Grendel sparknotes literature guide by john gardner making the reading experience fun. The climax of the iliad occurs when achilleus agrees to return hektors body to priam, showing his ultimate humanity and moral redemption. The iliad sparknotes literature guides by sparknotes. Hector is a different kind of hero than achilles, less godlike but more connected to the people around him. The iliad quiz that tests what you know about important details and events in the book. About iliad iliad summary character list themes books 14 books 58 books 912 books 16 books 1720 books 21 24 related links quiz 1 quiz 2 citations. Book 21 achilles routs the trojans and splits their ranks, pursuing half of them into the river known to the gods as xanthus and to the mortals as scamander. Hera sends a mist to confuse and slow the retreat of the men going back towards the city. Purchase a copy of this text not necessarily the same edition from. He still demonstrates a tendency toward the thoughtless rage that has brought so many achaeans to their deaths. Achilles continues to mourn for patroclus, lying awake at night and filling time comfort by heaping abuse on hectors body. The games end but achilles cannot sleep because he yearns for his friend. Priam, overlooking the battlefield from the trojan ramparts, begs him to come inside, but hector, having given the overconfident order for the trojans to camp outside their gates the night before, now feels too ashamed to join them in their retreat. Created by harvard students for students everywhere, sparknotes is a new breed of study guide.
Achilles routs the trojans and splits their ranks, pursuing half of them into the river known to the gods as xanthus and to the mortals as. No one noticed them, no man, no welldressed woman, except cassandra, a girl as beautiful 860. 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. On the riverbank, achilles mercilessly slaughters lycaon, a son of priam. A 12day reprieve in the fighting is agreed upon in. Kline after he slays hector in book 22, achilles prepares patroclus ceremonial funeral. Get a detailed summary and analysis of every chapter in the book from. Agamemnon and achilles argue over who had the better death. Accordingly, they serve little purpose in the storys plot. Iliad book 24 summary and analysis the iliadbook 24 by homer translated by a. Agamemnons rejection of chryses in book i leads to all of the events of the iliad. The wrath of achilles is finally assuaged in book xxiv. Iliad book 24, burial of hector end as dawn spread her yellow robes over all the earth, the two men drove their horses inside the city, weeping and groaning. For the next several days, achilles drags hectors corpse around patrocluss tomb every time he misses his comrade.
Home english literature classic books the iliad book xxiii 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 sparknotes literature guide volume 35 sparknotes literature guide series 9781411469754. Further study books 23 24 quiz further study books 23 24 quiz. This time, however, the fathers prayers are immediately granted. The iliad begins with the trojan war already in progress. Homer builds parallels throughout the iliad in which an event in one group is mirrored in a scene of another group. With the return of hector and paris the battle escalates, but apollo and athena soon decide to end the battle for the day. What does the dead patroclus ask of achilles in his dream. Apollo addresses the gods wondering aloud why they dont allow hector a. While the achaeans and trojans prepare for battle, zeus summons the gods to mount olympus. The epic poem ends with the trojans burying hector.
Home english literature classic books the iliad book xxiv 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 quizzes about important details and events in every section of the book. The quarrel between achilles and agamemnon in book 1 of homers iliad sets in motion a chain of events that will affect the. First, the priest chryses comes to ask their leader, king agamemnon, to release his daughter, whom agamemnon was holding captive. Apr 30, 2020 listen to free audio books and poetry recordings summary by karen savage other books in this series by this reader. Up to this point achilles has been stuck in anger fed by grief. When agamemnon refuses, the priest prays to the god apollo to send a. Apollos priest chryses comes to the achaian camp and asks to ransom back his daughter chryseis, who has been captured. The iliad begins with the poet calling on the muse to sing of the wrath of achilleus and its consequences. Many people have noted connections between the last book and the first because both involve a father seeking the return of a child. See a complete list of the characters in the iliad and indepth analyses of achilles, agamemnon, and hector. Priams invocation of achilles own father, peleus, forges a momentary bond between him and achilles. He lies awake and remembers all the things that they did together. All the people of troy grieve his loss, and the three trojan women testify to his humane qualities.
In book 24 of homers the iliad, priam of troy goes to the myrmidon camp and asks achilles for hectors body. Check out our revolutionary sidebyside summary and analysis. The annenberg cpbproject provided support for entering this text. At the beginning of the section apollo calls him that man without a shred of decency in his heart, all brute force and wild pride, and no shame that does great harm or drives men on to good. 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. The tales of odysseuss struggle with a maneating cyclops and circe, the beautiful enchantress who turns men into swine. Zeus wakes and sees the havoc that hera and poseidon have wreaked while he dozed in his enchanted sleep. Although the iliad begins by outlining its subject as the wrath of achilles, the poem ends with the burial of hector. Achilles singlehandedly splits the trojan forces, driving one half towards the city and one half into the river. 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. Apollo protects the body from decay and damage, but hera, athena, and poseidon wont let the other gods steal it from achilles and return it to hectors family.
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. Read an overview of the entire poem or a line by line summary and analysis. Poseidon, eager to help the achaeans and realizing that zeus has gone, visits little ajax and great ajax in the form of calchas and gives them confidence to resist the trojan assault. Homers epic poem the iliad tells the story of the trojan war and the epic heroes and gods. Athena pallas polyphemus the cyclops and king alcinous. Hermes leads the souls of the suitors, crying like bats, into hades. In the tenth year of the trojan war, tensions are running high among the achaians a superancient name for the ancient greeks. The iliad by homer book 24 themes questions summary characters my favorite part is when priam gets to achilles with such wise words and gets him to let go of hectors body but that was only for a second because he knew that priam didnt went alone, but with the help of the gods. The iliad is an ancient greek epic poem by homer that was first published in 762 bc. The iliad by homer book 24 by paloli olivencia on prezi. Achilles finally begins to accept food, but he still. Although achilles has reconciled with agamemnon, his other actions in books 19 and 20 indicate that he has made little progress as a character.
The iliad sparknotes literature guide series by sparknotes. The twentyfourth book of the iliad the account of priams ransoming of h. Books 23 24 the games at patrocluss funeral serve primarily as a buffer between two climactic eventsthe death of hector and his burial. At the achaean camp, achilles and the myrmidons continue their mourning for patroclus. Greek audiences would have been familiar with the background of the story, and here a brief summary of events is. Sparknotes and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. 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. See the conflicts in book 1, first between mortals and then between the gods.
Achilles follows the trojans into the river, hacking them to pieces with his sword. The iliad sparknotes literature guide sparknotes literature guide series by homer. He goes out of his house, planning to further disgrace hectors body but the gods take pity on the fallen trojan. Zeus, happy with the wars progress, takes his leave of the battlefield. Heres where youll find analysis about the poem as a whole. Hector now stands as the only trojan left outside troy. Check out our revolutionary side byside summary and analysis.
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