The epic poem ends in a nostalgic and mournful way. The last book is about a father who lost his son and wishes to make an honorable funeral as the last thing he could give him. The book symbolizes the end of any war when sorrow replaces anger. Book 24,...
The main values glorified in The Iliad and The Odyssey are honor, courage, and eloquence. These three qualities were held as the best characteristics a person could have. Besides, they contributed to the heroic code and made up the Homeric character of a warrior. The Odyssey also promotes hospitality, although...
The Iliad is set in Troy and its outskirts. It was a real city not far from modern Canakkale (Turkey) at the mouth of the Dardanelles. Greeks wiped it away at the end of the Trojan War. Some scenes related to gods take place on Olympus and Mount Ida, where...
The epic poems refer to the beginning of the Archaic period in Ancient Greek history. They were written in the second half of the 8th century BC as a nostalgia for the Mycenaean civilization. In his writing, Homer used historical facts and mythology to create a romanticized version of the...
The last King of Troy was a wise ruler who extended control over Hellespont (ancient name for The Dardanelles). His first wife was Arisbe. Then he married Hecuba. According to Homerâs text, Priam had 50 children from these two women and other concubines. Achilles killed his eldest son, Hector, who...
Menelaus, the King of Sparta, had the most beautiful wife in the world, Helen. Paris, the Prince of Troy, stole her and held her captive as a lover in Troy. These events caused the ten-year-long Trojan war that took thousands of lives and entailed the destruction of Troy. Menelaus led...
The epic hero is the first-born son of the King of Troy, Priam. He is the husband of Andromache and the father of Astyanax, his baby son. Hector is the commander-in-chief of the Trojan forces and the heir of the throne after Priamâs death. The greatest Trojan warrior disapproved of...
Hector is a brave leader and mighty warrior. These qualities make him an iconic epic hero in line with Achilles, Odysseus, Great Ajax, and Patroclus. We can find the best description of his character at the end of Book 2, where Homer presents him as the bravest Trojan. In Book...
Achilles wants to revenge for Patroclusâ death. Hector killed Patroclus and took his armor (which initially pertained to Achilles). Achilles is mourning his close friend and promises not to eat and not bury Patroclusâ body as long as Hector is still alive. Achilles refused to fight for the Achaeans more...
The Iliad finishes before Achilles is killed. Paris, the Prince of Troy, shoots a poisoned arrow that hits Achillesâ heel. But the epic poem concludes right after Hectorâs honorable funeral. The events that entailed the fall of Troy are not part of The Iliad. The central conflict in the text...
Patroclus died as a true hero in battle. He killed every Trojan he met on his way and saved the Achaean ships. His intervention made the Trojans retreat and started the end of the fortified city. Zeus predicted Patroclusâ death, and there was no way to change his fate. The...
The Greek myths have two versions of Helenâs end of life. The first tells that she returned to Sparta to live with Menelaus until they both die. The second version tells how Helen fled to the Island of Rhodes. There she was hanged by the local queen who sought vengeance....
In Book 22, Hector killed Patroclus, Achillesâ close comrade. Achilles vowed to revenge for the friendâs death. He found Hector near Trojan walls. Hector tried to reason him, but Achilles was impregnable. He and killed Hector, stabbing him in the throat. Neither did he follow Hectorâs request to return his...
Patroclus was Achillesâ close friend. The news of his death devastated the hero. He mourned beside the body, beating the ground and crying so loudly that Thetis (Achillesâ mother) came to comfort him. Then the grief gives way to anger, and Achilles craves vengeance. Achilles was offended by Agamemnon and...
In The Iliad, Homer does not mention Parisâ death. But from Greek mythology, we know that he dies of a poisoned arrow. Helen tries to ask Oenone to help (or Paris does so in a different version of the myth). The nymph rejects her request, having been offended by Paris....
On the verge of death, Hector asks Achilles to return his body to his father, Priam. Achilles does not satisfy his last request. His anger is not satisfied, so he drags Hectorâs body around the Trojan walls. After Patroclusâ body is burnt on a pyre and his remnants are buried,...
Achilles refuses to fight for the Achaeans because Agamemnon, the commander-in-chief, insulted his honor. He took Achillesâ war prize to replace his own. Achilles does not fight for his woman but wishes that the Greeks suffer so that Agamemnon realizes he shouldnât have started the conflict with Achilles. The reader...
