollo has prevented him from gaining more glory, and begins running. 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. He first discusses the question of authorship and the dispute over the iliads origin in. Jul, 2016 summary and analysis of book 24 of homers iliad, with a focus on the ransom of hectors body. Homer calls upon the goddess of poetry and inspiration the muse to sing of achilleus anger. The men prepare for the funeral, putting on their arms and building patroclus pyre. In the tenth year of the trojan war, tensions are running high among the achaians a superancient name for the ancient greeks. Eumelus, diomedes, menelaus, antilochus, and meriones participate in the race. This lesson provides an overview of book 23 of homers the iliad.
The quarrel between achilles and agamemnon in book 1 of homers iliad sets in motion a chain of events that will affect the tenth and final year of the legendary trojan war. Gill is a freelance classics and ancient history writer. Apollos priest chryses comes to the achaian camp and asks to ransom back his daughter chryseis, who has been captured. In the very first line of the iliad, the poet addresses the muse, who inspires him with song, and asks her to sing through him the story of the wrath of the son of peleus, aka achilles. 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. Apollo, however, uses his divine power to prevent any damage to hektors. A massive sacrifice is made to the gods, including the twelve trojans that achilles took captive the previous day. The iliad begins with the poet calling on the muse to sing of the wrath of achilleus and its consequences. It is a portrait of the warrior at home, war forgotten as he watches his son play and talks with his wife. Agamemnon, but hardly could they persuade him to come with them. Apollo, still angry with diomedes, knocks his whip out of his hand, but athena gives it back to. He found him in front of the highsterned ships, agonising over the war, communing anxiously with his proud heart.
At the funeral games for patroklos in book 23, achilleus behavior provides a striking contrast to his earlier quarrel with agamemnon over prizes and honor. Although the iliad begins by outlining its subject as the wrath of achilles, the poem ends with the burial of hector. Murray 1 now when they were marshalled, the several companies with their captains, the trojans came on with clamour and with a cry like birds, even as the clamour of cranes ariseth before the face of heaven, when they flee from wintry storms and measureless rain, and with clamour fly toward the streams of ocean, bearing slaughter and death to pigmy men. Most commentators consider this scene to be the most moving in the iliad. Summary nine days pass after the funeral, and on each of these days, achilles ties the body of hektor to his chariot and drags it around the barrow of patroklos. The assembly agon now broke up and the people went their ways. Book 24 remember your own father, great godlike achilles as old as i am, past the threshold of deadly old age. Check out our revolutionary side byside summary and analysis. Hector is the only trojan standing outside the citys walls, waiting to fight. Agamemnons rejection of chryses in book i leads to all of the events of the iliad. Follow this link for a detailed summary of the iliad includes a capsule summary, and a summary of which sides the gods take in the iliad. At the beginning of the section apollo calls him that man without a shred of decency in his heart, all brute force and wild pride, and no shame that does great harm or drives men on to good. His birth date is undocumented as well, though most modern. The iliad book 24 summary when the games are over and the crowds disperse, achilleus keeps grieving for patroklos.
Homers epic poem the iliad tells the story of the trojan war and the epic heroes and gods, including achilles, hector, odysseus, athena, ares. The wrath of achilles is finally assuaged in book xxiv. The annenberg cpbproject provided support for entering this text. While seven greek cities claim the honorof being his birthplace, ancient tradition places him in ionia, located in the eastern aegean. See a complete list of the characters in the iliad and indepth analyses of achilles, agamemnon, and hector. The end of book vi is the famous scene between hector and andromache and their infant son, astyanax. Course heros video study guide provides indepth summary and analysis of book 24 of homers epic poem the iliad. The iliad sparknotes literature guide volume 35 sparknotes literature guide series 9781411469754.
Get a detailed summary and analysis of every chapter in the book from. Though we are in the tenth year of the trojan war, these encounters are the most violent that have taken place since. Book 24 is a portrait of grief, from anger to compassion. In different ways, each book comments on the issues that had fueled achilleus anger. The next day, an achaean force led by meriones cuts timber for patroclus funeral pyre. Home english literature classic books the iliad book xxiii. Summary and analysis of book 24 of homers iliad, with a focus on the ransom of hectors body. These epics tell the story of the trojan war and odysseus journey home after the war, respectively. In this chapter, we see achilles mourn and honor patroclus by overseeing his friends funeral and proceeding funeral games. Oct, 2017 the iliad book summary in under five minutes. This barcode number lets you verify that youre getting exactly the right version or edition of a book. He lies awake and remembers all the things that they did together. Each day, he fastens hektors corpse to the back of his chariot.
