ILIAD

Essay by vivgrca77 October 2014

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Viviana Garcia, 10:00 AM

ILIAD BOOK 1:

Agamemnon denied the old priest's ransom to return his daughters, so the priest prayed to Apollo for help. Apollo answered the priests' prayers by striking the Achean army with a deadly plague. When the Seer reveals to Achilles the reason behind the plague he asks Achilles to protect him at all costs once the reason is revealed. Achilles tells Agamemnon that Chryseis must be returned and he demands to have Briseis as compensation first. Agamemnon feels he cannot be disgraced in this manner and will not allow Achilles to keep his prize should he be stripped of his. Instead of physically striking down Agamemnon after he threatens to steal Brieses from his camp, Achilles is visited by Athena and convinced to break him down with words to instill fear in him. After a battle of words, Agamemnon realizes that Chryseis must be returned and puts her on a ship back to her father along with oxen for a sacrifice to Apollo.

The message in this book is pride, retribution, and the price one pays when they anger the gods. Even though Agamemnon is a strong and mighty warrior, and Achilles a favorite of Zeus, they are not above the wrath of the gods. To children, this story would teach the value of personal honor, the price one pays for being to proud, and most of all, to honor their priests and gods.

ILIAD Book 6:

I did not expect this book to be so heartwarming. I was empathetic towards Andromache's breaking heart. She had to come to terms with the fact that Hector would be killed in battle and she would be left alone with her son to contend with the Achaneans. It was sad to envision Hector holding up his son...