Litcharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in the iliad, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. Achilles learns of the death of patroclus and receives a new suit of armor. Achilles follows the trojans into the river, hacking them to pieces with his sword. Great ajax insults hector, and an eagle appears on ajaxs right, a favorable omen for the achaeans. The iliad narrates several weeks of action during the tenth and final year of the trojan war, concentrating on the wrath of achilles.
In his tent, nestor discusses the battle with the wounded machaon. Thus disguised, he encourages the two aeantes great ajax and little ajax, when they are named as a pair and gives them new strength before he flies away. Find a summary of this and each chapter of the iliad. To repay the indignity chryses has suffered, apollo, the mouse god, rains arrows of plague on the greek forces for 9 days. Information on the first book of the iliad of homer. At every setback he thinks zeus has abandoned his promise of victory. Sing, o goddess, the anger of achilles son of peleus, that broughtcountless ills upon the achaeans.
Murray 1 now when they were marshalled, the several companies with their captains, the trojans came on with clamour and with a cry like birds, even as the clamour of cranes ariseth before the face of heaven, when they flee from wintry storms and measureless rain, and with clamour fly toward the streams of ocean, bearing slaughter and death to pigmy men. Zeus is pleased with the progress of the war, and he leaves the battlefield. Written by harvard students for students, since its. The iliad sparknotes literature guide series by sparknotes. The iliad sparknotes literature guide sparknotes literature guide series by homer. Read an overview of the entire poem or a line by line summary and analysis. Poseidon comes down to the battlefield and takes the form of calchas the seer. When, therefore, minerva saw these men making havoc of the. Geared to what todays students need to know, sparknotes provides chapterbychapter analysis. The iliad begins with the poet calling on the muse to sing of the wrath of achilleus and its consequences.
If he will not relent, achilles should at least let patroclus take his armor and troops into. Bethink thee, goodly machaon, how these things are to be. 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. Hearing the sounds of battle, nestor gathers the wounded achaean commanders. This video provides an indepth summary and analysis of the plot, characters and themes of book 14 of homers epic poem the iliad. Check out our revolutionary side byside summary and analysis. Nestor grabs his sons shield and heads out to the battle. Diomedes, odysseus and agamemnon come to him, tired from the battle. Nestor was sitting over his wine but the cry of battle did notescape him and he said to the son of aesculapius what noblemachaon is the meaning of all. Hera sends a mist to confuse and slow the retreat of the men going back towards the city. The scene between hera and zeus in book 14 does little to advance the plot of the poem, as zeus has already departed the scene of battle and ceased to support the trojans.
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. Seeing defeat as inevitable, he proposes dishonorable survival, sailing away while part of his army still fights. Because there is so much action, it might be hard to keep track of it all. 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. Theyre todays most popular study guideswith everything you need to succeed in school. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of the iliad and what it means. They ask him why he is not fighting in the lines and tell him that hector plans to burn. If princes become too refined to study this art, they lose their states. Books 1112 books 14 books 1516 books 1718 books 1920. Iliad figured prominently in greek culture long before the epic was ever written down.
Gill is a freelance classics and ancient history writer. Knowledge of war is so vital that it not only keeps princes in power but can make princes out of private citizens. When a paper is due, and dreaded exams loom, heres the litcrit help students need to succeed. Summary read an overview of the entire poem or a line by line summary and analysis. Its as if they assume everyone has already read this book. The iliad is an ancient greek epic poem by homer that was first published in 762 bc. Book 14 book 15 book 16 book 17 book 18 book 19 book 20 book 21 book 22 book 23 book 24 quotes. Apollos priest chryses comes to the achaian camp and asks to ransom back his daughter chryseis, who has been captured. Book 14 of the iliad is one of the more interesting sections of homers epic tale. Many a brave soul did it sendhurrying down to hades, and many a hero did it yield a prey to dogsand vultures, for so were the counsels of jove fulfilled from theday on which the son of atreus, king. Books 15 has anything about hectors behavior changed.
The following texts are the property of their respective authors and we thank them for giving us the opportunity to share for free to students, teachers and users of the web their texts will used only for illustrative educational and scientific purposes only. He cannot decide whether to search for agamemnon or to join the soldiers defending the ships. Little ajax knows then that some god has spoken to them, and the aeantes spirits rise. Nestor is debating whether he should go join the battle himself, or whether he should go report to 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. The iliad sparknotes literature guide volume 35 sparknotes literature guide series paperback february 4, 2014 by sparknotes author, homer author.
Argives, she darted down to ilius from the summits of olympus, and apollo, who was looking on from pergamus, went out to meet. Oct, 2017 the iliad book summary in under five minutes. Book 14 of the iliad starts with the achaean nestor finishing up his care for the injured machaon. During the lull in the fighting, nestor meets with the wounded leaders agamemnon, odysseus, and diomedes.
