Summary and analysis of book 21 of homers iliad, with a focus on the heroism of agenor. Most scholars today, however, question the idea that one singerpoet composed either or both poems, at least not as we would imagine a poet composing today. Homer calls upon the goddess of poetry and inspiration the muse to sing of achilleus anger. The eagle of zeus again appears in book 24 as a sign of the gods approval of priams trip to the achaean camp. About iliad iliad summary character list themes books 14 books 58 books 912 books 16 books 1720 books 2124 related links quiz 1 quiz 2 citations. The david story, and the iliad 1194 words bartleby. The iliad is unique in that there is no real element of suspense or surprise for the audience or the characters. 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. By the end of book 21, the trojans are able to retreat to. Jul, 2016 summary and analysis of book 21 of homers iliad, with a focus on the heroism of agenor. Thus the trojans in the city scared like fawns wiped the sweatfrom off them and drank to quench their thirst leaning against thegoodly battlements. First, the priest chryses comes to ask their leader, king agamemnon, to release his daughter, whom agamemnon was holding captive.
Driving the trojans to the ford of the noble river, the eddying xanthus begot of immortal zeus, achilles there cut their force in two. 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. Hera sends a mist to confuse and slow the retreat of the men going back towards the city. Now when they came to the ford of the fullflowing river xanthus, begotten of immortal jove, achilles cut their forces in two.
Check out our revolutionary sidebyside summary and analysis. Achilles is angry with king agamemnon for reasons shortly to be divulged, but first, the poet lays blame at the feet of achilles for the death of many of the achaean warriors. Everyone removes their armor and attend achilles feast. In the time of the trojan war, there was an unspoken code of morals and how warriors of honor should follow. Achilleus pins the trojans against the river xanthos not to be confused with achilleuss horse of the same name. 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.
Unfortunatley, these books do not cover the entire iliad. 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. The episode with lycaon highlights the difference between. Homer, iliad book 21 theoi classical texts library. Along with the odyssey, the iliad is among the oldest extant works of western literature, and its written version is usually dated to around the 8th century bc. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of the iliad and what it means. Achilles routs the trojans and splits their ranks, pursuing half of them into the river known to the gods as xanthus and to the mortals as. 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 and helen of troy.
The odyssey is somewhat of a sequel, the story of odysseus s travels home after the trojan war. While achilleus still refuses to return to battle, his friend, patroklos, persuades him to let him fight in his place. He pushes half of them into a river known as xanthus to the gods. Chryses, priest of apollo, comes to the greek camp to ransom his daughter, chryseis, held captive by agamemnon. Homer invokes the muse goddess of epic poetry to aid him in telling the story of achilles anger and the great war for helen and troy. That night, after the greeks share a funeral meal, the ghost of patroklos visits achilles in a dream and requests a swift burial. The iliad begins with the trojan war already in progress. Book 21, lines 14 he wades into the river leaving his spear on the bank and kills many men, taking twelve captive. Below you will find a synopsis of some of the main events to which the iliad refers. Pdf downloads of all 1291 litcharts literature guides, and of every new one we publish. At the start of book 20 of homers the iliad, we see zeus call all the gods together for another council. Chapter summary for homers the iliad, book 21 summary. 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.
Good translations abound but robert fitzgeralds in the oxford world classics series is a good read with handy notes and maps. The iliad of homer popebook 21 wikisource, the free. Find a summary of this and each chapter of the iliad. The true story of homers iliad and the trojan war new york. This study guide consists of approximately 114 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of the iliad. 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. The iliad meaning a song about ilium and the odyssey are greek epic poems, conventionally attributed to a singularly talented poet named homer, who lived in the east greek region of ionia in the 8 th century b. Achilles singlehandedly splits the trojan forces, driving one half towards the city and one half into the river. In book 21, achilles continues his killing spree and the. Gill is a freelance classics and ancient history writer. When agamemnon refuses and threatens to ransom the girl to her father, the offended apollo. The greeks are quarrelling about whether or not to return chryseis, a trojan captive of king agamemnon, to her father, chryses, a priest of apollo. Lycaon, whom achilles had captured in a previous battle, begs for mercy, but there is none to be found in achilless heart.
Achilles follows the trojans into the river, hacking them to pieces with his sword. In book i, it was chryses who begged agamemnon to return his daughter. Greek audiences would have been familiar with the background of the story, and here a brief summary of events is. A good, complete, detailed modern commentary on the iliad has yet to be written. Achilles routs the trojans and splits their ranks, pursuing half of them into the river known to the gods as xanthus and to the mortals as scamander. Lycaons return from slavery was a product of great effort and good fortune, turned suddenly into bad. Achilles pushes the trojan army back, driving a portion of it into the river xanthus also called scamander, where he slaughters huge numbers of enemies. The role of obedience in the iliad and genesis 125. Oct, 2017 the iliad book summary in under five minutes. Achilles is among them in the swirling waters, and he is. They poured across it in flight, while hera spread a dense fog there to thwart. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of iliad. This is an example of ring structure, a literary technique in which a scene or theme at the beginning of the story returns at the end of the story. Course heros video study guide provides indepth summary and analysis of book 21 of homers epic poem the iliad.
