Homers iliad begins nine years after the greek armies first arrived at troy. Here she is carrying out an action hector had ordered her to perform during their conversation in iliad 6 6. Hector returns to troy 3 hector is described in the book as being similar to achilles as he is the mightiest warrior in the trojan army as achilles is the mightiest warrior achaean army. Hector speaks to his wife and child after returning from battle and although he does not know it yet, it is to be their last meeting before he is killed by achilles. Hectors return to troy gives the reader a glimpse of life inside the city.
In winter, winds blow them down to earth, but then, when spring season comes again, the budding wood grows more. The narration of hector s return to troy is interrupted by an encounter between a foremost achaean leader, diomedes, and a trojan ally, glaucus of lycia. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of the iliad and what it means. The episodes of glaucus and diomed, and of hector and andromache. Most commentators consider this scene to be the most moving in the iliad. What are the two reasons hector left the battlefield and. Helenus, the chief augur of troy, commands hector to return to the city, in order to appoint a solemn procession of the queen and the trojan matrons to the temple of minerva, to entreat her to remove diomed from the. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans.
Knowing theres a good chance he will be killed and troy will fall, hector goes to see his mother, his brother, his wife, and his infant son. The narration of hectors return to troy is interrupted by an encounter between a foremost achaean leader, diomedes, and a trojan ally, glaucus of lycia. Battle music priam returns to troy with hectors body achilles gives the trojans eleven days from battle to have hectors funeral on the tenth day, the trojans light hectors pyre. Briseis is a trojan priestess and hectors cousin, captured during the attack on apollos temple. However, andromache is seen in iliad 6 in an unusual place for the traditional housewife, standing before the ramparts of troy 6. The hymn to aphrodite is the fifth in a collection of thirtythree anonymous ancient greek hymns celebrating individual gods, mostly dating to the seventh century b. Hector has killed patroclus, achilles beloved comrade, and achilles rage is terrifying. The iliad for all its terrible description of violence doesnt ever glorify it, it states a way of life at a particular point of time, giving us multiple views of it. This is a long originally oral poem in its own dialect of ancient greek in dactylic hexameter, in tradition composed by a blind poet of the anatolian greek coast, homer. The fight between trojans and achaeans was now left to rage as it would, and the tide of war surged hither and thither over the plain as they aimed their bronzeshod spears at one another between the streams of simois and xanthus. Hector returns to troy at thetis request, zeus intervenes to help the trojans defeat the achaeans. The other difference between the movie and the book is that the movie shows hector killing melelaus. Achilles, the epics central character, exposes this fact and confronts the king.
By all accounts, hector was the best warrior the trojans and their allies could field. The gods having left the field, the grecians prevail. Agamemnons rejection of chryses in book i leads to all of the events of the iliad. It is a portrait of the warrior at home, war forgotten as he watches his son play and talks with his wife. The iliad portrays helen disgusted with the cowardly paris, wishing he had died in the fight. Thats one of the reasons why hector, breaker of horses, returns to troy. This is the history of the trojan war ten years after the war has started.
The first scene of the iliad finds chryses, the priest of apollo god of the sun and a whole lot of other stuff, approaching the achaian camp to ask for his daughter back. Choose from 500 different sets of iliad book 6 flashcards on quizlet. In book vi of the iliad, hector returns home in the midst of fighting the greeks in order to speak with his wife andromache and see his infant son astyanax. Hector becomes a symbol of steadfastness of troy, almost the aim of the achaeans struggle, because for the readers of the iliad the death of hector is equal to the downfall of troy. In the movie briseis comes from lyrnessus, and is captured by the aecheans before the siege of troy. Hector commanded the trojan army, with a number of subordinates including polydamas, and his brothers deiphobus, helenus and paris. In this beautiful yet deeply sad exchange between husband and wife, andromache begs hector not to go back into battle and she appeals to his sense of pity to persuade him. The point is, now that you know what the things are, its high time we jumped into the middle of them. Hector returns to battle with paris, and the woman of the city sing dirges funeral songs for hector, treating him as if he is already dead. The iliad recounts a brief but crucial period of the trojan war, a conflict between the city of troy and its allies against a confederation of greek cities, collectively known as the achaeans.