What do you learn about the relationship between achilles and patroclus in book 11. Odysseus contemptuously rejects the idea, and diomedes offers a better plan. Nestor hears the mounting cries of the battle and puts on his armor. Home english literature classic books the iliad book vii navigate here note book i book ii book iii book iv book v book vi book vii book viii book ix book x book xi book xii book xiii book xiv book xv book xvi book xvii book xviii book xix book xx book xxi book xxii book xxiii book xxiv.
Agamemnon fears losing and proposes sailing away while the army still fights. Nestor was sitting over his wine, but the cry of battle did not escape him, and he said to the son of aesculapius, what, noble machaon, is the meaning of all this. 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. Homer, iliad book 14 theoi classical texts library. The study of war should be a princes main goal, for war is a rulers only art. The written version of the iliad presupposes a basic familiarity with the characters and mythological causes and effects of the trojan war. Iliad book 12 study guide learn with flashcards, games, and more for free. Agamemnons dream and the rallying of the men after they try to return to the ships, and the great catalogue of the greek kings, heroes, and ships that have come to troy. 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 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. She has a masters degree in linguistics and is a former latin teacher. Book 14 also features hectors second oneonone face off with great ajax, in which he again comes out the loser.
Heres where youll find analysis about the poem as a whole. 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. After hes done helping the injured healer machaon, nestor steps out of the tent to see how the battles going. Chapter summary for homers the iliad, book 16 summary. On a previous encounter, achilles captured lycaon and. Discouraged by the breaching of the wall, agamemnon proposes to prepare the ships for flight. 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. At the beginning of book 14, top achaean commander agamemnon must once again be talked out of giving up and sailing away. 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. Achilles singlehandedly splits the trojan forces, driving one half towards the city and one half into the river. What do you learn about greek gods and greek mythology in books 14 and 15. Murray 1 and the cry of battle was not unmarked of nestor, albeit at his wine, but he spake winged words to the son of asclepius.
The odyssey sparknotes literature guide sparknotes literature guide series book 49 sparknotes. Neither the background and early years of the war paris abduction of helen from king menelaus, nor its end the death of achilles and the trojan horse, are. The armies fight over the body and armor of patroclus book 18. It begins with the dispute between achilles and agamemnon, and ends with the funeral rites of hector. Patroclus tells achilles how badly the battle is going and scolds him for his rage. Homers epic poem the iliad tells the story of the trojan war and the epic heroes and gods. Sparknotes and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. 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 sparknotes literature guides by sparknotes. Sparknotes literature guides make studying smarter, better, and faster. Home english literature classic books the iliad book xiii navigate here note book i book ii book iii book iv book v book vi book vii book viii book ix book x book xi book xii book xiii book xiv book xv book xvi book xvii book xviii book xix book xx book xxi book xxii book xxiii book xxiv. 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.
Download the free study guide and infographic for homers epic. The catalogue is a significant break in the action of the epic, serving as a list of all the characters involved in the rest of the. In the tenth year of the trojan war, tensions are running high among the achaians a superancient name for the ancient greeks. He goes out into the fray to be stunned by the spectacle. Odysseus reproaches him, pointing out that the achaians will. This illustrates the relative strength of each sides armies and heroes. Below you will find a synopsis of some of the main events to which the iliad refers.
Book 1 book 2 book 3 book 4 book 5 book 6 book 7 book 8 book 9 book 10 book 11 book 12 book book 14 book 15 book 16 book 17 book 18 book 19 book 20 book 21 book 22 book 23 book 24. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. Home english literature classic books the iliad book xiii navigate here note book i book ii book iii book iv book v book vi book vii book viii book ix book x book xi book xii book xiii book xiv book xv book xvi book xvii book xviii book. Patroclus borrows achilles armor, enters battle, kills sarpedon and then is killed by hector book 17. Created by harvard students for students everywhere, sparknotes is a new breed of study guide. The iliad is an epic poem by homer that tells the story of several weeks in the last year of the decadelong trojan war in the greek camp, agamemnon and achilles, the greeks. The iliad and the odyssey with active table of contents homer. Id give this audio book 5 stars, however, the intro chapter summarizes, analyzes, and basically spoils the entire book. First, the priest chryses comes to ask their leader, king agamemnon, to release his daughter, whom agamemnon was holding captive. Nestor leaves his tent and immediately sees the carnage surrounding the achaean camp. Check out our revolutionary sidebyside summary and analysis. The iliad sparknotes literature guide by homer making the reading experience fun. He meets the wounded captains agamemnon, odysseus, and diomedes.