Homer

You are welcome to read the whole poem.  In class we will be focusing our attention on Books 1-6, 9, 14, 16, 18-24.   

This site has a good map of where the various forces in the Greek camp come from, an outline of the poem, and other related background material.

This site one of many about the archaeological excavations at the historical Troy.

Homer Paragraph #1

Throughout the poem, Homer makes extensive use of the simile, a poetic device where two items are compared using “like” or “as” between them.  Choose an Homeric simile and evaluate the effect of Homer’s choice.

Here is an example from Book 4 (4:502-509)

“….But no the Trojans, no…/like flocks of sheep in a wealthy rancher’s steadings,/thousands crowding to have their white milk drained,/bleating nonstop when they hear they crying lambs--/so the shouts rose up from the long Trojan lines/…”

Please post your evaluation on our weblog.

Here is the revised paragraph option list, including all the Homer options. Download Point Distribution Term Grades Spring 2

Comments

[Jeannie]

Iliad simile #1
5/23/10

In Book 21 of The Iliad, Apollo uses a simile to make a point about not wanting to involve himself in the mortals' battle at Troy. After Poseidon appeals to Apollo to intervene, Apollo replies in lines 527-530 with, “You'd think me hardly sane/ if I fought with you for the sake of wretched mortals. . ./like leaves, no sooner flourishing, full of the sun's fire,/feeding on earth's gifts, than they waste away and die.” Here Apollo evokes the transitory and insubstantial nature of leaves to illustrate his perspective on mortal affairs. His argument seems to be that just as leaves only live for a brief time and have little individual effect on the world, so do mortals live short and insignificant lives in the eyes of gods. This simile's imagery of leaves explains Apollo's reason for not wanting to interfere in the battle.

[Jeannie]

Iliad simile #2
5/18/10

In lines 570-577 in Book 16 of The Iliad, Homer uses the simile of chopping down a great tree to make the scene of Patroclus killing Sarpedon both beautiful and tragic. The image of the tree inspires thoughts of health, majesty, purity, nature and strength. Yet the felling of the tree is not portrayed as a violent act, but rather as a purposeful operation done in a peaceful manner. The comparison is related more to agriculture and industry than to military, and so it softens the effect of the actual violence taking place in the passage. Yet, perhaps more so now than in Homer's time, trees are connoted with goodness, peace and life, and so the cutting down of a tree is sometimes seen as a symbol of unnecessary and unjust destruction. Because in the simile Sarpedon is analogous to the tree, his death also takes on those tragic qualities of a tree's death. The simile of the tree has the effects both of beautifying the killing of Sarpedon and of intensifying the sense of loss over his death. Similarly, or perhaps inversely, the simile reflects on Patroclus. His act of violence is romanticized, but he is also portrayed as the aggressor against an entity that is pure, good and defenseless. The simile at once both softens the action to a beautified level where all characters are good, and polarizes the characters into good Sarpedon and merciless Patroclus.

[Ali]

summary, book 12

Homer begins book 12 by describing the trench and wall that surround the Achaean camp. The Trojans find these barriers strong and difficult to break through, but Homer informs us that the Greeks did not give the Gods satisfactory sacrifices, and thus the trench and rampart are bound to fall. In an effort to attack the wall, the Trojans decide to get out of their chariots to proceed on foot. They begin to attack the wall, and the Greeks throw heavy rocks on them. A portentous eagle carrying a dying serpent flies overhead, and Polydamas interprets it as a sign to stop the attack, but Hector does not listen to his advice. Zeus gives Sarpedon the strength to charge the wall, and he breaks through. However, the Greeks fight hard to keep the Trojans at bay, and neither army gains any ground. Zeus gives Hector the glory of bringing the Trojan army into the Greek camp; he does so by picking up an impossibly huge rock (made light as “ram’s fleece” by Zeus) and throwing it at the gate doors. He calls to his comrades to storm the wall, and they swarm into the Greek camp.

[Steph]

Steph Yoon
Iliad Simile #1

Book 9 (392-394)

“Like a mother bird hurrying morsels back/to her unfledged young-whatever she can catch-/but its all starvation wages for herself.”

