Sparknotes the iliad book 2

The iliad and the odyssey with active table of contents homer. The iliad, together with the odyssey, is one of two ancient greek epic poems traditionally attributed to homer. Book 2 of the iliad is best known for the catalog of ships, which introduces the achaen forces and is the most famous example of the form of the epic catalog. Zeus wakes up and sends a dream to agamemnon instructing him to attack troy full force. See a complete list of the characters in the iliad and indepth analyses of achilles, agamemnon, and hector. To repay the indignity chryses has suffered, apollo, the mouse god, rains arrows of plague on the greek forces for 9 days.

Hera sends a mist to confuse and slow the retreat of the men going back towards the city. He decides to send a treacherous dream to agamemnon. Book i sing, o goddess, the anger of achilles son of peleus, that brought countless ills upon the achaeans. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of the iliad by homer. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of the iliad and what it means. In the very first line of the iliad, the poet addresses the muse, who inspires him with song, and asks her to sing through him the story of the wrath of the son of peleus, aka achilles. The iliad sparknotes literature guide sparknotes literature guide series book 35 study guide edition, kindle edition by sparknotes author format. Zeus begins to taunt hera, mocking her and athena for standing by while aphrodite rescues paris. Homers epic poem the iliad tells the story of the trojan war and the epic heroes and gods, including achilles, hector, odysseus, athena, ares. The iliad is an ancient greek epic poem by homer that was first published in 762 bc. Rodents do spread plague, so the association between a divine mouse function and delivering plague makes sense, even if the greeks werent completely aware of the connection. The catalogue is a significant break in the action of the epic, serving as a list of all the characters involved in the rest of the.

Although we know little about the time period when it was composed and still less about the epics composer, the iliads influence on subsequent generations of poets and writers is incalculable. In this dream, agamemnon is led to believe that all the gods favor him. The written version of the iliad presupposes a basic familiarity with the characters and mythological causes and effects of the. In this dream, agamemnon is led to believe that all.

Homers epic poem the iliad tells the story of the trojan war and the epic heroes and gods, including achilles, hector, odysseus, athena, ares, paris. In order to lure the achaeans into disaster, zeus sends. In the tenth year of the trojan war, achilles, the greatest fighter for the achaeans the greeks and their allies, is enraged. At the beginning of book 2, zeus dictates his message for agamemnon in a personified dream.

Homer, iliad book 21 theoi classical texts library. Achilles follows the trojans into the river, hacking them to pieces with his sword. Murray 1 now when they were marshalled, the several companies with their captains, the trojans came on with clamour and with a cry like birds, even as the clamour of cranes ariseth before the face of heaven, when they flee from wintry storms and measureless rain, and with clamour fly toward the streams of ocean, bearing slaughter and death to pigmy men. Book 2 opens with zeus, king of the greek gods, who has allied himself with the trojans, opposing his wife hera, who favors the achaens. Oct, 2017 the iliad book summary in under five minutes. The narrative begins nine years after the start of the war, as the achaeans sack a trojanallied town and capture two beautiful maidens, chryseis and briseis. The odyssey sparknotes literature guide sparknotes literature guide series book 49 sparknotes. First, the priest chryses comes to ask their leader, king agamemnon, to release his daughter, whom agamemnon was holding captive. Murray 1 but when they were now come to the ford of the fairflowing river, even eddying xanthus that immortal zeus begat, there achilles cleft them asunder, and the one part he drave to the plain toward the city, even where the achaeans were fleeing in rout the day before, what time glorious hector was ragingthitherward poured forth some in rout, and. The two heroes meet on the battlefield and exchange insults. The iliad the greeks believed that the iliadand the odyssey were composed by a single poet whom they named homer. Many a brave soul did it send hurrying down to hades, and many a hero did it.

Written by harvard students for students, since its. Now the other gods and the armed warriors on the plain slept. Geared to what todays students need to know, sparknotes provides chapterbychapter analysis. Aeschylusoresteia nominated for a national book award and homers iliad winner of the 1991 harold morton landon translation award by the academy of american poets, an award from the translation center of columbia university, and the new jersey humanities book award are published in penguin classics. Book v, sometimes referred to as the diomedia, has its own internal unity and may once have constituted an independent poem, or bardic lay, about the exploits of the achaian hero diomedes, which was adapted by homer and included in the iliad.

The iliad sparknotes literature guide by homer making the reading experience fun. King agamemnon, who leads the achaeans, has brought an illness upon the army by refusing to give up a woman, chryseis, whom he seized as a prize in a. By the end of book 2, homer has introduced all of the iliad s major characters on the greek sidehis catalog of the trojan troops at the end of book 2 leads naturally into an introduction of the trojan leadership in book 3. Iliad by homer book i thus did he pray, and apollo heard his prayer. The first part of book ii involves the false dream that zeus sends to agamemnon. Descriptions of the ritual of sacrifice in other sections of the poem often repeat part or all. In homers iliad, the epic poets heroes are often motivated by kleos, a greek word which can carry meanings such good reputation, fame, and glory. The iliad is a classic ancient greek poem usually attributed to homer. The iliad and the odyssey 2 books in 1 copy limited. Created by harvard students for students everywhere, sparknotes is a new breed of study guide.