Agamemnon is inspired to attack troy by a dream sent by the gods, who want to bring his army misery for taking briseis away from achilles. The iliad murraybook vi wikisource, the free online. T he fight between trojans and achaeans was now left to rage as it would, and the tide of war surged hither and thither over the plain as they aimed their bronzeshod spears at one another between the streams of simois and xanthus first, ajax son of telamon, tower of strength to the achaeans, broke a. Helens precise role in the abduction is unknown since the event is a matter of legend rather than historical fact and has been variously interpreted in. The end of book vi is the famous scene between hector and andromache and their infant son, astyanax. The wrath of achilles is finally assuaged in book xxiv. He is determined to have revenge, and in book 22 he faces hector in single combat. A plague has overcome the greek armies because agamemnon has refused to return the daughter of a priest of apollo. Sabidius published on this blog a translation of the first book of homers iliad on 12th march 2010, and the introduction to that is relevant here also with regard to its general comments about homer. Hector speeds to his own house, but his wife andromache is not there. First, ajax son of telamon, tower of strength to the achaeans, broke a phalanx of the trojans, and came to the assistance of his comrades by. It covers the 10th year of a war against troy conducted by a coalition of achaean, or greek, states under the. The iliad summary from litcharts the creators of sparknotes.
Achilles, recognizes the armor that hector is wearing armor of achilles friend patroclus, and knows the weak point neck. Aeneas and hector, seeing that upon you above all others rests the wartoil of trojans and lycians, for that in every undertaking ye are the best both in war and in counsel, hold ye your ground, and go ye. The iliad describes the conflicts between achilles and his leader, agamemnon, and between greeks and trojans, following the abduction of agamemnons sisterinlaw, helen of sparta aka helen of troy, by the trojan prince paris. The iliad, questions for discussion book vi hector returns to troy 1. Homeric troy refers primarily to the city described in the iliad, the earliest literary work in europe. Priams wife and hectors mother, who chooses her best robe as a gift to athene. Below is an extract from one of the iliads most famous scenes, taking place at end of book 6.
This is one of the few times when this happens, and it is interesting that hektor says it out of excitement wanting the moment to last forever instead of despair at a moment passing. The iliad, together with the odyssey, is one of two ancient greek epic poems traditionally attributed to homer. Homers epic poem the iliad tells the story of the trojan war and the epic heroes and gods, including achilles, hector, odysseus, athena, ares, paris. According to the iliad, hector did not approve of war between the greeks and the trojans for ten years, the achaeans besieged troy and their allies in the east. When hector misses achilles with his javelin, he is left unarmed and completely isolated outside the gates of troy. While hacking his way through the trojans, diomedes meets glaucus, the grandson of a man his own grandfather had hosted, which makes them guestfriends who cannot harm or fight against each other. A servant tells him that she has gone to troys tower to watch the fighting. Bitter fighting resumes, causing massive casualties on both sides. Hectors dying words to achilles was to return his corpse to troy. Andromache weeps for the past loss of her family to the achaeans, and asks for hector to stay within troys walls, fearing that she will become a. Hector returns to troy book 6 hector the family man previous books a brief introduction. Achilles kindness to priam in book xxiv ends the warriors wrath and.
Helenus, the chief augur of troy, commands hector to return to the city, in order to appoint a solemn procession of the queen and the trojan matrons to the temple of minerva, to entreat her to remove diomed from the fight. It is a curious fact about the iliad that, for all its focus on the theme of death, it rarely shows characters longing for immortality. The iliad, questions for discussion book vi hector. Many people have noted connections between the last book and the first because both involve a father seeking the return of a child. On the trojans came, columns armed for assault, and again the argives. He fights of the achaean army when achilles is not in action and manages to blow up an achaean ship and sustain them from the city of troy. The gods decide that the first day of battle should conclude with a oneonone duel. But hector did deadly fate ensnare to abide there where he was in front.
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