This simile is used to express the sentiments of Achilles toward Agamemnon and the role Achilles plays for him. Achilles compares himself to a mother bird that tends to Agamemnon, his dependent, weak young. Homer uses the bird’s essential “morsels” to represent treasure and riches which Agamemnon so desperately desires. Then the simile ends in Achilles’ “starvations wages,” leaving an image of him unfulfilled. In this simile, Achilles is portrayed as stronger, smarter and more powerful than Agamemnon; he is physically free to do as he pleases, but feels a sense of obligation to unfledged Agamemnon. Agamemnon is portrayed as entirely dependent on Achilles for survival; he is weak and vulnerable in the eyes of Achilles. There is a stark contrast between the image of the bird which Achilles describes and Achilles himself. The bird is maternal, passive and delicate, while Achilles is macho, aggressive and tough. Tension can also be seen in the bird’s motion. The mother bird is frantically on the move with the intention of gathering morsels. The unfledged young is stationary, doing none of the work, but reaping all of the benefits. Achilles feels used by Achilles.

[Steph]

Sorry...disregard the previous one.

Steph Yoon
Iliad Simile #1

Book 9 (392-394)

“Like a mother bird hurrying morsels back/to her unfledged young-whatever she can catch-/but its all starvation wages for herself.”

This simile is used to express the sentiments of Achilles toward Agamemnon and the role Achilles plays for him. Achilles compares himself to a mother bird that tends to Agamemnon, his dependent, weak young. Homer uses the bird’s essential “morsels” to represent treasure and riches which Agamemnon so desperately desires. Then the simile ends in Achilles’ “starvation wages,” leaving an image of him unfulfilled. In this simile, Achilles is portrayed as stronger, smarter and more powerful than Agamemnon; he is physically free to do as he pleases, but feels a sense of obligation to unfledged Agamemnon. Agamemnon is portrayed as entirely dependent on Achilles for survival; he is weak and vulnerable in the eyes of Achilles. There is a stark contrast between the image of the bird which Achilles describes and Achilles himself. The bird is maternal, passive and delicate, while Achilles is macho, aggressive and tough. Tension can also be seen in the bird’s motion. The mother bird is frantically on the move with the intention of gathering morsels. The unfledged young is stationary, doing none of the work, but reaping all of the benefits. Achilles feels used by Agamemnon.

[Steph]

Steph Yoon
Iliad Simile #2

Book 15 (382-385)

“Routed like herds of cattle or big flocks of sheep/when two wild beasts stampede them away in terror, /suddenly pouncing down their midst – pitch darkness, /the shepherd off and gone.”

This simile is used to illuminate the power and wrath of the gods on the battlefield. As the Trojans were just about to lose a battle to the Greeks, Zeus greatly favored Hector and handed him “instant glory” through Apollo, who not only breathed strength and fury into the beaten man, but also drained the courage and fight from the Greeks. This simile illuminates this moment with the Greeks as the helpless cattle/sheep, and Hector and Apollo as the two wild beasts. It shows how needlessly unfair the gods make the battle. The difference between the passive nature of the cattle/sheep and the rage of the beasts create an image of slaughter, which creates another contrast because Hector and Apollo are typically known as fair and honorable characters in The Iliad. There is also a contrast between the energy and movement of the cattle/sheep and beasts; the cattle/sheep are relatively stationary, while the beast are charging and plowing through. In this simile, the missing shepherd is Poseidon, who was helping the Greeks win, but was promptly called off by Zeus. Without the help of Poseidon, the Greeks are vulnerable and hopeless. The “darkness’ which is described in this passage can be interpreted as death which came to many of the Greeks.

