The+Iliad

The Iliad. The Iliad is an Ancient Greek story that talks about their gods and you can actually appreciate the development of their culture throughout the story. Its author was Homer, he is also the author of the Odyssey and he was also considered as the Ancient Greek greatest epic poet. This story was written as a poem, its language genre is epic and its language is Ancient Greek. Well the time and place where it was written is unknown but they estimate it was probably mainland Greece, around 750B.C. also the publisher was unknown too. The narrator was a poet who declared himself to be a medium were many of the Muses spoke through him. The narrator always speaks in the third person and he has access to every of the character’s mind and he frequently gives an insight into the thoughts or the feelings of the characters. It has a very ironic, sad, lamenting tone. The main character of the story was Achilles. The story basically talks about war. The most important themes of the story are the glory of war, military values over the family life, the impermanence of human life and its creations. You can also find a lot of foreshadowing along The Iliad like when Patroclus’ returns to battle foreshadow Achilles returns to battle, when Hector taunting of the dead Patroclus foreshadows the desecration of his own corpse by Achilles.

 **Achilles** - The son of Peleus and the sea-nymph Thetis. The most powerful warrior in The Iliad//,// he commands the Myrmidons. Proud and headstrong, he takes offense easily and reacts with blistering indignation when he perceives that his honor has been slighted. Achilles’ wrath at Agamemnon for taking his war prize, the maiden Briseis. **Agamemnon **- King of Mycenae and leader of the Achaean army; brother of King Menelaus of Sparta. Arrogant and often selfish, Agamemnon provides the Achaeans with strong but sometimes reckless and self-serving leadership. Like Achilles, he lacks consideration and forethought. **Patroclus ** - Achilles’ beloved friend, companion, and advisor. He grew up along the side of the great warrior in Phthia, under the guardianship of Peleus. Patroclus stands by the enraged Achilles but also dons Achilles’ terrifying armor in an attempt to hold the Trojans back. **Odysseus ** - A fine warrior and the cleverest of the Achaean commanders. He helps mediate between Agamemnon and Achilles during their quarrel. **Diomedes - **The youngest of the Achaean commanders, is bold and sometimes proves impetuous. **Great Ajax ** - An Achaean commander is the second mightiest Achaean warrior after Achilles. His extraordinary size and strength help him to wound Hector twice by hitting him with boulders...” **Little Ajax ** - An Achaean commander, Little Ajax is the son of Oileus. He often fights alongside Great Ajax, whose stature and strength complement Little Ajax’s small size and swift speed **Nestor **<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> - King of Pylos and the oldest Achaean commander. Although age has taken much of Nestor’s physical strength, it has left him with great wisdom. He often acts as an advisor to the military commanders, especially Agamemnon. **Menelaus** - King of Sparta; the younger brother of Agamemnon **<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Idomeneus **<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> - King of Crete and a respected commander. Idomeneus leads a charge against the Trojans. **<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Machaon **<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> - A healer. Machaon is wounded by Paris. **<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Calchas **<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> - An important soothsayer. **<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Peleus **<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> - Achilles’ father and the grandson of Zeus. Although his name often appears in the epic, Peleus never appears in person. **<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Phoenix **<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> - A kindly old warrior, Phoenix helped raise Achilles while he himself was still a young man. **<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Hector **<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> - A son of King Priam and Queen Hecuba, Hector is the mightiest warrior in the Trojan army. He mirrors Achilles in some of his flaws, but his bloodlust is not as great as that of Achilles. **<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Priam **<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> - King of Troy and husband of Hecuba, Priam is the father of fifty Trojan warriors, including Hector and Paris. **<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Hecuba **<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> - Queen of Troy, wife of Priam, and mother of Hector and Paris. **<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Paris **<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">- A son of Priam and Hecuba and brother of Hector. Paris’s abduction of the beautiful Helen, wife of Menelaus, sparked the Trojan War. Paris is self-centered and often unmanly. **<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Helen **<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> - Reputed to be the most beautiful woman in the ancient world, Helen left her husband, Menelaus, to run away with Paris. **<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Aeneas **<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> - A Trojan nobleman, the son of Aphrodite, and a mighty warrior. **Andromache** - Hector’s loving wife, Andromache begs Hector to withdraw from the war and save him before the Achaeans kill him. **<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Astyanax **<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> - Hector and Andromache’s infant son. **<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Polydamas **<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> - A young Trojan commander, Polydamas sometimes figures as a foil for Hector, proving cool-headed and prudent when Hector charges ahead. **<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Sarpedon **<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> - One of Zeus’s sons. Sarpedon’s fate seems intertwined with the gods’ quibbles, calling attention to the unclear nature of the gods’ relationship to Fate. **<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Chryseis **<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> - Chryses’ daughter, a priest of Apollo in