Ken burns this riveting tale of ancient wars, legendary warriors, and mythical gods is at once a great adventure story and a cautionary tale of the enduring perils of hubris and ego. He is insulted and sent away, and apollo sends a plague on the greeks. Some he drove towards the city, over the plain where the greeks had been routed the day before by glorious hectors valour. Check out our revolutionary side byside summary and analysis. Half of the trojan forces are sitting ducks in the river xanthus. Cowper suggests that the term is ironically used, in ridicule of lycaons plea for mercy on the ground that he had eaten at the table of achilles. The story of lycaons return and death underscores uncertainty of death.
The written version of the iliad presupposes a basic familiarity with the characters and mythological causes and effects of the trojan war. Achilles splits the trojan line at the river xanthus. On the riverbank, achilles mercilessly slaughters lycaon, a son of priam. Book 20 robert fagles translation analysis segue from previous book and to the next book in book 19, achilles is still grieving over the death of patroclus and still refuses to eat. The iliad is a tragedy that tells about the battles of the trojan war. Joseph campbell condensed his understanding of story into a theory he called monomyth, also known as the heros journey or the. Day 21 the greeks burn patroklos on a funeral pyre, together with offerings and the 12 captured trojans.
Achilless grief and rage results in the wholesale slaughter of the trojan army without a shred of mercy. The iliad essays the iliad summaries pride in the iliad for the reader to better understand the character flaw of pride in homers iliad, it must first be emphasized that during the time of the story iliad, both the greek and trojan people were still a warrior society. This lesson will summarize book 21 of homers the iliad, which finds achilles battling a river and many other gods joining the fight. Here jove lays out the plan for all the events to come.
Book i opens with the words, rage goddess, sing the rage of peleus son achilles. This is a long and complex book but the key chapters for the action are 1, 6, 9, 16, 18, 22, and 24. Now, it is priam who begs achilles to return the body of hector. The great greek warrior achilles kills hector in battle, crippling the trojan forces. In addition to the instances of this identification cited in the text, note g. Willcocks, a companion to the iliad is the way to go. Book 21 of the iliad finds achilles slaughtering trojans in the river xanthus. She has a masters degree in linguistics and is a former latin teacher.
The story of lycaon s return and death underscores uncertainty of death. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. In his heightened state of rage, achilles has no mercy, and he kills lycaon. Sarah kirkus eng 2423 8a march 21, 20 roles of women in the iliad and the odyssey homer wrote two epic poems, the iliad and the odyssey. Murray 1 but when they were now come to the ford of the fairflowing river, even eddying xanthus that immortal zeus begat, there achilles cleft them asunder, and the one part he drave to the plain toward the city, even where the achaeans were fleeing in rout the day before, what time glorious hector was ragingthitherward poured forth.
The iliad is paired with something of a sequel, the odyssey, also attributed to homer. Apollos priest chryses comes to the achaian camp and asks to ransom back his daughter chryseis, who has been captured. Achilles is able to rout the trojan forces, splitting their ranks. Course heros video study guide provides indepth summary and analysis of book 21 of homers epic poem the. 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. Day 22 patroklos bones are gathered and buried under a mound of earth. Apr 30, 2016 the original is, daughter of altes, who ruled over the leleges.
He has made a fatal decision, and the deaths of sarpedon, patroklos, hektor, achilles himself, and the fall of troy all inevitably follow. However, after weeping with priam he tells the story of niobe to urge priam to eat. Homers iliad was written around 750700 bce about a war between the greeks and the trojans which probably took place in 1250 bce. The greek armies pull away from troy and achilles has the myrmidons proceed three times in battle formation to honor patroclus. He further introduces in the word rage one of the human qualities, along with pride and honor, that will make up a. Get a detailed summary and analysis of every chapter in the book from.
Achilles drops the body of hector beside his fallen comrade. Each characters fate is predetermined from the start, leaving the real element of drama in the way each acts or reacts despite already knowing what the ultimate outcome. The growth of achilles in the iliad 947 words bartleby. Achilles singlehandedly splits the trojan forces, driving one. The books thesis is a simple onea thesis which, in the opinion of this reader, constantinidou successfully demonstrates.
They dine together, symbolically providing some healing for both their griefs. In the midst of the trojan war, greek leader agamemnon refuses to return captive chryseis. The story covered by the iliad begins nearly ten years into the seige of troy by the greek forces, led by agamemnon, king of mycenae. Homers epic poem the iliad tells the story of the trojan war and the epic heroes and gods. In the iliad, both gods and men struggle to bring an end to the ten year trojan war. The iliad, a book by homer about the trojan war, focuses a lot on achilles and his internal struggle with his personal desires. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. The story told in the iliad figured prominently in greek culture long before the epic was ever written down.
In the homeric world of the iliad, the essence of a true hero can be identified by their extraordinary strength, connection of divine ancestry, recognition of mortality, and a defining moment or test of strength which will either lead to their resolution or downfall. In other words, the story is structured like a circle. Books sixteen to twentytwo all quotations from the iliad are from the translation of richmond lattimore, university of chicago press, 1951like book nine, book sixteen marks a crucial turning point in the iliad. In the modern vulgate the standard accepted version, the iliad contains 15,693 lines. Quizlet flashcards, activities and games help you improve your grades. Analysis this episode is the second turning point in the tragic story of achilles.
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