Achilles oversees a series of funeral games to celebrate the memory of patroclus. He tells priam to go in alone, then back to olympos. The games end but achilles cannot sleep because he yearns for his friend. Homers epic poem the iliad tells the story of the trojan war and the epic heroes and gods, including achilles, hector, odysseus, athena, ares, paris. Murray 1 now zeus, when he had brought the trojans and hector to the ships, left the combatants there to have toil and woe unceasingly, but himself turned away his bright eyes, and looked afar, upon the land of the thracian horsemen, and of the mysians that fight in close combat, and of the lordly hippemolgi that drink the milk of mares, and of the abii.
Chryses, priest of apollo, comes to the greek camp to ransom his daughter, chryseis, held captive by agamemnon. The epic poem ends with the trojans burying hector. The free the iliad notes include comprehensive information and analysis to help you understand the book. Iliad cliffs notes series commp3 edition by bob linn ph. See important quotations explained achilles continues mourning patroclus and abusing hectors body, dragging it around his dead companions tomb. In book 24 of homers the iliad, priam of troy goes to the myrmidon camp and asks achilles for hectors body. Homers epic poem the iliad tells the story of the trojan war and the epic heroes and gods. Notes the genealogy of the royal house of troy textual variants from the oxford classical text notes on the translation suggestions for further reading pronouncing glossary. Epic similes and epithets of the iliad epic similes epithets there are many epic similes and epithets of the iliad to explain or compare certain events to the story. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of the iliad and what it means.
Up to this point achilles has been stuck in anger fed by grief. He goes out of his house, planning to further disgrace hectors body but the gods take pity on the fallen trojan. Achilles follows the trojans into the river, hacking them to pieces with his sword. 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. Books 23 and 24 of the iliad bring the story of achilleus anger to a close. The iliad the greeks believed that the iliadand the odyssey were composed by a single poet whom they named homer. So the fighting raged, while swiftfooted antilochus brought the news to achilles. Iliad i is a reader for the first book of homers great war epic with notes and commentary by simon pulleyn, former lecturer in classics at merton college, oxford.
Priams invocation of achilles own father, peleus, forges a momentary bond between him and achilles. These free notes consist of about 101 pages 30,062 words and contain the following sections. She has a masters degree in linguistics and is a former latin teacher. This time, however, the fathers prayers are immediately granted. Achilles kindness to priam in book xxiv ends the warriors wrath and. At first patroclus pyre does not burn, but achilles prays to the gods of the west and north wind. He is insulted and sent away, and apollo sends a plague on the greeks. Iliad studyguide, books 124 western michigan university.
The iliad summary in the tenth year of the trojan war, tensions are running high among the achaians a superancient name for the ancient greeks. Crossreferences in notes to this page 1 apollodorus. Many people have noted connections between the last book and the first because both involve a father seeking the return of a child. He first discusses the question of authorship and the dispute over the iliads origin in oral or written poetry.
Hearken unto me, all ye gods and goddesses, that i may speak what the heart in my breast. 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. Murray 1 now dawn the saffronrobed was spreading over the face of all the earth, and zeus that hurleth the thunderbolt made a gathering of the gods upon the topmost peak of manyridged olympus, and himself addressed their gathering. At the funeral games for patroklos in book 23, achilleus behavior provides a striking contrast to his earlier quarrel with. All the people of troy grieve his loss, and the three trojan women testify to his humane qualities. I explain to students that this class they will preread and read the last two iliad excerpts, reading books 22 and 24, in our literature book the language of literature mcdougal littell, 2003 and complete the assignment assignment. Read an overview of the entire poem or a line by line summary and analysis. The first event is the chariot race, and achilles lays out rich prizes for the victors. Books 1 to 4 of the iliad trace the events from the breaking out of the quarrel between achilles and agamemnon to the first combat on the battlefield. The iliad ends with the burial of hektor to emphasize the moral redemption of achilleus rather than the destruction. Apollo addresses the gods wondering aloud why they dont allow hector a. He falls to his knees and begins kissing achilleuss handsthe hands that killed so many of his sons. Achilles singlehandedly splits the trojan forces, driving one half towards the city and one half into the river. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans.
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