What is the Iliad Book 1 about?
The poet invokes a muse to aid him in telling the story of the rage of Achilles, the greatest Greek hero to fight in the Trojan War. The narrative begins nine years after the start of the war, as the Achaeans sack a Trojan-allied town and capture two beautiful maidens, Chryseis and Briseis.
What happens in Book 8 of the Iliad?
Summary: Book 8 There he weighs the fates of Troy and Achaea in his scale, and the Achaean side sinks down. With a shower of lightning upon the Achaean army, Zeus turns the tide of battle in the Trojans’ favor, and the Greeks retreat in terror. But Hector finally wounds him, reversing the tide of battle yet again.
What is the major scene in Book 1 of Iliad?
The first scene of the Iliad finds Chryses, the priest of Apollo (god of the sun and a whole lot of other stuff), approaching the Achaian camp to ask for his daughter back. Shortly afterward, we learn that his daughter is being held captive by Agamemnon, who wants to keep her as his personal possession.
What happens in the beginning of the Iliad?
The Iliad begins with the poet calling on the Muse to sing of the wrath of Achilleus and its consequences. Agamemnon repeats his threat to take Achilleus’ prize, and Achilleus is about to draw his sword when Athene appears to him and stops him.
Where does Book 1 of The Iliad take place?
Troy
The Iliad takes place in the tenth year of the Trojan War. The Trojan War, as you’ll know from the Backstory section of our summary of Book 1, involved a massive army of Achaians (a.k.a. Greeks) who crossed the sea to lay siege to Troy, a city in modern Turkey.
How many Iliad books are there?
24 books
In the modern vulgate (the standard accepted version), the Iliad contains 15,693 lines, divided into 24 books; it is written in Homeric Greek, a literary amalgam of Ionic Greek and other dialects. It is usually grouped in the Epic Cycle.
What were Zeus instructions to the gods at the start of Book 8?
In Book Eight, Zeus takes some real action on behalf of Achilles’ honor, as he has promised to his mother Thetis and assembles the gods on Mount Olympus to tell out his plans. He forbids the divinities to cross him and says that no one is allowed to help the mortals on either side.
How does the Iliad end?
The Iliad ends with the death and funeral of Hector, a prince and great warrior of Troy. Achilles, the hero of the Iliad, kills Hector in an act of revenge and anger for killing his friend Patroclus. The story ends not with the end of the Trojan War but with the enemy’s funeral.
Where and when did the story happen in Iliad?
The Iliad, Homer’s epic poem, written around 800 BCE, takes place over the course of about 50 days and details the Greek legend of the Trojan War. The action of the story shifts from the besieged city of Troy, the battlefields between the two locations, and the Greek camp, where most of the action takes place.
What is The Iliad main focus?
Iliad, epic poem in 24 books traditionally attributed to the ancient Greek poet Homer. It takes the Trojan War as its subject, though the Greek warrior Achilles is its primary focus.
What happens in Book 16 of The Iliad?
Summary: Book 16 As Patroclus arms himself, the first ship goes up in flames. Patroclus soon spears Sarpedon, and both sides fight over his armor. Hector returns briefly to the front in an attempt to retrieve the armor. Zeus decides to kill Patroclus for slaying Sarpedon, but first he lets him rout the Trojans.