1. Preparing for the Journey
The Iliad
Preparing for the Journey

2. EPIC-Review A long narrative poem
Tells story of divine beings and people fighting or taking a long, arduous journey
Most often recited or sung to audience
Revolves around struggle of a hero

3. Traits of a Greek Hero-Review
Having one immortal parent
Being born into royalty
Having an unusual conception or birth
Being favored by the gods
Being the subject of a prophecy

4. Traits of a Greek Hero- Review
Being abandoned at birth or while very young
Performing an amazing feat at a young age
Going on a quest
Traveling to the underworld
Marrying a princess
Dying an ignoble death

5. The Hero’s Limitations
Heroes can have moments of weakness (remember Odysseus in The Odyssey?)
When Achilles was an infant, his goddess mother held him by the heel and dipped him into the river Styx in the realm of the dead. He could not be hurt anywhere but his heel.
He has a fierce temper.

6. Author- Homer Epic poem written by Homer in about 800 B.C.
Many believe he didn’t exist
His writing revealed truths,
and people learned to read by studying his poems.

7. Literary Style
The Epics’ dignified style is due to the epithet and the epic simile.
Epic Simile: Extends over several lines
Ex: Mrs. Hofmann is as annoying as a long, dirty fingernail being slowly scratched down an old, dusty, blackboard.
Epithet: Descriptive words and phrases that characterize persons and things
Ex: Achilles, the swift runner, was a hero.

8. The Importance of Honor
Achilles, the greatest of heroes, fights for and with honor.
Honor is an integral part of The Iliad- people are fighting for the honor of a betrayed king.

9. The Power of Fate
Fate, or destiny, is a major theme in the epics of Greece.
According to Greeks, every person- hero or not- was given a distinct fate at birth.
Accepting fate is wise, attempting to avoid it was foolish and lead to terrible consequences.

10. Prequel to The Iliad
Story is about the Trojan Prince, Paris, who visits Greece
There is a contest among the goddesses Hera, Aphrodite, and Athena. Who was the most beautiful?
All want to be the winner of an apple inscribed “For the Fairest”

11. Prequel to The Iliad Zeus asked Paris to judge
Each made offers to induce Paris to give her the apple (bribe)
Hera offered riches and power
Athena offered wisdom and success in war
Aphrodite offered love of Helen, the most beautiful mortal woman in the world

12. Prequel to The Iliad Paris chose Aphrodite
Aphrodite lead him to Helen, the wife of King Menaleas of Sparta
Paris steals Helen from the king
She became Helen of Troy and ignited the Trojan War

13. Prequel to The Iliad The Greek forces besieged Troy for 10 years.
The Iliad focuses on the last year of the war
It begins with a quarrel between Agamemnon (commander of Greek forces) and Achilles.
Achilles, filled with anger, withdraws from the war.

14. Prequel to The Iliad
As a result, Hector (Trojan) is able to get Greeks back to their ships.
Achilles returns to the war only after Patroclus (his best friend) has been killed by Hector.
He is so angry he kills every Trojan in his path until he meets Hector man to man.

15. Literary Devices Journal
As we read, you will be responsible for finding evidence of the following literary devices as they are employed in The Iliad. Your analysis should identify your understanding of these terms. Your lead in should identify your understanding of this text. Your citation should identify your understanding of MLA format.
Symbol
External Conflict
Epic Hero
Fate
Epic Simile
Metaphor
Protagonist
Antagonist
Irony
Epithet
Internal Conflict
Foreshadowing
Personification
Imagery

16. Example:
Achilles, swearing that he will not fight with the Greeks in the Trojan War despite how much they might need him states “this scepter will be the mighty force behind my oath” (Homer 1.280). The scepter is a symbol of authority; therefore, when Achilles swears by it, he does so with power. This exemplifies his true intentions of keeping his word. The authority of his words prove true in his future actions of not going into battle for nine of the ten years of the war.