Analysis of Iliad by Homer - Essay Example

The epic poem narrates a story about ten years after the war where the Achaeans attacked a Trojan town and kidnappedtwo maidens namely chrysies and Braises. Chrysies is taken by Agamemnon the commander-in-chief of the Achaean army. The father to Chrysies tries to beg the commander- in- chief to surrender the daughter in exchange of a huge ransom but the commander refuses (Homer, Fagles, Knox, 17). Chrysie being a priest of the god Apollo he prays to Apollo for help. This prayers result in Apollo sending a plague to the Greek camp which leads to the death of many soldiers. The plague leads to the Achaeans returning the maiden to the father who in turn makes sacrifices to the god Apollo to lift the plague from the Achaeans. The poem focus on the rage of the Achilles as it scrutinizes the beginnings and the end of the wrath. Invocation is a major epic convention that has been used by the poet in the Iliad as shown in the following excerpt of invocation that is made at the beginning of the poem. “Sing, Goddess, sing of the rage of Achilles, son of Peleus that murderous anger which condemned Achaeans to countless agonies, threw many warrior souls deep into Hades, leaving their dead bodies carrion food for dogs and birds, all in fulfillment of the will of Zeus”. (Homer, Fagles, Knox, 11). Invocations are forms of prayers that are said a god or gods. Invocation can be defined as an entreaty for aid, protection, inspiration and guidance from a Muse, deity, or spirit. The gods play an important role in the poem. The poets at that time would begin by asking for a blessing from the muse, god or gods before embarking on reciting the poem to the audience. It was believed that the gods would enter the poet thus not the poet speaking but the god that had entered the poet’s body. Due to the poem being long and complex the invocation at the beginning acts as a theme statement that announces about what the recitation will be about. This helped the audience appreciate not only what was being said but also how it was being presented by the poet. The gods in the poem are external forces upon the course of events. This is shown when the god Apollo sends the plague to the Achaean army. On an internal and personal perspective Athena, the goddess of wisdom, is shown in the poem as persuading Achilles to cut Agamemnon with words and insults rather than his sword. The gods which are shown through invocation they play a significant role in the issues of death, life, peace violence and comic relief. The relationships between the gods and the people’s way of life have some connection in respect to the quarreling between the gods, Zeus and Hera, is more like the as the intense exchange between Agamemnon and Achilles. Apart from the gods being immortal and possessing powers, use of invocations portrays the gods to be more susceptible to human irrationality than the characters in the poem. For example Zeus promises to help the Trojans because he owes Thetis a favor and not because of it being a moral concern. This is also shown by the god Apollo in his action towards Agamemnon because of an insult to him (Francis 46). The invocations show the importance of the family in fiction. The gods in the Iliad behave like a family. In Iliad the family quarrels develop a link between the factual world of the audience and the fictional world of the poem. This can be easily understood through Zeus response to Thetis’ request is determined on how his wife will react (Hawkins 17). The gods in the Iliad are shown as familiar to the people as family but have extraordinary powers and can use them to promote their extreme egotistical desires such as the actions of the god Apollo. They enhance the theme of conflict often resulting in the destruction of human life such as the warriors fighting in the war. The gods in this case view divine favor and divine destruction as arbitrary. Divine intervention is considered important in the issues of human behavior shows how the warriors in the war should respond to the emotional forces brought by the often considered irrational and irresistible gods (Shipp, 93). The invocations in the Iliad show a sense that the justice of the Olympian gods work by consistent ethical principle which is different from what is seen to be ruling the warriors. This is shown when Menelaus prays to Zeus for victory over Paris because Paris had broken the law of hospitality. It is also shown when Achilles wishes that the serious conditions of life might change to less destructive conditions before setting out to avenge Patroclus as shown in the following excerpt from the poem. “. . . . So let wars disappear from gods and men and passionate anger, too, which incites even the prudent man to that sweet rage, sweeter than trickling honey in men's throats, which builds up like smoke inside their chests. . . .” (Homer, 18.133). Invocations cause extraordinary conduct in war divinely. The gods in the poem are seen to be helping warriors such as Diomedes to acquire heroic powers that change him into an invincible fighter that results in him becoming victorious as shown in the following example from the poem. “Then Pallas Athena gave Diomedes, son of Tydeus, strength and courage, so among all Argives, he would stand out and win heroic glory. She made his helmet blaze with tireless flames, his shield as well—like……… his head and shoulders the goddess put a fiery glow, and then drove him forward, right into the middle of the strife, the killing zone, where most warriors fight”. (Homer, 5.1). The poetuses other epic conventions such as in medias res which means “it begins in the middle of things”. The poem begins with this epic convention that has flashbacks that which explain the actions that lead up to that point. In the Iliad the story in the poem begins after the war between Greece and troy and their allies has been in progress for over ten years. The use of epithets is also widely clear in the poem (Francis 50). This are renaming of the characters, gods, or things by use of stock phrases. This is shown in the re- naming of Agamemnon and Menelaus as “the twin eagles”. The epithets are important because they add description due to the confusion that arises about who is doing what in the poem. The poem uses catalogues of things and characters. As the Old Testament has catalogues of genealogies the poem has many lists of history such as the lists of the ships that sailed from Greece to Troy (Francis 57). In conclusion the epic simile which makes comparison to an event or object which is often familiar to the audience. For example in the Iliad there are many similes comparing warriors to lions attacking wild boars. The similes are used to introduce characters. In the poem the poet describes Agamemnon with a simile every time he reenters the battle. The similes are also significant in foreshadowing and keeping the reader interested. This is shown in the crucial confrontation of Achilles and Hector. The similes in the Iliad are also used to stress physical motion and emphasis on emotional disturbance. Works cited Homer, Fagles, Richard and Knox, Bernard. The Rage of Achilles. Penguin, 1995. Homer. The Iliad. RicherResourcesPublications, Nov 30, 2006. Francis, Pauline. The Iliad. London: Windmill Books, 2009. Hawkins, Terence. The Rage of Achilles. London: Casperian Books LLC, 2009. Shipp, G.P. Studies in the Language of Homer. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.2000. Read More