The Iliad by Homer is an extended narrative that occupies 15,693 lines. In most hardcover editions, one page contains 23 to 25 lines. It makes up approximately 600 pages. If you read the book with a speed of 250 words per minute, you will finish it in ten hours. How...
In Book 16, Hector kills Patroclus in battle. But it was not clean fighting. Apollo helped to knock Patroclus off his feet, and a young soldier made the first hit. But Hector finished him off, and that is why we consider him to be the murderer. How does Patroclus die?...
The Iliad is the most ancient piece of writing known to humanity. It is a window to the world our ancestors lived in and a valuable source of historical facts. Still, many centuries separate us from the Homeric times, and even more centuries lie between the present day and the...
Essays helps you to get a deeper understanding of a literary work. The Iliad is an epic poem, tragedy, and war chronicle that provides endless opportunities for debates. Its themes, symbolism, imagery, and motifs raise exciting issues for your reflection. Need to write The Iliad essay? This section prepared by...
The Iliad is a description of the Trojan war that took place in the 13th century BC. It tells about the ancient gods and the society that no longer exists today. The meaning of the themes, conflicts, plot, and symbols requires explanation to be understood by the modern reader. What...
What are the themes in The Iliad? Find here the answer to this question. This article by our experts analyzes rage, glory, honor in The Iliad, as well as other epic poemâs themes. Ancient people perceived the world differently than we do now. These cultural features are revealed in the...
Who is Patroclus in The Iliad? Why have Achilles and Agamemnon quarreled? Find the answers on The Iliad characters page prepared by Custom-Writing.org experts. The Achaeans, the Trojans, and Greek gods are described here. The quotes that youâll find in the sections below are taken from the translation made by...
Looking for The Iliad summary? Need to quickly figure out the intricacies of the epic poemâs plot? Youâre in the right place! In the article prepared by our experts, youâll find The Iliad timeline of events, plot overview, and detailed summaries of the poemâs books. đ° The Iliad Plot Overview ...
Beowulf is the most ancient text in Old English that has been preserved till nowadays. Scientists still wrestle over many questions related to the manuscript. Did a single author write it? Why was the next unnamed? What is its literary value? This Beowulf Study Guide prepared by Custom-Writing.org experts answers...
Beowulf was too arrogant to admit he was too old for a heroâs role in the battle with the dragon. He wanted to achieve another feat and receive fame. He felt his death was near, but it did not stop him. After all, dying in a battle was the best...
The poem Beowulf and the novel Grendel have a similar plot. Both literary works characterize Grendel in the same way, with minor differences. In the poem, he is an angry man-eating creature with primitive human traits. In the novel, he is lonely and miserable. His inner world is emotionally complicated....
In Beowulf, the Anglo-Saxon culture manifests itself in gift-giving, hospitality, feasts and celebrations, and the mixture of Pagan and Christian traditions. Such notions as lords, thanes, and warrior tribes were also typical for this culture. In the Anglo-Saxon culture, any achievement in a battle had to be rewarded. There were...
Beowulf was too old for the battle with the dragon. He sensed his death was soon. But he was a king, and kings are responsible for their people. The dragon attacked their homes, so Beowulf had to eliminate it. Besides, in Anglo-Saxon culture, dying in a battle was considered the...
At the time when Beowulf was written, and even more so when the described events took place, there was no such a country like Denmark. Beowulf took fifteen chosen companions with him to fight a man-eating monster who threatened the Danish tribe. There were several reasons why he decided to...
Apart from some other conflicts that mainly fall under the category âPerson Vs. Person,â the central conflict is âPerson Vs. Supernatural.â Accordingly, the poem describes three battles of Beowulf: with Grendel, his mother, and the dragon. All of them are evil supernatural creatures that kill people and threaten their mead-halls....
The epic poem tells the life story of a Geatish hero, his feats, and achievements. He sails to the land of the Danes to help them fight Grendel, a monster who ate people. This storyline is enframed with the lineage of the Danish kings and other historical or fictional events...
Beowulf came to fight the dragon with eleven warriors. Ten of them betrayed him in fear, but Wiglaf stayed. The two of them opposed the fire-breathing creature. When Beowulfâs sword broke, Wiglaf stabbed the dragon in its stomach. It gave the hero time to take out his knife, which he...