The presence of these catalogues in the iliad is a good example of the way homer composed his poems on a foundation of historical and literary tradition. Iliad study guide contains a biography of homer, literature essays, a complete etext, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. 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. The iliad was a wondrous book about love, adventure, and conflict. When a paper is due, and dreaded exams loom, heres the litcrit help students need to succeed. Now the great array of gods and chariotdriving men slept all night long, but the peaceful grip of sleep could not hold zeus, turning it over in his mind. Read an overview of the entire poem or a line by line summary and analysis. Their spirits restored, the achaeans again stand up to the trojans, and the two aeantes the plural of ajax prove successful in driving hector back. The catalogue gives the names of the leaders of each contingent, lists the settlements in the kingdom represented by the. 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. The iliad sparknotes literature guides by sparknotes. Throughout the iliad, many of the characters have aristeias. 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. King agamemnon, who leads the achaeans, has brought an illness upon the army by refusing to give up a woman, chryseis, whom he seized as a prize in a recent battle.

The dream that zeus sends to agamemnon is a false omen, one that agamemnon takes as a sign of fate. Iliad by homer book i classical wisdom weekly part 2. The two men arm themselves and set off for the trojan camp. The odyssey homer homers the odyssey is the epic of odysseus 10 year journey to return home to ithaca after the trojan war, while his wife penelope and son telemachus fight off the suitors who want claim to ithaca before. Iliad study guide contains a biography of homer, literature essays. Achilles singlehandedly splits the trojan forces, driving one half towards the city and one half into the river. The first three books of the iliad introduce us to the plot, some of the main characters. Homers iliad books 12 provided by the internet classics archive. While seven greek cities claim the honorof being his birthplace, ancient.

Battles over fallen comrades become more significant in book 16. The dream went when it had heard its message, and soon reached. Agamemnon sends him rudely away, and chryses prays to apollo to punish the greeks. Information on the first book of the iliad of homer. Zeus is kept up at night trying to devise the best plan to honor achilles by harming the achaeans. The iliad sparknotes literature guide sparknotes literature guide series by homer. We are told from the beginning that the story is going to be about the rage or anger of achilles, the greatest warrior in achaia greece. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. Click anywhere in the line to jump to another position. Agamemnon then relays the whole dream in exactly the same words to his troops. She has a masters degree in linguistics and is a former latin teacher. Home english literature classic books the iliad book iv 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. Theyre todays most popular study guideswith everything you need to succeed in school. The poem is commonly dated to the 8th or 7th century bc, and many scholars believe it is the oldest extant work of literature in the greek language, making it the first work of european literature.

The poem has already established the characters of agamemnon, proud and headstrong, and achilles, mighty but temperamental, whose quarrel dominates the epic. The point is, now that you know what the things are, its high time we jumped into the middle of them. The presence of these catalogues in the iliad is a good example of the way. Apollos priest chryses comes to the achaian camp and asks to ransom back his daughter chryseis, who has been captured. A cast of thousands readings tuesday night classsept. 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. Consisting of 15,693 lines of verse, the iliad has been hailed as the greatest epic of western civilization. Litcharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in the iliad, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. The desire to protect sarpedons body motivates hector to return to battle where hector and patroclus face off in a literal tugofwar over the body of hectors driver. Then minerva took the form of laodocus, son of antenor, and went through the ranks of the trojans to find. 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 iliad sparknotes literature guide series by sparknotes.

The story told in the iliad figured prominently in greek culture long before the epic was ever written down. The achaeans success so far despite achilles absence, along with pariss cowardice and hectors hopeless despair in book 6, have seemed to spell doom for the. Well, the first place you could look is the enotes summary on homers iliad. The iliad begins with the poet calling on the muse to sing of the wrath of achilleus and its consequences. Book 9 of the iliad old phoenix calls for a man of words and a man of to. The dream then left him, and he thought of things that were, surely not to be accomplished. The catalogue gives the names of the leaders of each contingent, lists the settlements in the kingdom represented by the contingent, sometimes with a descriptive epithet that. When last we left the story at the end of book 2 of homers the iliad, the achaean forces, which had been camped outside the walls of troy for nine long years trying to defeat. Book 23 of 50 in sparknotes literature guide series. On a previous encounter, achilles captured lycaon and. Agamemnon rises newly inspired and dons his battle gear, even though it is not yet day. Homers epic poem the iliad tells the story of the trojan war and the epic heroes and gods. Agamemnons dream and the rallying of the men after they try to return to the ships, and the great catalogue of the greek kings, heroes, and ships that have come to troy.

Zeus will does come to pass, but in the exact opposite way that agamemnon expects. Homers iliad begins during the tenth year of the trojan war and opens, like most epic poems, with a request for inspiration from the appropriate muse. This contains a book by book summary and analysis of homers epic poem. Sparknotes and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. The dream, taking the form of the wise nestor, tells agamemnon that troy. Home english literature classic books the iliad book ii. Gill is a freelance classics and ancient history writer. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. Homers iliad books 1 2 provided by the internet classics archive. He came down furious from the summits of olympus, with his bow and his quiver upon his shoulder, and the arrows rattled on his back with the rage that trembled within him. Heres where youll find analysis about the poem as a whole.