Apollos priest chryses comes to the achaian camp and asks to ransom back his daughter chryseis, who has been captured. The last section of book xviii describes the giant shield that hephaistos, god of the forge, made for achilles. Many a brave soul did it send hurrying down to hades, and many a hero did it. The depiction of achilles and agamemnon appears very real and. The death of patroclus is reported in brief words to achilles. Learn the iliad book 16 with free interactive flashcards. Information on the first book of the iliad of homer. Iliad studyguide, books 124 western michigan university. Many a brave soul did it send hurrying down to hades, and many a hero did it yield a prey to dogs. From this vantage point, the end is in sight, and, correspondingly, zeus now outlines the rest of the iliad and beyond, predicting even the eventual fall of troy, which occurs after. Meanwhile thefleet runner antilochus who had been sent as messenger reachedachilles and found him.
Many a brave soul did it send hurrying down to hades, and many a hero did it yield a prey to dogs and vultures, for so were the counsels of jove fulfilled from the day on which the son of atreus, king of men, and great achilles, first fell out with one another. Previous section books 15 16 next page books 1718 page 2. Choose from 500 different sets of the iliad book 16 flashcards on quizlet. Book 1 is one of the most carefully developed pieces of storytelling ever. The iliad begins with the poet calling on the muse to sing of the wrath of achilleus and its consequences. Book i sing, o goddess, the anger of achilles son of peleus, that brought countless ills upon the achaeans. Achilles, the most skillful combatant, and agamemnon, the commander of the combined forces of the greeks. This illustrates the relative strength of each sides armies and heroes. Books 1112 two instances of divine intervention contribute to an extreme sense of suspense in these scenes. Engage your students during remote learning with video readalouds. So they fought to the death around that benched beaked ship as patroclus reached achilles. Achilleus refuses to return to the fighting despite agamemnons offer of gifts, and his anger proves to be more intractable than his fellow warriors and the audience may have expected.
The proem thus states in brief compass the whole of which it is the introductory part. Sparknotes is here for you with everything you need to ace. First, zeus firmly manipulates the battle, from showering the achaeans with blood to enabling hector to become the first trojan to cross the achaean fortifications. Now when dawn in robe of saffron was hasting from the streams ofoceanus to bring light to mortals and immortals thetis reached theships with the. There are no episodes of remarkable importance, but note that by the end of the book the greeks are very much getting the best of the battle. Fateful choicesthe price of glory readings monday class, sept. Achilles pride and anger toward agamemnon are extreme, and even the deaths of many of his comrades fails to move him. Then patroclus drew near to achilles with tears welling from his eyes, as from some spring whose crystal stream falls over the ledges of a high precipice. Quite a few comments have been posted about the iliad. Here youll find an approximately onepage summary of each book, a description of the major characters and sometimes places, and an english translation.
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. Sing, o goddess, the anger of achilles son of peleus, that brought countless ills upon the achaeans. The iliad book 16 death of patroclus american literature. Check out our revolutionary side byside summary and analysis. Read the commentaries on book nine readings wednesday class, sept.
First, the priest chryses comes to ask their leader, king agamemnon, to release his daughter, whom agamemnon was holding captive. See a complete list of the characters in the iliad and indepth analyses of achilles, agamemnon, and hector. These epics tell the story of the trojan war and odysseus journey home after the war, respectively. In an attempt to capture the tension and emotion between sarpedon.
The gods, meanwhile, were gathered with zeus on the golden councilfloor, drinking toasts of nectar from gleaming cups that lovely hebe filled while they gazed down on troy. Menelaus finds great ajax and rouses him to come help defend patroclus body from desecration. 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 last couple examples i will discuss are both at the end of book 16. It is a kind of lyric at the head of the epic, a masterpiece of compression. In the tenth year of the trojan war, tensions are running high among the achaians a superancient name for the ancient greeks. Book xvi thus did they fight about the ship of protesilaus.
Apr 25, 20 homer the iliad book xvi the great books quest day 16 duration. To repay the indignity chryses has suffered, apollo, the mouse god, rains arrows of plague on the greek forces for 9 days. In two and a half lines of simple diction, antilochus tells achilles what has happened. The deaths of sarpedon and patroklos in this book introduce an elegiac tone into the last part of the iliad, as the characters that the reader sees. If youve read book 16, youll know that what patroklos says is technically true. A cast of thousands readings tuesday night classsept. 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. This lesson focuses on book 16 of the iliad by homer. Book ii now the other gods and the armed warriors on the plain slept soundly, but jove was wakeful, for he was thinking how to do honour to achilles, and destroyed much people at the ships of the achaeans. Take a study break 60 young adult movie adaptations, ranked. All the same, it definitely sounds like patroklos is trying to knock hektors ego down a few notches, basically telling him he talks the talk, but doesnt walk the. Then patroclus drew near to achilles with tears welling.
Summary and analysis of book 16 of homers iliad, with a focus on patroclus pride, lust for glory, and death. Some observations homer begins by calling upon the goddess the muse, the goddess of poetry to sing of the anger of achilleus and its devastating consequences. This study guide consists of approximately 114 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of the iliad. The battle rages on between the trojan and achaean forces, and patroclus devises a scheme to free the achaean ships from the trojans. The iliad quizzes about important details and events in every section of the book. Books 1 to 4 of the iliad trace the events from the breaking out of the quarrel between achilles and agamemnon to the first combat on the battlefield.
