Reading Notes: Homer's Iliad, Part B
Below you'll find my reading notes for Homer's Iliad, Part B. Enjoy!
1: The Rousing of Achilles
-after Patroclus died, the Greeks were very angry; Hector tried to take Patroclus's body and spoil it, but Ajax stopped him
-Glaucus, the kinsman of Sarpedon, got mad at Hector for giving up Patroclus's body to Ajax; he accuses Hector of being afraid of Ajax; Hector says he is only afraid of Zeus; to prove that he's not scared, he takes the armor of Achilles (that he took off of Patroclus's dead body) and puts it on; this makes Zeus angry
-they continue to fight over Patroclus's body; Hector tried to take Achilles's chariot and horses, but Zeus wouldn't let him; Ajax and Menelaus send Antilochus to Achilles to tell him that Patroclus is dead and that Hector is trying to take his body
2: The Rousing of Achilles (cont.)
-the Greeks continue to fight the Trojans for Patroclus's body; Antilochus tells Achilles what happened to Patroclus; Achilles is extremely upset
-Thetis comes to Achilles and asks him what is wrong; Achilles tells her what happened to Patroclus and that he doesn't want to live anymore without Patroclus, he just wants revenge; Thetis reminds him that the prophecy said if he killed Hector, he would die soon after; he ignores her and decides to get revenge on Hector for what he did to Patroclus; Thetis agrees, but says he needs to wait because he doesn't have any armor now that Hector has taken it; Thetis goes to Hephaestus to get new armor
-Zeus sends Achilles a message saying he needs to go fight now or else Patroclus's body will be taken by the Trojans; Zeus tells him that he just needs to show himself at the battle and the Trojans will retreat; Achilles ran to the battle at the Trojans retreated, allowing the Greeks to take Patroclus's body back to Achilles's tent
-the Trojans talk about what they should do now that Achilles has returned to battle; they want to hide behind the wall, but Hector says if Achilles comes to battle, he'll fight him
3: The Slaying of Hector
-King Priam instructs the gate keepers of Troy to keep the gates open, allowing Trojans to get in while they escape from Achilles; the Greeks would have taken the city then but Apollo saved it; Apollo puts courage into the heart of Agenor, who decides to stand by the gate and wait for Achilles so he can kill him; Achilles came near and Agenor threw a spear at him but it deflected; Apollo put Agenor back inside the wall and took his form, leading Achilles away
-finally, when all the Trojans had gone back inside, only Hector was left on the battlefield; Apollo reveals himself to Achilles, so Achilles goes back to the gate to find Hector; King Priam begs Hector to come back inside the wall
4: The Slaying of Hector (cont.)
-Hector refuses to come inside Troy despite the pleading of his parents; Hector decides he can't go behind the wall because he doesn't want to be seen as weak or wishy-washy; then Achilles appears, and Hector runs away in fear, Achilles chasing him around the city
-in Olympus, the gods contemplate whether or not they will save Hector from Achilles; they know Hector is fated to die so they decide not to save him; Apollo decides to help Hector, giving him strength to keep running; after they run around the city 3 times, Athena appears to Achilles and tells him that he will kill Hector, and that she'll bring Hector to him
5: The Slaying of Hector (end)
-Athena takes the shape of Deiphobus (Hector's friend) and tells Hector that they will fight Achilles together if he stops running; Hector agrees and stops, challenging Achilles; Achilles throws a spear at Hector and misses, but Athena gives it back to him; Hector throws his spear at Achilles, and asks Deiphobus to help him, but he's gone, so he realizes that his friend was never there
-Hector rushes at Achilles, but Achilles stabs him in the neck with a spear; Hector asks Achilles to give his body back to his parents and let them bury it; Achilles refuses; Hector warns him about the gods' wrath, and then dies
-Achilles ties Hector's body to the back of his chariot by the ankles and drags it back towards the Greeks' camp; Andromache, not knowing what happened, hears crying from the wall and goes to see what's happened; she sees Hector's body getting dragged behind Achilles's chariot and passes out
6: The Ransoming of Hector
-Achilles treats the body of Hector horribly, dragging it around camp constantly behind his chariot; Zeus tells Thetis to go to Achilles and tell him to give up Hector's body for ransom; she goes to Achilles and asks him, and he agrees to give the body up
-Zeus sends his messenger Iris to King Priam and tells him that Zeus will give him gifts to give Achilles in exchange for Hector's body; Priam decides to go to Achilles himself and give him the gifts; Priam goes to the Greeks' camp, hidden by Zeus so that the Greeks won't see him; Hermes appears to Priam as a Myrmidon man and tells him that he will protect him, and asks him why he's taking so much treasure with him; Hermes takes Priam to Achilles's tent
7: The Ransoming of Hector (cont.)
-Hermes takes Priam to Achilles's tent, making all the Myrmidons fall into a deep sleep, and reveals himself to Priam, instructing him to beg Achilles to have pity on him; Priam does what Hermes tells him, and Achilles takes pity on him; Achilles takes the gifts and gives Priam Hector's body
-Priam stays with Achilles for a while and eats and drinks with him until he falls asleep in the tent; before he falls asleep, though, he says there will be a truce between the Greeks and the Trojans for 9 days while they mourn Hector; Achilles agrees
-while Priam slept, Hermes came to him and told him to go home instead of sleeping among the Greeks, and he does; the Trojans have a lavish funeral for Hector and the war begins again after 9 days
An illustration from The Iliad for Boys and Girls. Source: Webpage.
As you can tell, the story is pretty gruesome- especially what happens to Hector. I have to say though, I'm a little disappointed that the reading didn't include Achilles's death or the iconic Trojan horse. I would have liked to read about those from Homer's perspective.
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