HomerThe Iliad The Iliad is one of the two great epics of ancient Greece,the other being, of course, The Odyssey. Of their author, Homer, we know almostnothing: he probably lived in the 8th century BC, and it is almost certain thathe composed his verse orally, its literary form not being settled until the 6thcentury BC. By this time Homer’s works had come to represent something like theBible in the Judaic-Christian tradition: they formed the artistic, moral andnarrative basis of ancient Greek (and then Roman) culture. The two epicssurvived the Dark and Middle Ages, although they only became widely known againin the Renaissance period. Since then, they have been repeatedly translated.In The Iliad, Homer takes for his story fifty crucial daysfrom the ten year duration of the Trojan War. The Greek allies, nine years intothe siege, are wearying of their failure to take the city, and the poem openswith a disastrous quarrel between Agamemnon, leader of the Greeks, andAchilles, their finest warrior. Achilles withdraws from action to sulk in histent, and the Trojans find new success on the battlefield. Led by Hector, theygradually drive the Greeks back to their ships, breaching the defenses hastilythrown up around them. At this crisis, Achilles agrees to allow his dearestfriend, Patroklos, to borrow his armor and fight in his stead. Patroklosrepulses the Trojans with such success that they are pushed back to their ownwalls, but is himself killed by Hector. Achilles is roused by grief and rage toreturn to the fray. He kills Hector; King Priam pleads successfully for thereturn of his son’s body; and the poem ends quietly with a truce for Hector’sfuneral. Such is the outline of the story. Homer makes no attempt toconceal the eventual fate of his characters: his audience would in any casehave been familiar with the tale, but (more importantly) Homer actuallyincreases suspense and significance by inducing in the reader a painful senseof human frailty and self-deception as we watch the characters moving towardstheir fate. The tone and structure of this epic is essentially tragic: theindividual tragedies of (chiefly) Hector and Achilles (whose death isanticipated, not described) are powerfully moving, but we have all the time asense of human beings placed in a religious context and operating always withinthe shadow of greater powers. Achilles could choose between a long, dull, safelife — and a brief, but glorious one. The gods do not allow a compromise. Homer’s range and sophistication are shown in his treatmentof the gods. They are a family, and they quarrel as a family: when Thetis asksZeus to favor her son Achilles, Zeus agrees reluctantly, gloomily reflectingthat his wife Hera ‘will not spare/For gibe and taunt injurious’ when shehears. Clearly some sort of divine comedy is being enacted — yet Homer is neverless than serious in his belief that the gods do indeed, however capriciously,control the lives of men.The tragic intensity of The Iliad is reinforced by wonderfulmoments of human tenderness in between the bloody battles: Hector, half-awarethat his own death is not far off, bids farewell to his grieving wifeAndromache on the battlements of Troy, yet both can laugh affectionately attheir baby son Astyanax’s fear of his father in his plumed helmet; at theemotional climax of the epic, King Priam touches Achilles’ heart by compellinghim to see and imagine how his own aged father Peleus would feel if the body ofhis dead son were kept from him. Much of the poem’s action is devoted to descriptions ofbattle. In these, Homer is uncompromisingly realistic as to the manner andmoment of injury or death, and even though the diction is often conventional,one feels on every occasion the stab of poignancy as another young man is ‘ofyouth’s prime/And vigorous manhood suddenly bereft.’ It is worth noting alsothat roughly half the poem consists of dialogue: Homer is perhaps not only thefirst great creator of epic poetry in Western civilization, but also its firsttragic dramatist.Homer wrote in hexameters, while Cowper uses blank verse(unrhymed iambic pentameters) for his version. Translations of Homer by Dryden,Pope and others had been made throughout the Augustan period, generally usingthe rhymed couplet, but Cowper’s version combines almost ideally the dignifiedmusic of Milton with the ‘classical’ restraint and formality of 18th centuryverse, and an additional hint of early Romantic sensibility. William Cowper, Translator William Cowper (1731-1800) was educated at Westminster andcalled to the bar in 1754. Bullied at school, he was subject to repeated boutsof severe depression, which effectively destroyed his legal career and made hisprivate life equally unsuccessful. This depression became strongly associatedwith his religious convictions, which made him acutely conscious of what he sawas his personal and moral inadequacy. He lived for some time with the ReverendMorley Unwin’s family at Huntingdon, and later with John Newton, theEvangelical minister with whom he wrote some of the best-loved hymns in theEnglish language (including ‘God moves in a mysterious way’). His