Iliad

An ancient Greek epic attributed to Homer, set during the final weeks of the Trojan War. Its central thread is Achilles’ anger and its cost to Greeks and Trojans.

Achilles: A Greek warrior in the Trojan War whose anger drives the Iliad’s plot. His withdrawal from battle and return shape the poem’s central action.
Epic poetry: A long narrative poem recounting the deeds of heroes and events of great significance. The Iliad uses the elevated scale, formal patterns, and heroic subject of epic.
Homer: The traditional name of the ancient Greek poet credited with the Iliad and the Odyssey. Ancient tradition identifies him as the author of the poem.
Wrath of Achilles: The anger of Achilles that structures the Iliad’s central narrative. The poem announces this subject at its opening and traces its consequences.
Achilles’ heel: A vulnerable point whose weakness can lead to a person’s defeat. Later tradition transformed Achilles into a symbol of strength undone by a single weakness.
Agamemnon: The Greek commander in the Trojan War and king of Mycenae. His quarrel with Achilles begins the poem’s central conflict.
Dactylic hexameter: A poetic meter built from six metrical feet, traditionally used in Greek and Latin epic. Its recurring rhythm is the Iliad’s original poetic form.
Oral-formulaic theory: A theory that oral poets compose through traditional themes and reusable metrical phrases. It explains recurring formulas and the poem’s relationship to oral performance.
Embassy to Achilles: The failed Greek delegation that offers gifts to persuade Achilles to return to battle. Achilles’ refusal shows that compensation cannot repair his breach with Agamemnon.
Aeneid: Virgil’s Latin epic following the Trojan survivor Aeneas on his journey to Italy. It reworks Trojan War material from the perspective of a Trojan survivor.

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