[sophie]

Book 17: Menelaus’ Finest Hour

Once Hector kills Patroclus, Menelaus fights his way through the Greek soldiers to protect the body. Euphorbus is the first to challenge him, telling Menelaus to stand aside or die at his hand. Menelaus rises to this challenge, and soon drives his bronze lance into Euphorbus’ throat. From then on no one dares approach the captain. The god Apollo however, eggs Hector forward. Menelaus sees Hector charging toward him and must choose whether to desert Patroclus or fight Hector and his Trojans single-handedly. Ultimately, Menelaus leaves the body in search of his trusted comrade Ajax. The two warriors return to find Hector stripping Patroclus’ body of Achilles’ armor, and Ajax rushes to stand guard over the now naked corpse. Then Glaucus, a Trojan and the son of Hippolochus, criticizes Hector for his failure to fight Ajax head-on. Hector, incensed and indignant, vows to don Achilles’ armor and spur his men to battle. Zeus sadly shakes his head and there decrees that Hector will pay the price for his recklessness. Hector, meanwhile, keeps his vow. He straps himself into Achilles’ armor and urges the Trojans on in full force, inspiring fear in Ajax’s heart. Ajax continues to guard the body as the two sides fight around him. The Greeks have the upper hand in battle until Apollo intervenes and makes the Trojan fighter Aeneas join the fray. By that time Ajax has gathered a group of soldiers to help him protect Patroclus’s body and an enormous tug-of-war ensues. At this time, Achilles knows nothing of the day’s battle and the grief it will surely bring him. Though the Greeks continue to fight a losing battle, Menelaus and Meriones are finally able to carry Patroclus’s body back to the Greek camps and send word of his death to Achilles.

[sophie]

Book 7: Ajax Duels With Hector

After forcing Paris to join the battle, Hector and his brother rush onto the field. Paris kills Menesthius and Hector slashes the throat of Eioneus. Athena sees the tables turning suddenly in the Trojans’ favor, and swoops down from Mt. Olympus to intervene. Apollo, bent on helping the Greeks, intercepts her. The god and goddess agree to put an end to the day’s fighting. They also decide that Hector must fight Achaea’s strongest man to the death. Hector therefore addresses both armies and sets the terms for the man to man battle: the victor will strip the loser of his armor and keep it for his own, but leave the body to be properly honored. When no one from the Greek army steps forward, Menelaus, angry and ashamed of his cowardly compatriots, volunteers to face Hector himself. Nestor ultimately inspires other Greek soldiers to volunteer. Agamemnon, Diomedes, the Great and Little Ajax, Idomeneus, Odysseus—all carve their mark on a stone and throw it into Agamemnon’s helmet to be drawn. Great Ajax’s mark is chosen. He and Hector duel vigorously until two soldiers come between them, begging them to stop for the night. Zeus loves them both and would hate to either of them die at the hand of the other. Hector and Ajax thus exchange gifts and depart as friends. That night, Priam and the Trojan army send a message to the Greeks saying that though Paris refuses to surrender Helen, they are willing to end the war once each army burns the bodies of their dead. The Greeks and the Trojans collect the bodies of their fellow soldiers and cry fresh tears as they watch them go up in flame and smoke. The book ends with each army feasting, while Zeus plots the downfall of them all.

[ROSIE]

Rosie Marsters
Simile 1

Book 21, lines 25-27
In regards to Achilles killing men by the river;
Like shoals of fish darting before some big-bellied dolphin,
escaping, cramming the coves of a good deepwater harbor,
terrified for their lives-he devours all he catches-

In book 21, lines 25-27 of the Illiad, Homer uses a simile to describe Achilles thirst for Trojan blood. By comparing Achilles to a dolphin hunting down and devouring smaller fish, Achilles is put in a completely different category than the soldiers of whom he is fighting. This simile expresses that with the same difficulty as he eats, he is killing these men. In this passage the soldiers that Achilles is killing are, “terrified for their lives” as he “devours” them. This part of the passage especially, suggests that Achilles’ prey stand no chance and know it. By comparing them to a school of fish, Homer is making their deaths seem less personal and more like they are just bodies.

[Will]

Will Melnick
The Iliad 11:76-82

“And the men like gangs of reapers slashing down
the reaping-rows and coming closer, closer across
the field of a warlord rich in wheat or barley--
swaths by the armfuls falling thick-and-fast--
so Acheans and Trojans closed and slashed,
lunging into each other and neither side now
had a thought of flight that would have meant disaster”

In this simile, Homer compares the fighting of the Acheans and Trojans to men working in fields, harvesting wheat or barley. Homer is able to conjure the image of an entire field being reaped by all sides, all the plants falling simultaneously, by many hands. Homer is drawing a connection between the current fighting state of the two cities and what life would be like if the war was not occurring. He is also showing that both groups of men are equally skilled on the farm, and could essentially be workers living together, farming the same fields. The passage also shows the seriousness and determination of the soldiers, and the great effort they made to meet each other in the middle.

