The Iliad is an ancient epic poem attributed to the legendary poet Homer. As one of the most influential works in Western literature, the Iliad's enduring legacy continues to fascinate scholars, students, and literary enthusiasts alike. Traditionally, it is believed that it was composed in the 8th century BC and was based on older oral traditions and stories about the Trojan War and the heroes who took part in it. It is called from the city of Ilion (Troy), around which it developed.
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Historical Background of the Iliad
The Trojan War, the central event depicted in the Iliad, is believed to have taken place sometime in the 13th to 11th centuries BC. While the exact details of the war are shrouded in mystery, scholars have pieced together a plausible narrative based on archaeological evidence and ancient sources. There are many theories regarding the event. There may have been more than one Trojan War. Troy's geostrategic location near the outlet of Hellespont warrants such a possibility. The Iliad claims the Trojan prince Paris abducted Helen, the wife of the Spartan king Menelaus, sparking the war. This event led to a coalition of Greek city-states, led by Agamemnon, launching a massive military expedition to reclaim Helen and punish Troy. The poem focuses on the final stages of the war, chronicling battles, strategies, and personal struggles of the key figures involved. The poet explores themes of honour, glory, and the devastating consequences of war.
Since ancient times, many Greeks, despite their beliefs that the war was a real event, continued to doubt Homer's account. Thucydides, for example, doubted the numbers given by Homer for the number of ships. Euripides, in his work ''Helen,'' describes that the real Helen was not in Troy but in Egypt, and that in Troy was just her phantom, wanting to use it to show the lies that the wars are based on.
Themes in the Iliad
1) The Futility of War: The Iliad presents a sobering view of the devastating impact of war, with its description of violence, loss and the human toll. Despite the heroic exploits of the warriors, the poem ultimately underscores the futility and tragedy of armed conflict.
2) The Tension Between Individuals and Collective Interests: The Iliad delves into the complex relationship between the individual and the collective, as the characters struggle to balance their personal desires and ambitions with the demands of their respective communities and the greater good.
3) The Role of the Gods: The Iliad features a prominent role for the gods of the Greek pantheon, who actively intervene in the affairs of mortals, shaping the course of the war and the lives of the characters. The interplay between the divine and the human realms adds additional layers of complexity and drama to the narrative. This alternation between the world of the gods and the world of men in the play, has led many scholars to believe that the Iliad's author, Homer, presents an early theory about the world of ideas or world of forms, like Plato's theory.
4) The Heroic Code: The Iliad presents a nuanced exploration of the heroic code, which emphasises values such as honour, glory, and bravery in the face of adversity. However, as characters confront the moral dilemmas and personal sacrifices inherent in upholding these ideas, the poem also explores the limitation and consequences of this code.
5) The Human Condition: At its core, the Iliad is a profound exploration of the human condition, delving into themes of mortality, grief, love, and the universal struggles that transcend time and culture.
Major Characters in the Iliad
The Poem's characters are heroes from noble families and people of divine origins, like demigods. Apart from the gods, such as Zeus, Hera, Athena, Apollo, and others, who intervene in the flow of events, the main characters are the mortals.
1) Achilles: The legendary warrior and central figure, son of a mortal king, Peleus, and a goddess, Thetis. Neoptolemus is mentioned as his son. Neoptolemus plays a central role in some ancient Greek tragedies, one of which is Philoctetes.
2) Hector: Son of Priam and Hecuba. He is the Trojan prince and military commander, Hector is a noble and tragic figure who is torn between his love for his family and his duty to defend his city against the Greek onslaught.
3) Odysseus: The cunning and resourceful Greek leader. In contrast to Odyssey, where he plays a central role, his role in the Iliad is not as significant, with the exception of a few instances where numerous leaders appear to honour him. Agamemnon describes him as his best and most honoured friend among the Greeks.
4) Agamemnon: The powerful king of Mycenae and commander-in-chief of the Greek forces. All the Greek leaders praise and honour him. Achilles' disobedience, to follow his order and give him Briseis, has been characterised as hubris on the part of Achilles, who did not respect Agamemnon's authority. Apart from the Iliad, Agamemnon remains a central figure in some ancient Greek tragedies, such as the first part of the Oresteia, Agamemnon. In this play, Aeschylus calls hims the king of men.
5) Menelaus: Agamemnon's brother and the husband of Helen.
6) Idomeneus: He was the king of Crete and a prominent leader in the Greek army. He was known for his bravery and skill in battle.
Common Misconceptions About the Iliad
There are various misconceptions among readers about the Iliad that are understood only after one reads the entire poem.
The End of the Iliad: The end of the Iliad differs from the opinion held by most people who have not read the specific work. The poem does not actually include many incidents that the public is aware of. The real end of the book comes with Hector burial. For this reason, important events such as the fall of Troy using a wooden horse, the death of Achilles from an arrow in his heel, the death of Ajax, and other incidents are not mentioned in the book. The Trojan horse, for example, is mentioned in Odyssey. The death of Achilles is not described in Iliad, and Odyssey mentioned his funeral. In the Iliad, it is only written that the divine punishment for Achilles would come from Apollo and Paris. The death of Ajax is mentioned in Odyssey, but there is no mention of suicide as the cause of death, with the way the ancient Greek tragedy ''Ajax'' of Sophocles informs us.
One of the manuscripts of the Iliad contains a remark by an annotator to the effect that certain authorities substituted for the last line the words: Such were the funeral rites of Hector. And now there came an Amazon...'' This suggests that the line was used by poets following Homer as a link for the continuation of the story after the burning of Hector's body. We know for sure that such continuations were made and that the next episode was the arrival at Troy of the Amazon Queen, Penthesilea, who comes to Priam's help, fights Achilles, and is killed by him. The story was told by Quintus of Smyrna, who lived in the 4th century after Christ and wrote a Greek epic in the Homeric manner under the title Where Homer Ends.
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