a Trojan-allied town. **<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Briseis **<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> - A war prize of Achilles. When Agamemnon is forced to return Chryseis to her father, he appropriates Briseis as compensation, sparking Achilles’ great rage. **<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Zeus **<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> - King of the gods and husband of Hera, Zeus claims neutrality in the mortals’ conflict and often tries to keep the other gods from participating in it. **<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Hera **<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> - Queen of the gods and Zeus’s wife, Hera is a conniving, headstrong woman. **<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Athena **<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> - The goddess of wisdom, purposeful battle, and the womanly arts; Zeus’s daughter. **<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Thetis **<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> - A sea-nymph and the devoted mother of Achilles, Thetis gets Zeus to help the Trojans and punish the Achaeans at the request of her angry son. **Apollo** - A son of Zeus and twin brother of the goddess Artemis, Apollo is god of the arts and archery. **<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Aphrodite **<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> - Goddess of love and daughter of Zeus, Aphrodite is married to Hephaestus but maintains a romantic relationship with Ares. **<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Poseidon **<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> - The brother of Zeus and god of the sea. **<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Hephaestus **<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> - God of fire and husband of Aphrodite, Hephaestus is the gods’ metal smith and is known as the lame or crippled god. **<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Artemis **<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> - Goddess of the hunt, daughter of Zeus, and twin sister of Apollo. **<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Ares **<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> - God of war and lover of Aphrodite, Ares generally supports the Trojans in the war. **<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Hermes **<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> - The messenger of the gods. **<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Iris **<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> - Zeus’ messenger. <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif;">In the tenth and final year of the Trojan War, Chryses, attempts to ransom his daughter from Agamemnon, who has taken her. When Agamemnon treats him roughly and refuses the ransom, Apollo gets angry and brings plague on the Achaeans. The Achaean prophet Calchas correctly identifies the cause of the problem, and he suggests giving the girl back with gifts to Apollo. Agamemnon demands that he be compensated for the loss of the girl, and Achilles objects. Agamemnon says he will take back Briseis; Achilles returns to his ships and refuses to fight. Agamemnon has Briseis taken from Achilles, and he returns Chryses' daughter to him. Achilles asks his mother, to prevail on Zeus to bring ruin on the Achaeans as long as Achilles does not fight for them. Zeus is indebted to Thetis, and he grants her request. <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif;">With Achilles out of the way, Hector drives the Achaeans back to their beached ships. The Achaeans build fortifications, but at the urging of the chieftains Agamemnon sends an¡ embassy to ask Achilles to return to battle. Agamemnon offers rich prizes, but Achilles refuses the offer and remains in peace. <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif;">Many of the greatest remaining Achaean warriors are wounded. Patroclus begs Achilles to do something to help them. He asks that he be allowed to put on Achilles' armor, so that the Trojans will think that Achilles has returned. Achilles grants the request, but warns Patroclus to return once he has driven the Trojans back from the ships. Patroclus drives the Trojans back to their own city walls, but there Hector kills him with the help of Apollo. Hector strips his armor and puts it on himself, and the Achaeans manage to save Patroclus' body from desecration. <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif;">Achilles goes violent with grief and rage. Thetis warns him that if he kills Hector, he will die soon afterward. He reconciles himself to Agamemnon, receives new armor. He charges into battle, killing a lot of Trojans. He meets Hector and then kills him. He then drags the body from the back of his chariot, running laps around the city of Troy so that the Trojans can watch as his body is horribly desecrated. <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif;">Achilles returns to the Achaean camp, where he holds magnificent funeral games for Patroclus. He continues to abuse Hector's corpse. Zeus sends Thetis to tell Achilles that he must accept the ransom that Priam will offer for Hector's body. Priam comes to see Achilles and he suddenly is reminded of his own father. He understands what he has done and he has compassion. He returns the body and offers to stop the battle so that the Trojans can bury Hector. With the word of Achilles as their guarantee, the Trojans take eleven days to give Hector a proper funeral. As the story ends, the future is clear: Achilles will not live to see the fall of Troy, but the city is will fall. All but a handful of her people will be killed, and the city will be wiped off the face of the earth.

<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif;">There is movie about the Iliad it is called Troy and it was released in 2004, <span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif;">directed by <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif;">Wolfgang Petersen <span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif;">. <span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic',sans-serif;">Its cast includes Brad Pitt as Achilles, Erric Bana as Hecto, Orlando Bloom as Paris, Diane Kruger as Helen, Sean Bean as Odysseus, Brian Cox as Agamemnon, Rose Byrne as Briseis, Garrett Hedlund as Patroclus, Peter O'Toole as Priam, Brendan Gleeson as Menelaus, and Tyler Mane as Ajax. <span style="color: #faa700; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; text-decoration: none;">