The Iliad Book 1 and Book 22

Reading the Illiad surprised me because of all the violence it had. I had always heard it was an epic, and a huge famous story but I suppose it makes sense. I had just read the Aeneid for class so I can see many connections.

One thing that fascinates me is how borrowing, or jumping on an already famous story, was not considered bad. Originality was the problem. Virgil writes The Aeneid long after The Illiad and continues the story after the fall of Troy. The famous story of The Inferno by Dante Alighieri speaks of Virgil as well as his characters in The Aeneid, so it was common practice to do that.

Reading The Aeneid was not my only time I had been exposed to such work. I had watched the movie Troy before and I must say, things are kind of different. The epic itself is big on describing the violence and the gods interfence, but the movie does no such thing. Finally it is interesting to note that although Achilles is supposed to be the hero in The Illiad, in The Aeneid he is portrayed as savage.

William Chiu

The Iliad's plot was very entertaining to follow. The prose version of the poem appealed a lot more to me because of the fluidity of the words as spoken language. The verse version is harder to understand in that the poetic content forces me to focus more on interpreting its words and less on the events occurring in the story. The story's hero Achilles, is very commonplace in that there is a flaw in the hero' character such as in many other tragedies. But nonetheless I was intrigued by the way one man can make such a change in the outcome of a war. This story and the past two other stories also incorporated a lot of gods. I wanted to know why the authors in those Greek times decided to make the gods appear to be such flawed deities. Why do they all exhibit characteristics which lessen their view as the all powerful who know appear stern and wise in the sculptures and paintings. The gods however do play the role as comedic relief, such as when Zeus and Hera have their husband and wife arguments. the reader cannot help but think how they are like their parents.

Iliad and its heroes

Iliad by Homer is very well known epic that we may hear at least once in our lives. As I read this epic, it was more like reading mythological stories unlike the first three literatures I read in class. It is interesting that the Gods and Goddesses play great roles in human society and have characteristics like human beings. By reading Iliad, we can find out how the war of Troy has developed and the conflict between the heroes although I was unclear that who is the main hero of the story, Achilles or Agamenmnon? Who is the good and bad? Iliad focuses on the war that lasted for 10 years. And it shows that how mistakes in the past can have great impact on future. It is a tragic story but tells interesting interpretation of human natures.

The Iliad Books 1 & 22

Books 1 and 22 of the Iliad were more interesting to read and definitely a truer portrayal of the anthropomorphisms of the Greek gods. The one thing that struck me as being a common trait of the gods was just how capricious they were. Hector is the son of the king of Troy; he is noble, a good warrior, a good husband and father, yet Zeus decides to let him die because he doesn't want a quarrel with his daughter Minerva, who wants Troy to fall. Athena herself is petty and jealous. She decides to avenge her losing a beauty contest by completely destroying the man who chose Aphrodite over her, as well as his entire city and his father's kingdom. I felt a lot of pity for Hector while reading of his death. He didn't do anything wrong, he was just trying to defend his city and protect his people and he ends up dying because someone up there felt like it.
Another thing that struck me while reading the Iliad is just how long winded everyone is. It seems like each character has the ability to extrapolate for hours and fight simultaneously. For example, Achilles' and Hector's exchange about what will be done with Hector's body seems like it went on long enough that maybe someone could've shot Achilles from the walls of Troy. A little unrealistic. Also, at the very end of Book 22, where Hector's wife is expounding upon the various trials and tribulations her fatherless child will now face, it seems a tad long winded for someone who just fainted and fell off a battlement. All in all, rather amusing.

Courtney Lum

Although in epic form, I felt as if the Iliad Books 1 and 22 were much more interesting and easier to read than our previous texts from class. What I found intriguing was the way that the gods of Greece played such an extensive role in the human world. I was surprised to see how vindictive and vain the goddess Athena was in the epic, and how she ignored Troy and Paris when they needed her most during the war just because she was jealous Paris chose Aphrodite over herself. Unlike the other epics and texts we have read in class, the gods and goddesses in the Iliad play a much larger role in the world of humans, and possess the same characteristics as those they control, making them unpredictable at times, prone to mistakes, jealous, compassionate, and greedy individuals.
Also having seen the movie “Troy”, I was quite surprised to see many similarities between the Iliad and the movie; however I feel the movie didn’t mention the gods and goddesses who played a major role in the actual story making the movie less accurate and detailed.

The Illiad

I enjoyed reading the Illiad and I think it has been my favorite reading so far. I like it because it is like a soap opera of Gods. It is interesting, to me, to look at something that was a source of great entertainment for people such a long time ago. (Not that it still isn’t a source of great entertainment.) There are many things in this story that I find particularly intriguing. One such thing is that, in Book I, when Achilles’ mother goes to Zeus to ask for help for her son, Zeus says that he must first respect Hera’s wishes overall, but that he will do what he can. However, later on when Hera confronts Zeus about why Achilles’ mother was there he tells her he will do what he wants.

The Iliad: Books 1 and 22

Books 1 and 22 of The Iliad consist of captivating accounts of the quarrel between Achilles and Agamemnon as well as the death of Hector, the mightiest warrior in the Trojan army. It seems that pride and honor are most valued among the warriors and gods in the tale, and that anyone who dares to injure or violate someone’s pride prompts a response of great wrath and vengeance. I found it rather foolish of Agamemnon to take away Achilles’s prize, Briseis, when it is bound to incur Achilles’s anguish and rage. Achilles, though he is egoistical, is able to control his anger through Athena’s calming words as well as those of his mother’s. However, in Book 22, he is cold and shows no compassion for Hector’s wish for Achilles to send his body home for proper burial.

One question I had in my reading arose during Achilles’ speech, “If down in Hades men forget their dead, even there I will remember my companion” (line 389, Book 22). Why do the characters assume they are going to hell? Do they not believe in forgiveness or the possibility of salvation? By being warriors and killing others, do they automatically accept their fate?