Check out our revolutionary sidebyside summary and analysis. Summary and analysis of book 8 of homers iliad, with a focus on comic relief and homers poetic genius. First, the priest chryses comes to ask their leader, king agamemnon, to release his daughter, whom agamemnon was holding captive. In book viii, the achaian, teucer, hides behind the shield of aias and kills several trojans with his arrows. Even as the trojans reach their high tide, we are reminded of their certain destruction.
Homers audience was an illiterate culture, and homer himself was most likely illiterate. Athena and hera also depart the scene of the battle. The trojans and achaeans collide once again, and hector and great ajax engage each other. In the overall structure of the epic, this fighting involves three large movements between the ships and the city. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of the iliad and what it means.
Sleep sends word to poseidon that zeus is asleep and that he may do as he pleases. Now the other princes of the achaeans slept soundly the whole. Joseph campbell condensed his understanding of story into a theory he called monomyth, also known as the heros journey or the. Polydamas takes this as a sign that the trojan assault will fail, but hector ignores his advice, saying, fight for your countrythat is the best, the only omen. Discover delightful childrens books with prime book box, a subscription that delivers new books every 1, 2, or 3 months new customers receive 15% off your first box. Homers epic poem the iliad tells the story of the trojan war and the epic heroes and gods, including achilles, hector, odysseus, athena, ares. Home english literature classic books the iliad book vii. Hearken unto me, all ye gods and goddesses, that i may speak what the heart in my breast. Then he rides his chariot over to mount ida in the neighborhood of troy, just so he can keep tabs on what happens. Yet, by the end of book 8, we recall the achaeans bravado with great irony. Hera explodes with anger, saying that she wont let the duel stop her effort to destroy troy.
The odyssey books 58 summary and analysis gradesaver. The iliad begins with the poet calling on the muse to sing of the wrath of achilleus and its consequences. Feeling pity for hector, he curses hera for her disobedience, promising to punish her. On a previous encounter, achilles captured lycaon and. Zeus awakes from his slumber and sees the catastrophe created in his absence. Hector cannot pierce ajaxs armor, but ajax hurls an enormous boulder at hector, bowling him over and nearly knocking him out. Zeus tells her to protect telemachus, and sends hermes to order calypso to release her prisoner although odysseus must first sail alone on a raft to skheria, where he will receive lavish gifts from the phaeacians before returning home in. The iliad sparknotes literature guide volume 35 sparknotes literature guide series 9781411469754. Poseidon orders the achaeans to take up larger shields and move forward.
This video provides an indepth summary and analysis of the plot, characters and themes of book 8 of homers epic poem the iliad. Zeus begins to taunt hera, mocking her and athena for standing by while aphrodite rescues paris. Home english literature classic books the iliad book xxi 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. Achilles follows the trojans into the river, hacking them to pieces with his sword. With the gods absent, the achaean forces again overwhelm the trojans, who draw back.
Athena pleads to the gods and zeus at mount olympus on behalf of the imprisoned odysseus and telemachus, who is in danger of being ambushed. With the return of hector and paris the battle escalates, but apollo and athena soon decide to end the battle for the day. He seems to be irritated that so many other gods have played a role in the battle between the greeks. Learn the important quotes in the iliad and the chapters theyre from, including why theyre important and what they mean in the context of the book. Read an overview of the entire poem or a line by line summary and analysis. Thetis presents achilles with the armor that hephaestus has forged for him. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. Titles of each book in the iliad flashcards quizlet. The outcome of achilles anger is the will of zeus, but it also killed a huge number of achaean soldiers. Paris, the trojan prince who precipitated the war by. In t he iliad, both gods and men struggle to bring an end to the ten year trojan war agamemnon and achilles argue over a captive woman, and achilles refuses to fight for the. As hector and polydamas try to storm the ramparts, they see an omen, an eagle holding a bloody serpent in its talons.
Chapter summary for homers the iliad, book 4 summary. Homer begins by asking the muse to help him sing the story of the rage of achilles. Chapter summary for homers the iliad, book 6 summary. Definitely the most fun ive had in the odyssey so far. Book 8 of homers the iliad opens with zeus having a bit of a tantrum. The thematic, narrative, and linguistic differences between book 10 and other books in the poem have sparked debate about its authorship since ancient times. In the tenth year of the trojan war, tensions are running high among the achaians a superancient name for the ancient greeks. The story opens in the ninth year of war between troy and the achaeans, when a plague has swept over the achaean army. The exploits of diomed, who, though wounded by pandarus, continues fightinghe kills pandarus and wounds aeneasvenus. Poseidon, eager to help the achaeans and realizing that zeus has.
Apollos priest chryses comes to the achaian camp and asks to ransom back his daughter chryseis, who has been captured. The fighting that began in book v continues in book vi. Zeus, happy with the wars progress, takes his leave of the battlefield. From a general summary to chapter summaries to explanations of famous quotes, the sparknotes the iliad study guide has everything you need to ace quizzes, tests, and essays. Chapter summary for homers the iliad, book 7 summary. Zeus accepts her oaths and tells her they must reign in.
But homer tells us at the end of book 8 that the gods do not accept the sacrifice of the trojans. Zeus calls all the gods together and forbids them to meddle any further in the war. Poseidon comes down to the battlefield and takes the form of calchas the seer. These movements end in books xv, xvi, and xvii when the trojans fire the greek ships, patroklos is killed, and. Chapter summary for homers the iliad, book 8 summary. The fall of night creates a pause after the last 8 books of pure action, building tension for achilles entry into battle when fighting resumes. Murray 1 now dawn the saffronrobed was spreading over the face of all the earth, and zeus that hurleth the thunderbolt made a gathering of the gods upon the topmost peak of manyridged olympus, and himself addressed their gathering. Hera sends a mist to confuse and slow the retreat of the men going back towards the city.
With these words hector passed through the gates, and his brother. 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. The iliad, books 89 classical texts series by homer. Achilles singlehandedly splits the trojan forces, driving one half towards the city and one half into the river. Chapter summary for homers the iliad, book 10 summary. He notes that menelaus is the victor, and that he should now lead helen home. At the achaean camp, achilles and the myrmidons continue their mourning for patroclus. Find a summary of this and each chapter of the iliad. The next morning, zeus rains blood upon the achaean lines, filling them with panic. Hera, trying to escape blame, swears that she did not make poseidon help the achaeans. The dynamic between odysseus and broadsea is excellent, and the story sung by demodocus about the love. One of the greatest stories ever told, iliad has survived for thousan.
The trojan army marches from the city gates and advances to meet the achaeans. Little ajax knows then that some god has spoken to them, and the aeantes spirits rise. Get a detailed summary and analysis of every chapter in the book from. Download the free study guide and infographic for homers epic. The iliad is an epic poem and part of the ancient greek oral tradition. Shortly thereafter, the achaians and trojans start battling again. Home english literature classic books the iliad book x. Next section books 912 summary and analysis previous section books 14 summary and analysis buy study guide. Achilles finally begins to accept food, but he still.
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