Podcast
Questions and Answers
What event marks the climax of The Iliad?
What is Achilles's homeland?
Why does King Priam of Troy visit the Achaean camp?
How does Achilles treat Hector's body after killing him?
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What is the tone of the ending of The Iliad?
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What is the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus?
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What is the focus of the first two-thirds of The Iliad?
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What does The Iliad not narrate?
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What is the primary motivation driving Achilles' actions?
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How does Achilles react when he perceives his honor has been slighted?
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What is a significant character flaw of Achilles?
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How does Achilles treat his opponents in battle?
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What prompts Achilles to seek reconciliation with Agamemnon?
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What is a notable characteristic of Homeric characters like Achilles?
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What is the result of King Priam's pleas to Achilles?
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What is the fate that Achilles must choose between?
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Study Notes
The Iliad
- The poem describes the war between humans and gods, with the tactical advantage constantly switching between the armies according to the gods' whims.
- Both the Achaeans and Trojans suffer great losses throughout the war.
Achilles
- Achilles is the son of Peleus and the sea-nymph Thetis, and is the most powerful warrior in The Iliad.
- He commands the Myrmidons, soldiers from his homeland of Phthia in Greece.
- Achilles is proud and headstrong, taking offense easily and reacting with indignation when his honor is slighted.
- His wrath at Agamemnon for taking his war prize, the maiden Briseis, forms the main subject of The Iliad.
Character Flaws
- Achilles possesses superhuman strength and has a close relationship with the gods, but his deep-seated character flaws impede his ability to act with nobility and integrity.
- He cannot control his pride or the rage that surges up when his pride is injured.
- This attribute poisons him, causing him to abandon his comrades and even pray that the Trojans will slaughter them.
Motivations
- Achilles is driven primarily by a thirst for glory.
- Part of him yearns to live a long, easy life, but he knows that his personal fate forces him to choose between the two.
- He is willing to sacrifice everything else so that his name will be remembered.
Plot Developments
- The death of Patroclus in Book 16 prompts Achilles to seek revenge on Hector.
- Achilles's rage at Hector eclipses his rage at Agamemnon, and he finally relents on his pledge and rejoins the fight.
- Achilles kills Hector, straps the Trojan's corpse to a chariot, and drags it through the dirt in a spectacle of violence.
- He takes Hector's body back to his camp and eventually agrees to return the body to King Priam for burial.
Conclusion
- The poem concludes with Priam returning to a grief-stricken Troy to bury his son Hector.
- The ending of The Iliad echoes the theme of war's persistence, with the promise that the war will resume in full force the following day.
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Description
This quiz analyzes the plot and events of Homer's epic poem, The Iliad, including the war between Achaeans and Trojans and the significance of Patroclus' death.
