Block Day, Sept.15 ~ The Iliad Summarized

Hey! Check out this awesome synopsis of the chapters, compliments of Yale.





Here is the part that is pretty helpful today. (Note that some chapters are skipped.)

• Book 1—
  The poem begins with a dispute between the Greek king, Agamemnon, and the great soldier and Greek prince, Achilles. After a recent battle, each Greek hero has received spoils as his reward for victory. The king has received the most wealth and a beautiful woman, Chryseis, and each warrior has received his share of the spoils according to his rank and heroism. 
  Chryses, a priest of Apollo and Chryseis’ father, comes to Agamemnon with gifts and offerings to ransom his daughter. Against the advice of the army, however, Agamemnon refuses to let Chryseis go and Chryses prays to Apollo for revenge. Apollo sends a plague into the Greek army and many men die. 
  Achilles realizes that this scourge may is divine retribution for Agamemnon's offense to Apollo. 
  Achilles confronts Agamemnon who grudgingly agrees to return Chryseis, but who then takes Achilles’ woman, Briseis, as a reminder that he, Agamemnon, is king. Achilles is inconsolable and asks his mother Thetis (a goddess of the sea) to persuade Zeus to punish Agamemnon by aiding the Trojans until his, Achilles’, honor is restored. 
  Thetis does as her son bids, and Zeus agrees with the result that the gods, already divided in their loyalties, enter the fray, each god fighting for or protecting his or her own: Athena and Hera supporting the Greeks while Apollo and Aphrodite support Troy. This expansion of hostilities further complicates the relationships among the Trojans, the Greeks, and their gods, and the resulting disputes form the basis of this epic poem.
• Book 2—Shows the armies gearing for war. The first half tells of a dream Zeus sends predicting early victory. The second half of the chapter is a catalog of the troops. I recommend reading the first half including the introduction of the troop catalog, which explains that the Muses were conceived as actual sources of information.
• Book 3—This book introduces Paris who has provoked the war, Helen, and Menelaus (Helen’s first husband and Agamemnon’s brother) and the people of Troy. For the first time we get a glimmer of the reason the Greeks and Trojans are fighting.
• Book 6—In book 4 the Trojans with divine help break the truce and for the rest of books 4 and 5 the battles continue with the Greeks carrying the day. Book 6 is a personal favorite because it includes one of the more humane scenes, a meeting between Hector and his wife, Andromache. Additionally, the plight of the women (Helen, Hekabe [Hector’s mother], and Andromache), which is calamitous. In this chapter also Hector shames Paris into returning to battle.
• Book 9—In books 7 and 8 the battles continue. The Greeks have fortified their position and both armies take time to bury their dead. In book 8 Zeus turns the tide of battle towards Troy. Book 9 presents the Greeks sending three envoys—Odysseus, Phoinix and Aias—to plead with Achilles to help them after their terrible defeat. Achilles refuses their offer and says he will not fight unless the Greeks attack his ships.
• Book 11—Book 10 shows Agamemnon and Menelaus passing into the Trojan camp to spy. They find a Trojan spy and obtain information about the Trojan positions. In book 11 the major Greek heroes are wounded and Patroclus’ heart is moved to enter the war.
• Book 16—The battle continues in books 12 through 15. The Trojans are first victorious, then because Zeus, who is fulfilling his promise to Thetis is tricked, the Greeks rally. Finally Zeus regains control and Troy breaks through to the Greek ships. In book 16 Patroclus, Achilles’ closest companion, pleads with Achilles who is still angry, but who allows Patroclus to enter the fray. Patroclus is killed.
• Book 18—The Greeks fight for and finally retrieve the body of Patroclus in book 17. In book 18, Achilles learns of his friend’s death and the army mourns Patroclus. At the end of the book a special shield is made for Achilles.
• Book 19—Achilles makes peace with Agamemnon and will join the fight. Achilles’ own death is forecast. The tide of battle turns toward the Greeks.
• Book 22—Books 20 and 21 show the turnabout once Achilles has joined the battle. The Greeks come up to the very walls of Troy. Book 22 is the climax of the story. Hector and Achilles meet and Hector is slain. Achilles drags the body around Troy and the Trojans display their grief.
• Book 24—Book 23 contains the funeral rites of Patroclus and also the funeral games. In book 24 Priam, King of Troy, comes to ransom his son’s, Hector’s, body, and Achilles is finally able to assuage his anger in a touching scene between the two men. Achilles agrees to return Hector’s body to Troy.

Kaylee and Mattie will present a fuller picture!

J12 Read Book 1 of the Iliad and create a character chart that explains who they are and how they are related.