The Iliad 14:181-186

A shattering cry, and he surged across the plain,

thundering loud as nine, ten thousand combat soldiers

shriek with Ares’ fury when massive armies clash--so huge

that voice the god of the earthquake let loose from him lungs,

planting enormous martial power in each Achaean's heart

to urge the battle on, to fight and never flinch.

In this passage, Poseidon yells at Agamemnon, telling him of his anger over Achilles’ “murderous spirit.” The simile compares the cry of Poseidon with the yell of 10,00 soldiers going into battle. His yell serves to spur the Achaean army into the fight. Poseidon’s cry, sounding like men going into battle, actually serves to draw men into battle. Poseidon is angry with Agamemnon, and uses a cry similar to the army Agamemnon controls to show him his power.

[Jeannie]

Analysis of a Simile from The Iliad
In lines 570-577 in Book 16 of The Iliad, Homer uses the simile of chopping down a great tree to make the scene of Patroclus killing Sarpedon both beautiful and tragic. The image of the tree inspires thoughts of health, majesty, purity, nature and strength. Yet the felling of the tree is not portrayed as a violent act, but rather as a purposeful operation done in a peaceful manner. The comparison is related more to agriculture and industry than to military, and so it softens the effect of the actual violence taking place in the passage. Yet, perhaps more so now than in Homer's time, trees are connoted with goodness, peace and life, and so the cutting down of a tree is sometimes seen as a symbol of unnecessary and unjust destruction. Because in the simile Sarpedon is analogous to the tree, his death also takes on those tragic qualities of a tree's death. The simile of the tree has the effects both of beautifying the killing of Sarpedon and of intensifying the sense of loss over his death. Similarly, or perhaps inversely, the simile reflects on Patroclus. His act of violence is romanticized, but he is also portrayed as the aggressor against an entity that is pure, good and defenseless. The simile at once both softens the action to a beautified level where all characters are good, and polarizes the characters into good Sarpedon and merciless Patroclus.

[Jeannie]

Analysis of a Simile from The Iliad
In lines 570-577 in Book 16 of The Iliad, Homer uses the simile of chopping down a great tree to make the scene of Patroclus killing Sarpedon both beautiful and tragic. The image of the tree inspires thoughts of health, majesty, purity, nature and strength. Yet the felling of the tree is not portrayed as a violent act, but rather as a purposeful operation done in a peaceful manner. The comparison is related more to agriculture and industry than to military, and so it softens the effect of the actual violence taking place in the passage. Yet, perhaps more so now than in Homer's time, trees are connoted with goodness, peace and life, and so the cutting down of a tree is sometimes seen as a symbol of unnecessary and unjust destruction. Because in the simile Sarpedon is analogous to the tree, his death also takes on those tragic qualities of a tree's death. The simile of the tree has the effects both of beautifying the killing of Sarpedon and of intensifying the sense of loss over his death. Similarly, or perhaps inversely, the simile reflects on Patroclus. His act of violence is romanticized, but he is also portrayed as the aggressor against an entity that is pure, good and defenseless. The simile at once both softens the action to a beautified level where all characters are good, and polarizes the characters into good Sarpedon and merciless Patroclus.

[Jeannie]

Sorry for the double. Here's what I mean to post the second time:
Analysis of a Simile from The Iliad
In Book 21 of The Iliad, Apollo uses a simile to make a point about not wanting to involve himself in the mortals' battle at Troy. After Poseidon appeals to Apollo to intervene, Apollo replies in lines 527-530 with, “You'd think me hardly sane/ if I fought with you for the sake of wretched mortals. . ./like leaves, no sooner flourishing, full of the sun's fire,/feeding on earth's gifts, than they waste away and die.” Here Apollo evokes the transitory and insubstantial nature of leaves to illustrate his perspective on mortal affairs. His argument seems to be that just as leaves only live for a brief time and have little individual effect on the world, so do mortals live short and insignificant lives in the eyes of gods. This simile's imagery of leaves explains Apollo's reason for not wanting to interfere in the battle.