best-knownworks are probably the discursive satires, such as Conversation and The Task,which display a sharp wit moderated by sensitive humanity and a love of the domestic.His translations of The Iliad and The Odyssey appeared in 1791. Listeners tothis version may be interested to know that Cowper’s Iliad is not currently inprint: the text has been prepared from the first edition. Synopsis of The Iliad Book 1: Agamemnon will not allow the priest Chryses toransom hisdaughter home. Apollo is affronted and sends a plague todestroy the Greeks. Agamemnon is forced to return the girl, but as compensationinsists on taking Achilles’ prize, the maiden Bryseis. Thetwo leadersquarrel violently and Achilles refuses to fight for theGreeks. Book 2: Zeus sends a dream to Agamemnon, which incites himto battle. The Greek army is called to arms. Book 3: The battle is suspended while Paris and Menelaus tryto settle the quarrel in single combat. Aphrodite saves Paris from certaindeath. Book 4: The truce is broken when Pandarus shoots atMenelaus. Book 5: The Greek hero Diomede distinguishes himself inbattle, and also succeeds in wounding two divinities, Aphrodite and Ares, whowere helping the Trojans. Book 6: Hector rallies the Trojans, resisting Andromache’splea that he should stay at home in safety. Book 7: Hector and Ajax fight, inconclusively. The Greeksbuild a defensive wall around their ships, and reject a Trojan offer of compensationfor the abduction of Helen. Book 8: Battle is renewed, and the Greeks are driven back tothe ships. Book 9: The Greeks, in crisis, appeal to Achilles, but eventhe beloved Phoenix cannot persuade him to help them. Book 10: (Omitted in this version) Book 11: Agamemnon leads the Greeks bravely, but fortunefavors the Trojans, and Achilles grudgingly allows Patroklos to appear in his(Achilles’) armor. Books 12 -15 (given in prose summary): Hector breaches theGreek defenses, and Agamemnon, tempted to give up, is only persuaded byOdysseus and Diomede to persist. Book 16: At last Patroklos sallies forth. He repels theTrojans brilliantly but is eventually killed by Hector. Book 17: A battle ensues for the body of Patroklos, which isfinally claimed by the Greeks, but only after Hector has taken and donned thearmor of Achilles. Book 18: Achilles is told of his friend’s death.Grief-stricken and enraged, he prepares to seek vengeance; Hephaestus forgesnew armor for him. Book 19: Achilles and Agamemnon are reconciled. Battle isrenewed. Book 20: Now the gods rejoin the battle, helping on bothsides. Hector escapes Achilles’ assault. Book 21: Achilles drives many of the fleeing Trojans intothe river Scamander and slays them. The river indignantly pursues him. TheTrojan forces are driven back into their city. Book 22: Hector confronts Achilles, who has chased him roundthe walls of Troy. Hector is killed and Troy laments. Book 23: Patroklos’ funeral takes place; the funeral gamesfollow. Book 24: Priam seeks, in secret, Achilles’ tent to begHector’s body. Achilles is touched by the old man’s grief and courage, andrelents, agreeing alsoto a twelve days’ truce. Hector’s funeral concludes the poem. Notes by Perry Keenlyside The Principle Characters And Names In The Iliad The Greeks Agamemnon - son of Atreus, and thus also known as AtridesKing of Argos and leader of theGreek expedition to Troy Menelaus - King of Sparta and Agamemnon’s brother. Husbandof HelenThe Atridae - Agamemnon and Menelaus Achilles - also called Pelides (as he is the son of Peleusand the goddess Thetis) Patroklos - also called Menoetides (as he is the son ofMenoetius); close friend ofAchilles Odysseus - cunning King of Ithaca, husband of Penelope Diomede - also called Tydides (as he is the son of Tydeus),strong fighter Ajax - son of Telamon and brave fighter Nestor - King of Pylos Phoenix - aged warrior Bryseis - the maid who becomes the focus of the disputebetween Agamemnon and Achilles The Argives, The Danai/Danaians, The Achai/Achains - namesfor the Greek army The Myrmidons - soldiers led by Achilles Pallas Athena, Hera, Poseidon, Hermes, Hephaestus - Gods onthe Greek side The Trojans Priam - King of Troy Hecuba - his wife Hector - their son Andromache - Hector’s wife Paris -Hector’s brother. He had awarded the golden apple to Aphrodite who had givenhim Helen in return. Paris’ abduction of Helen from Sparta to Troy initiatedthe Greek attack. Aeneas - son of Anchises Pandarus - son of Lycaon. Goaded by Pallas Athena, he shootsthe arrow at Menelaus to break the truce. Sarpedon - Lycian warrior fighting for Troy Ilium – Troy The Trojans, The Dardanians, Lycians - defenders of Troy Phoebus Apollo, Aphrodite, Ares, Artemis, Hermes - Gods onthe Trojan side Anton Lesser Anton Lesser is one of Britain’s leading classical actors.He has played many of the principal Shakespearean roles for the RoyalShakespeare Company including Petruchio, Romeo and Richard III. His career hasalso encompassed contemporary drama, notably The Birthday Party by HaroldPinter. Appearances in major TV drama productions include The Oresteia, TheCherry Orchard, Troilus and Cressida and The Mill on the Floss.