Iliad

Iliad is an epic poem which was written in the 9th century BC by the Greek poet Homer. The poem develops around the Trojan War, which probably took place in the 13th century BC

Homer describes in detail the Greek world of the time despite not having been a witness to the facts, as he lived four centuries later.

The name “Iliad” is derived from “Ilion ”, former name of "Troy". The first denomination is a tribute to "Ilos " and the second to "Tros ", his father, both legendary ancestors of "King Priam".

The Tradition Sung in Verses

The Iliad is made up of 24 cantos, where the exploits of Greek and Trojan heroes are meticulously narrated.

This would only have been possible thanks to the oral maintenance of traditions and customs, carried out by the rhapsodes.

They were troubadours who traveled from town to town, singing epic poems and stories of adventures in the courts of kings and warrior camps.

Homer may have been a superb teller of ancient Greek epics. Several historical poems must have been preserved thanks to oral tradition.

"The Iliad" and also the "Odyssey", works attributed to the poet, were only written by the Athenian statesman Pisistratus (605-527 BC), who collected all the epic poems.

They played a pivotal role in the importance of Greek education, as the qualities of epic heroes came to serve as a standard of behavior.

Later, in Rome, Homer was the most welcomed of the Greek poets.

In the Iliad, a feat sung in verse, the events of the Trojan War are described by Homer. Without concern for historical truth, the past emerges woven of myths.

The participation of the Olympic gods in the episodes of war is constant, and Venus herself, when trying to protect her son Aeneas, finds herself wounded on the battlefield.

As for the heroes, these are true demigods. It is difficult to draw an exact line between the real facts and the legends.

The Trojan War

The Iliad has as its subject the narrative of the battles fought before Troy, by the Greeks.

According to the poet Homer, the Trojan War was a consequence of the kidnapping of Helen, daughter of Pindar, king of the Greek city of Sparta.

Helen, wife of "Menelaus", who became the new king, on the death of "Pindar", was kidnapped by "Paris", prince of Troy, son of "King Priam". On a visit to the Spartan court, he falls madly in love with Helena.

A powerful fleet is organized by "Agamemnon", older brother of "Menelaus", where he gathers warriors, among them "Achilles" and "Odysseus", central figures of the poem.

He invokes the protection of the gods, swears to conquer Priam's palace and crosses the Aegean Sea, as Troy was on the peninsula now occupied by Turkey.

After ten years of fighting, with alternating victories, at the request of Ulysses, they pretended to withdraw in their ships. A gigantic wooden horse was left near the gates of Troy.

The Trojans take the strange gift into the city, unaware that it has a group of Greek soldiers hidden inside it.

Troy is completely razed and Helen is brought back to Sparta. Even today people talk about the “Greek gift”.

Several scholars even doubted the existence of Troy, considering it a fantasy of Homer, as well as several other places described by him.

Until in 1870, the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann, based on Homer's texts, found the ruins of the lost city.

Homer

Numerous legends narrate Homer's life. According to one of them, he was the son of Meo, and very early he was orphaned of both father and mother. Ee lived in extreme poverty.

He learned history and music and became a master at the school he attended. A merchant would have taken it on his travels across the Mediterranean.

He was on the island of Ithaca, where he gathered data to write the life of Odysseus (Odysseus, for the Latins). In Ithaca he had the first symptoms of a serious eye disease, which blinded him for the rest of his life.

Homer was also in Chios, where he completed his first great poem “The Iliad”. Returning by sea he went to the island of Io, where he died.

The total lack of data on Homer's life led to the belief that he was not a real character. It was not until the mid-eighteenth century that interest in the figure of the poet grew to such an extent that a “Homeric question” arose.

Where entire theses were elaborated, affirming or denying its existence. In Greek history, the entire phase that preceded the 10th and 11th centuries BC, was designated as "Homeric times", given the importance of his poems "The Iliad" and "Odyssey".

See also :Exercises on Ancient Greece