iliad scholarship

Allan- Andromache draws attention to how war destroys the lives of women, despite hector knowing this he claims that war is ‘the concern of men’

Nicolson- sex and violence is at the heart of the Iliad

Allan- the importance of female beauty is embodied in the formulaic language of the poem- epithets

Farron- women have strong sentiments and emotions about the world around them but are ignored, showing their helplessness and inability to control their lives.

Edwards- intervention adds glory to the heroes because it shows they are worthy

Griffin- the gods are involved in the battles as much as humans

Silk- they are trivial, they interfere but the heroes still act with free will and their autonomy remains

Griffin- Achilles having Thetis as a mother means that he mobilises the gods to intervene in his quarrel

Silk- Achilles is an uncomfortable and even destructive presence in the heroic world

Silk- Achilles becomes an extremist in all things

Jones- there is tension between the desire for time and kleos to be gained by winning, and one’s obligations to be cooperative

Wilson- Achilles demonstrates himself as a spiritual man in a material world

Edwards- fate is used as literary device

Jones- epithets remind us of lasting characteristics of the people described

‘warlike Menelaus’ ‘great Hector of the flashing Helmet’

Clarke- the driving force for soldiers is the need for praise and admiration, that death in war is better than disgrace

Allan-Homer presents the complexity of war, describing misery and loss while also celebrating battlefield skill

Schein- hector is social and human while Achilles is inhumanely isolated and demonic in his greatness

Tolbert-Roberts- Agamemnon is neurotic

Schein- Andromache is dearer to Hector than anyone else in the world

Jones- the gods quarrel as all families do

Silk- on earth no reconciliation is possible until most of the damage has been done

Hodgkinson- Achilles and Priam are divided by war, united through humanity

Graziosi- Hector wants to win glory for himself and his father

Martin- his wrath is not alleviated but merely redirected towards Hector

Taplin- Hector’s fellow citizens depend on him; if he falls, they fall