Historical background
The Iliad by Homer is more of myth art than factual historical happening. It considered as has a great Greece mythology. It is known to have contributed greatly to the western civilization (Kershaw 34). More often, the Iliad is referred to as the Song of Ilion. It is an ancient Greek poem and its setting is on the Trojan War in which the Troy city was blockaded for 10 years. Troy is a union of several Greeks states. The poem seeks to illustrate on the battles between Agamemnon the King and the warriors Achilles.
The famous Iliad poem is one of the oldest literatures in the western nations. Actually, no one can exactly tell the precise time during which the poem was written. Little is known concerning its author. Some books assert that the composition is dated back to around 8 century BC. However, current statistical models grounded on language evolution indicate that the literature was written between 760 and 710 BC.
The literature is made up of about 15693 verse lines and is written in Homeric, which is a Greek language that emerged from a combination of Greek and other dialects. The Iliad poem only covers a brief final week of the Trojan War. Homer’s works have influenced several poets such as Shakespeare, Milton, and Chaucer over centuries. Over 2700 years the Iliad has remained the greatest war story in the West.
The summary of the book
It is notable that Iliad myth has undergone several changes over centuries. The original Homer’s story has been greatly interfered and readers should be careful while reading it. The Iliad story begins at almost the end of the Trojan War during besiege by the Greeks (Fagles & Bernard 3). We encounter a cleric by the name Chryses who gives out some possessions to the Greeks in exchange for her daughter, Cheryseis, who had been imprisoned by Agamemnon. Agamemnon was the Greek leader. Unfortunately, Agamemnon rejects the offer.
Thereafter, Chryseis prays to Apolo who sends plaques to devour the Greek army. Later, Achilles the leader of Myridon calls a meeting to find a solution to the plaques. The pressure of the plaques forces Agamemnon to release Chryseis and takes Achilles Breseis as compensation (Lombardo 57). The Odysseus takes Chryseis via ship to her father. Thereafter, Achilles and his men declare not to fight anymore for Agamemnon and retreats to their homes. Apolo ends the plaque when Chryseis reunites with her father.
Later, Achilles requests his mother, Thetis, to negotiate for the intervention of the Trojans from the hands of Eam Zeus. Zeus agrees and through a dream, he urges Agamemnon to attack the city. Agamemnon accepts the plea; however, he hesitates to test Greek army’s morale.
The plan fails and it takes the intervention of the Odysseus who confronts and beats the ordinary soldiers. This leads to the deployment of companies by the Greeks onto the Trojan plain. King Priam soldiers attend the occasion. On the plains, they meet with the Greeks.
Before the armies approached each other, Paris terminates the war. In turn, he fights a duel with Menelaus as suggested by his brother who was the leader of the Trojan army. Both rivals agree to respect the outcomes of the duel fight. Paris is defeated and later Aphoride rescues him and takes him to bed before being killed by Menelaus. Later, a war broke out forcing the heroes as well as the commanders such as Hector to join the battle. During the battle, many Greeks are killed.
My perspective and understanding
After reading and analyzing this narrative, I can affirm that the author’s story has changed my perspective and understanding of the Iliad poetic works. The informal narrators have passed down some of the stories focused by the book over from generation to generation (Powell 26). Some authors have written books based on these storytellers’ understandings. Notably, these books are not reliable as they depend on here say. Compared to these books, the above narrative provided me with facts.
The author supports his narratives with several historical and archeological evidences. For instance, he asserts that the epics were composed at around 650 to 750 BC in Mycenaean, Greece. Equally, the author asserts that the Greece Bronze Age witnessed several great kingdoms. This account is supported the archeologist by the name Heinrich who discovered the ruins of the Troy city.
Recommendations to students
I recommend this book to other students because it is rich of literature. This implies that students can learn a lot from it. Over the years, the book has inspired several writers and poets. Even the scholars find the story of the Iliad by Homer very outstanding (Carter 45). They believe that the oral poetries contained in the book are useful for all readers.
It builds the student skill of narrating of the poetry. Similarly, the book offers a deeper understanding of literature to students. In addition, the book expands the understanding about poetry enabling them to think broadly when analyzing poems and related arts.
Works Cited
Carter, Maureen. A layman’s guide to the poet Homer. Athens: Efstathiadis Group, 1998. Print.
Fagles, Robert, and Bernard Knox. The Iliad. New York, N.Y., U.S.A.: Viking, 1990. Print.
Kershaw, Stephen. A brief guide to the Greek myths. London: Robinson, 2007. Print.
Lombardo, Stanley. The essential Homer : selections from the Iliad and the Odyssey. Indianapolis: Hackett, 2000. Print.
Powell, Barry B.. Homer. Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub., 2004. Print.