Grendel, the first monster that appears in the poem, came to Heorot by night. At that moment, Beowulf pretended he was asleep. Here the hero played the role of a sleeping monster whose lair was disturbed. He can defeat a monster only by acting like a monster. Grendel and his...
Grendelâs mother killed Aeschere, Hrothgarâs favorite thane. This loss was too personal to leave it unrevenged. He asked Beowulf to battle Grendelâs mother to bring an end to the monstrous breed. Besides, the hero was the only person Hrothgar believed was strong enough for the task. The next night after...
Beowulf takes place in Scandinavia around the 6th century AD. The Geats and the Scyldings (or Danes) were real tribal groups. They lived on the territory of modern southern Sweden and Denmark, respectively. We may suppose that Beowulf crossed the Baltic Sea. Still, it is impossible to define the exact...
Beowulf is one of the first epic heroes that can be found in ancient literature. His brave and noble character helps him defeat evil monsters that killed the Danes and Geats. Beowulf is strong and loyal to his kings. He does everything possible to improve the life of the people...
The battle with Grendel finishes when Beowulf tears off his arm, and the monster runs away to die in the swamps. But Grendelâs mother was driven by vengeance. By night, she penetrated Heorot. She took away Hrothgarâs best advisor and Grendelâs hand. Later Beowulf found the advisorâs head near the...
In the battle with the dragon, Beowulf acts as a protagonist. He is the character with whom readers identify themselves. The dragon is the antagonist. It opposes Beowulf and kills him. A protagonist and an antagonist are antonyms. These opposing forces create a conflict in a story and move the...
Traditionally, epic literature is formed as a long and narrative poem. It also has such literary devices as kennings and rich imagery. Epic poems do not have a rhyme in the sense of modern poetry. Instead, their unique form is achieved by alliteration and rhythm. An indispensable criterion is the...
Unferth is one of the warriors under Hrothgarâs rule. Unferth questioned Beowulfâs ability to defeat Grendel because once Beowulf failed in a swimming competition. Unferth was jealous of the heroâs strength, bravery, and the way the king accepted him. This feeling highlights the difference between these two characters. When Beowulf...
When Hygelac died, Queen Hygd offered Beowulf to take the throne as Heardred, her son, was too young to rule the Geats. Beowulf refused but promised to serve the young king till his dying day. But Heardred was killed in a battle. Then Beowulf became the King of the Geats...
Unferth gave Hrunting to Beowulf as an infallible legendary sword that survived many battles. But when Beowulf fought Grendelâs mother, his sword could not penetrate her armored skin. It even did not scratch her. For this reason, Beowulf had to put aside this weapon and use the giant sword from...
Beowulf comes to help Hrothgar because the king helped Beowulf’s father once a long time ago. The heroic code dictated Beowulf to be loyal to the benefactors of his family. He had to repay for the good deed. Moreover, Beowulf strived for fame, and killing Grendel would bring him glory....
Beowulf fights Grendelâs mother in her deep underwater lair. It is located in a building with a high arch. An ancient sword made by giants hangs on the wall as if waiting for Beowulf to use it. All of these objects and details bear symbolic meaning. Many epic heroes had...
Heorot is a mead-hall and a critical location in Beowulf. The hall is situated in Denmark. It serves as a seat of rule for Hrothgar, a legendary Danish king. He built the hall to celebrate victories and protect his people from any invaders. So, the attack on Heorot was the...
The heroic code required equal terms in a battle for warriors. Beowulf knew that Grendelâs only weapon was his hands. For this reason, the warrior took off his armor and put away his sword. He caught Grendel by his hand and tore it off. The monster died from this mortal...
Beowulf killed Grendelâs mother using a sword he found in her cave. It was an ancient sword forged by giants, Cainâs descendants, like Grendel and his mother. When Beowulf killed the mother and decapitated Grendel, the sword melted away because of the motherâs poisonous blood. In that battle, Beowulf went...
When the night came, and Beowulf was getting ready for the battle, he took off all of his armor. He also put away the sword to fight Grendel barehanded. He motivated it by the fact that the monster was unarmed, so that they would be equal. Besides, Beowulf relied on...
