Agamemnon offers great treasurethe return of briseis, future plunder, one of his daughters, and seven citiesto achilles if he will fight again and. To repay the indignity chryses has suffered, apollo, the mouse god, rains arrows of plague on the greek forces for 9 days. We are told from the beginning that the story is going to be about the rage or anger of achilles, the greatest warrior in achaia greece. The iliad opens with an expression of rage and frustration. Homer, iliad, book 1, line 68 perseus digital library. Oct, 2017 the iliad book summary in under five minutes. Summary plot overview nine years after the start of the trojan war, the greek achaean army sacks chryse, a town allied with troy. Homers iliad begins during the tenth year of the trojan war and opens, like most epic poems, with a request for inspiration from the appropriate muse. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of the iliad by homer.
Outline of the iliad the iliad is a very long poem, and it is hard to keep all of the people, places, and events straight. The poet invokes a muse to aid him in telling the story of the rage of achilles, the greatest greek hero to fight in the trojan war. Rodents do spread plague, so the association between a divine mouse function and delivering plague makes sense, even if the greeks werent completely aware of the connection. Therefore, when athena tells achilles not to draw his sword to kill agamemnon, the speaker is actually one side of achilles brain. In fact, this structural technique is a basis for the entire work. When agamemnon refuses, the priest prays to the god apollo to send a plague against the achaians.
Check out our revolutionary sideby side summary and analysis. Most commentators consider this scene to be the most moving in the iliad. A plague has struck the achaean greek camp brought on by apollo, who can only be appeased with the return of chryseis, daughter of a priest of apollo, to her father. Chryseis is the daughter of a priest of the god apollo.
Agamemnon says he will return chrysies if achilles gives him briseis. Information on the first book of the iliad of homer. Free iliad essays and papers free essays, term papers. 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. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of the iliad and what it means. Like other ancient epic poems, the iliad presents its subject clearly from the outset. It is made clear that achilles is the greatest hero of the.
Litcharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in the iliad, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. Although the trojan war as a whole figures prominently in the work, this larger. Homer opens the odyssey with an invocation to the muse of epic poetry and asks for her guidance in telling the story of a man who has experienced many twists and turns of fate and has suffered many hardships. Homer is the sum of two texts, the iliad and the odyssey. In homers, the iliad, book 1, the rage of achilles, one of the main concepts presented is the idea that the gods desire honor and glory. Achilles cliffsnotes study guides book summaries, test. Agamemnon, commanderinchief of the achaean army, takes chryseis as his prize. Achilles, one of the achaeans most valuable warriors, claims briseis. 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 weeks of a quarrel between king agamemnon and the warrior achilles.
Summary and analysis book 1 athena inspires the prince. Therefore, when athena tells achilles not to draw his sword to kill agamemnon, the speaker is actually one. 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. During the battle, the achaeans capture a pair of beautiful maidens, chryseis and briseis. This imagery recalls his portrayal in book 1 as blazing achilles 1. Iliad is greek for poem about ilium, which is an alternate name for the city of troy, the setting of the trojan war. What happens in each of the 24 books of the iliad by homer. 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. He wants her to tell him about the rage of achilleus, and how it hurt the achaians.
King agamemnon, who leads the achaeans, has been forced to give up a valued prize, a woman he captured. However, book i essentially sets up the tension for the rest of the poem. He seems to be irritated that so many other gods have played a role in the battle between the greeks. Though we are in the tenth year of the trojan war, these encounters are the most violent that have taken place since the greeks arrived. Greek audiences would have been familiar with the background of the story, and here a brief summary of events is. How book 1 starts off the relationship between agamemnon and achilles. The wrath of achilles seems justified from book i to book ix. Indeed, achilles internal dilemma as a character remains largely the same as in the beginning of the epic. Gill is a freelance classics and ancient history writer. When agamemnon refuses and threatens to ransom the girl to her father, the offended apollo plagues them with a. Achilles has known throughout that his fate is either to live a short, glorious life at troy or a long, obscure life back in phthia. About iliad iliad summary character list themes books 1 4 books 58 books 912 books 16 books 1720 books 2124 related links quiz 1 quiz 2 citations. He asks her to begin with the fight between achilleus and agamemnon.
The narrative begins nine years after the start of the war, as the achaeans sack a trojanallied town and capture two beautiful maidens, chryseis and briseis. He still has faith in zeuss promise of their victory. The iliad is narrated from a thirdperson omniscient point of view. The iliad begins with the trojan war already in progress. Odysseus, the reader is told, is the only greek survivor of the trojan war who. 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. These free notes consist of about 101 pages 30,062 words and contain the following sections. The iliad books 1 4, 9, 18, 24 book 1 achilles and agamemnon argue about chrysies since her father, chryses, a priest of apollo wants her back. 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. Nine years previous, the greek fleet had gathered at aulis from the areas various city states to depart together in order to reclaim helen from paris for her husband menelaus. In the tenth year of the trojan war, tensions are running high among the achaians a superancient name for the ancient greeks. The first three books of the iliad introduce us to the plot, some of the main characters, and important elements and themes of epic poetry e. This study guide and infographic for homers the iliad offer summary and analysis on themes, symbols, and other literary devices found in the text. Course heros video study guide provides indepth summary and analysis of book 1 of homers epic poem the iliad.