How is the reconciliation between agamemnon and achilles observed. The following are comments that occurred to me while reading english translations of book i of the iliad. Until now, achilles has been torn by a conflict between the noble elements of his soul. Meanwhile, patroclus goes to achilles tent and begs to be allowed to wear achilles armor if achilles still refuses to rejoin the battle himself. Identify deiphobus, antilochus, niobe, leto and cassandra. Book 14 also features hectors second oneonone face off with great ajax, in which he again comes out the loser. Menelaus and ajax reach patroclus and stand guard over the body. Books 15 16 book 15 marks the beginning of the end for hector and the trojans, who have reached the height of their power and now face a downhill slope. The iliad, an epic poem attributed to homer and the oldest extant piece of european literature, is conventionally divided into 24 books. Titles of each book in the iliad flashcards quizlet.
Homer structured the iliad so that at any point he could discuss any subject he chose. Test your knowledge take the books 15 16 quick quiz. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Battles over fallen comrades become more significant in book 16. The gods, meanwhile, were gathered with zeus on the golden councilfloor, drinking toasts of nectar from gleaming cups that lovely hebe filled while they gazed down on troy cronos son was swift to taunt hera with mocking words, and said slyly.
In what ways do the actions of the gods in book one mirror those of the men. Heres where youll find analysis about the poem as a whole. Get a detailed summary and analysis of every chapter in the book from. For achilles, the preservation of his honor is the measuring stick for his life, and every achaean injury makes his honor greater, as it will make it all the more impressive when he returns to battle and saves the day. Achilles declines to go back into battle, but he does agree to allow him to wear the armor. Previous page books 15 16 page 1 next section books 1718. Test your knowledge take the books 1718 quick quiz. Zeus contemplates whether to save his son from being killed or not.
The first three books of the iliad introduce us to the plot, some of the main characters. Hektors return to battle in book 6 is followed by more fateful choices in books 9 and 16. Book nine, a crucial turning point in the poem all quotations from the iliad are from the translation of richmond lattimore, university of chicago press, 1951 the assembly when book nine opens, the greeks have suffered serious reverses. But hector, when he beheld greatsouled patroclus drawing back, smitten with the sharp bronze, 820 came nigh him through the ranks, and smote him with a. The battle rages on between the trojan and achaean forces, and patroclus devises a scheme. Read book 16 death of patroclus of the iliad by homer. Chapter summary for homers the iliad, book 9 summary. Eventually comes across a trojan soldier, sarpedon, who is the mortal son of zeus.
It lays out the basis for the destructive fallingout between the two leading greek heroes. To what extent does agamemnon take responsibility for his actions. Hektor was only the third person to strike him though he was the only one to deliver a fatal blow. Thus then did they fight as it were a flaming fire. Homers iliad books 12 provided by the internet classics archive. Patroclus approaches achilles in tears and achilles asks him why he is.
In book seven, they had to fortify their camp with a wall. Though we are in the tenth year of the trojan war, these encounters are the most violent that have taken place since the greeks arrived. It is a sweeping epic poem that seeks to find answers to some of mankinds most fascinating questions, questions which still intrigue and perplex us today. When achilles is ready to reenter the battle, what is his motive. Course heros video study guide provides indepth summary and analysis of book 16 of homers epic poem the iliad. Thus the trojans in the city scared like fawns wiped the sweatfrom off them and drank to quench their thirst leaning against thegoodly battlements. I hope they will be useful for people who are reading the iliad as their first introduction to ancient greek literature. This is one of several books which gives us the feel of the back and forth of the battle. Homers iliad clst 181sk ancient greece and the origins of western culture final preliminaries. Like a girl, a baby running after her mother, begging to be picked up, and she tugs her skirts, holding her back as she tries to hurry off all tears, fawning up at her she takes her in her arms. The deaths of sarpedon and patroklos in this book introduce an elegiac tone into the last part of the iliad, as the characters that the reader sees as sympathetic are killed. The two are different in subject but the same in their style.
Summary characters patroclus in book 16, patroclus went to discuss with achilles about wearing his armor in battle if he was unable to join the battle. 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. Take a study break every book on your english syllabus summed up in a quote from the office. He has made a fatal decision, and the deaths of sarpedon, patroklos, hektor, achilles himself, and the fall of troy all inevitably follow. Books one, two and three all quotations from the iliad are from the translation of richmond lattimore, university of chicago press, 1951. Book xvi of a new complete english translation with hyper linked index.
Menelaus has two goddesses to aid him, hera of argos and alalcomenean athene. The description of the shield is a digression justified by the fact that hektor now has achilles armor. Increase your understanding of the iliad by completing the lesson titled, the iliad book 16 summary. Book 8 book 9 book 10 book 11 book 12 book book 14 book 15 book 16 book 17 book 18 book 19 book 20. Before they can arrive, hector strips achilles armor from patroclus body. Glaucus criticizes hector for leaving sarpedon s body behind and accuses him of fearing great ajax. Find a summary of this and each chapter of the iliad.
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