The lliad
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Want a study guide too?
So that's why Brad Pitt looks so fit in Troy! (The movie, not the city-state.) He's related to the gods, just like Achilles was. We always knew knew it was our lame mortal genes and not our refusal to hit the gym that was preventing us from building muscles like that.
Author | Homer - Homer |
Form | Poem |
Language | English Language |
Literature | World Literature |
Poetry | Epic Poem |
Themes | Compassion and Forgiveness Fate and Free Will Friendship Hate Love Mortality Pride Religion War and Warfare |
Transcript
While Disney would have you believe that Hercules was the ultimate gladiator, if you're looking
for the real men of the Hellenic peninsula, you need look no further than Homer's epic
poem, the Iliad.
The Iliad takes a look at about 10 days of the Trojan WarÉ and focuses on the character
of AchillesÉ and his anger management problem.
What is it about this guy that makes him so important he gets an entire epic poem written
about him? Now, you've probably heard the story of how
Achilles' mom, Thetis, attempted to make her son immortal by dipping him in the river Styx.
She would have succeeded, too, if only she'd put the heel she was holding into the water
along with the rest of her son.
However, that part of his story isn't even mentioned in the Iliad.
Besides, it's not like Achilles even needed a swim in the Styx Ð he was born with advantages
that we mortals can only dream of.
First off, Achilles' mom was a goddess. Pretty cool, right? He didn't have to eat his Wheaties
in order to grow up big and strongÉ
Éhe was automatically mighty, and more powerful than any mere human, by virtue of hisÉ genealogy.
Achilles' ties to Mount Olympus also meant he could ring up Zeus whenever he wanted and
ask for a favor.
ÒAssist the Trojans, Zeusy,Ó Achilles said, and BAM! It was done.
Not that it turned out well for anyone, including Achilles' bestie, Patroklos[1] << PAT-tro-kluss>>,
but you know...connections. It's nice to have them.
Or maybe what made Achilles such a big hero was his prophesied fate.
Unlike the rest of us, who wander through life hoping we end up rich, famous, and happy,
Achilles knew he was destined for buckets of glory...as long as he died young.
If Achilles made it home from Troy, however, he would die old, fat, and without glory.
That's a toughie. Something else that set Achilles apart from
all the other Greek heroes was that, even if you took away his goddess mom and the prophecy
about his destinyÉ
Éhe was still an amazing warrior...and crazy to boot. Can't forget that part.
You see, Achilles had the ego of a Kardashian and the emotional maturity of an eight-year-old.
When Agamemnon threatened to break up Achilles and our hero's girlfriend Briseis <<bruh-see-iss>>,
the only way that Achilles could get back at Agamemnon was to ask Zeus to help out the
Trojans[2]É and to stop fighting in the war himself.
Then, when Achilles' BFF, Patroklos, goes to that big agora<<aa-guh-ruh>> in the sky,
Achilles loses it. He starts killing guys left and right.
Oh, you're waving a white flag? You're dead. Oh, you're begging for your life? Dead.
So, um, maybe not such a hero after all.[3] At least not in the way we think of a hero
today. What do you think?
Hero?
Éor zero? Shmoop amongst yourselves.
[1]Emphasis on the Pat (PAT-tro-kluss) [2]Um, and he stops fighting in the war. That's
the whole point. [3]This kind of glosses over the fact that
the definition of hero in ancient Greece was different than todayÉ