II. TheIliad

Abstract

The Iliad is not an Achilleid, although Achilles is the most important character in the epic. One of the most striking features of the poem is the way in which it embraces the action of the whole Trojan war by retrospective and prospective references, rather than by narrating the events in full. In this, as is evident from ancient testimony, the Iliad was markedly different from the ‘cyclic’ epics (see esp. Hor. Ars 136f.). The human characters refer to the abduction of Helen, the initial embassy to the Trojans, the mustering at Aulis, the earlier campaigns and clashes; the prophecies and comments of the gods, particularly Zeus and Thetis, anticipate the doom of Achilles and the ultimate fall of Troy, also grimly foreshadowed in other ways. In an important passage which seems to be deliberately reserved for a late stage in the poem, Homer himself looks back to the origin of the whole conflict, the judgement of Paris which aroused the implacable anger of Athena and Hera against Troy. Another remarkable feature is the intensity of the action of the poem. In terms of time, the whole poem occupies some 40 days, of which only 14 include narrated events, and three in particular are the subject of fourteen books. As for place, the human action is virtually confined to three areas: the camp of the Greeks, the city of Troy, and the plain of battle which lies between. The scenes involving the Olympians are more various and provide a broader perspective, but their attention too is generally focussed on the human suffering on the battlefield. Consequently the Iliad gains in emotional power what it lacks in diversity of scene and situation. A third feature, already implied, is the prominence of the Trojans in the poem. The very title Iliad, though probably not original, reminds us that this is no jingoistic or ‘pan-Hellenic’ epic; despite the claims of some ancient commentators, the Trojans are treated by Homer with great sympathy and generosity. That is not to deny the fundamental guilt of Paris or to assert that the Achaean victory is undeserved.