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. The iliad is an epic poem, written by homer, that covers the quarrels and fighting near the end of the trojan war. Nine years after the start of the trojan war, the greek achaean army sacks chryse, a town allied with troy. The iliad is about the trojan war, but it is primarily about the war as it is affected by achilles wrath, or anger. Homer calls upon the goddess of poetry and inspiration the muse to sing of achilleus anger.
Homers technique of repeating an earlier scene with a later one is used throughout the iliad. The start of book 4 of homers the iliad shows the gods sitting around, enjoying refreshments, and watching the simmering tension between the trojans and the greeks down below. Homers iliad begins nine years after the greek armies first arrived at troy. He is insulted and sent away, and apollo sends a plague on the greeks. Jaynes sees the iliad as a book dealing with premodern minds. Fateful choices the price of glory readings monday class, sept. Apollos priest chryses comes to the achaian camp and asks to ransom back his daughter chryseis, who has been captured. It all begins when agamemnon refuses chryses request to return his daughter. Book 1 of the epic poem, set in the trojan war, begins not with a battle between countries, but an argument between friends.
The iliad is an epic poem written by homer about the last few weeks of a monumental war. It is a portrait of the warrior at home, war forgotten as he watches his son play and talks with his wife. Iliad study guide contains a biography of homer, literature essays, a complete etext, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. Homers epic poem the iliad tells the story of the trojan war and the epic heroes and gods. Books 1 to 4 of the iliad trace the events from the breaking out of the quarrel between achilles and agamemnon to the first combat on the battlefield. 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. The free the iliad notes include comprehensive information and analysis to help you understand the book. Agamemnon roughly rejects the ransom and dismisses the priest. This epic opens with turmoil among the greeks because agamemnon has not only angered the. In the tenth year of the trojan war, achilles, the greatest fighter for the achaeans the greeks and their allies, is enraged. Specifically, the iliad concerns itself with the rage of achilleshow it begins, how it cripples the achaean army, and how it finally becomes redirected toward the trojans. Indeed, the poem names its focus in its opening word.
The iliad is a classic ancient greek poem usually attributed to homer. Homer begins by asking the muse to help him sing the story of the rage of achilles. The legendary reason for this attack was to avenge the abduction of helen, the wife of menelaus, one of the greek kings, by a trojan prince, alexandros paris. During antiquity, there were many texts attributed to homer, or homers, rather.
Summary read an overview of the entire poem or a line by line summary and analysis. 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. A plague has overcome the greek armies because agamemnon has refused to return the daughter of a priest of apollo. The iliad book 1 summary the poet prays to the muse, the goddess of poetic inspiration. The end of book vi is the famous scene between hector and andromache and their infant son, astyanax. Calchas is called on by achilles and tells the greeks that the reason for the plague is because of chrysies. We think of the iliad and the odyssey as being most strongly attested to homer. Agamemnon, the leader of the achaean forces, takes chryseis as his prize, and achilles, the achaeans greatest warrior, claims briseis. Book 1 of homers the iliad begins with homer invoking the muse, asking for help in telling the story. Achilles, the epics central character, exposes this fact and confronts the king. This outline provides a summary of the action in each of the 24 books.
Check out our revolutionary sidebyside summary and analysis. Invocation of the muse takes place, with the poet asking for help in conveying the story of achilles rage. The poet then also blames the son of zeus and leto, aka apollo, who has sent a plague to kill the greeks. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. The trojan war has been raging for nine long years, with the achaeans greeks unable to break through the walls of troy. Achilles is the main character, and his inaction, or withdrawal from the fighting, is crucial to the plot. An outline of the iliad in the bronze age, at the end of the thirteenth century, a loose confederation of greek kingdoms besieged the walled city of troy. Cover more details about this book by using the lesson. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. Book 8 of homers the iliad opens with zeus having a bit of a tantrum. Bullets are followed by rough linenumbers in the fagles translation. View notes the iliad outline from clst 200 at university of pennsylvania.
Themes and colors key litcharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in the iliad, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. Nestor calms everyone and says its time to approach achilles. First, the priest chryses comes to ask their leader, king agamemnon, to release his daughter, whom agamemnon was holding captive. Homers tale begins nine years after the greek arrival at troy.
She has a masters degree in linguistics and is a former latin teacher. The iliad is an ancient greek epic poem by homer that was first published in 762 bc. King agamemnon, who leads the achaeans, has brought an illness upon the army by refusing to give up a woman, chryseis, whom he seized as a prize in a recent battle. Homers epic poem the iliad tells the story of the trojan war and the epic heroes and gods, including achilles, hector, odysseus, athena, ares. The story opens nine years into the war, which basically started because paris. Summary and analysis of book 1 of homers iliad, with a focus on the theme of pride. The iliad books 1 4, 9, 18, 24 book 1 achilles and agamemnon argue about chrysies since her father, chryses, a priest. The iliad begins with the poet calling on the muse to sing of the wrath of achilleus and its consequences. It is very evident that both achilles and agamemnon are in competition for more power and dominance.
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