Similes in the Iliad
In The Iliad similes are used to convey detailed images to the audience. The utilization of imagery is especially prevalent in epic poetry because of its oral tradition. Similes allowed the speaker to make a connection with his audience and render the story more vividly. The similes Homer used in The Iliad focused overwhelmingly on the Greeks and their celebrated dominance in war. Very little, however, is mentioned of any aggression on the Trojan's part. By stressing the warrior tradition of Greece and leaving the Trojans' description conspicuously bare, Homer indirectly romanticizes the Trojan's peaceful life while showing his distaste for the Greeks' unrestrained violence and belligerence. Book Three, Helen Reviews the Champions, starts with: "...the Trojans came with cries and the din of war like wildfowl when the long hoarse cries of cranes sweep on against the sky and the great formations flee from the winters grim ungodly storm..." (3.2-3.5) Homer introduced the Trojan army as it defended Troy from a Greek assault. The phrase in bold implies grace and organization. Cranes are large, pure, and elegant-qualities befitting an efficient, yet defensive army. The "screaming of c
There exists a sharp contrast between the description of the Trojans and the description of the attack of Diomedes. The first bolded phrase describes Diomedes as a lion that has infiltrated a fold of sheep. Similarly, the Greek army laid in wait like a predator for the Trojan's, "...Rank and file streamed behind and rushed like swarms of bees pouring out of a rocky hollow, burst on endless burst, bunched in clusters seething over the first spring blooms, dark hordes swirling in the air..." (2.102-2.106) "...triple the fury seized him--claw-mad as a lion some shepherd tending woolly flocks in the field has just grazed, a lion leaping to the fold...lost as the ramping beast mauls them thick-and-fast, pilling corpse on corpse and in one furious bound clears the fenced yard, so raging Diomedes mauled the Trojans." (5.151-5.158) A pervading sense of fear is captured by this description. The first bold passage describes the Achean armies as a swarm of bees, implying the dispensability of Greek soldiers. In the second part of the passage, the use of "seething" implies anger and recklessness, and perhaps, an appetite for blood. "Dark hordes" also has a decidedly sinister connotation. The Greek warriors as portrayed by Homer have no regard f
Some common words found in the essay are:
Agamemnon Rank, Troy Homer, Troy Greek, Fights Gods, Similarly Greek, Iliad Homer's, Homer Iliad, Homer Paris, Reviews Champions, Greeks Iliad, woolly flocks, distaste greeks', greek army, greek soldiers, stallion full-fled, describe greek, ramping beast, bold passage, dark hordes,
Approximate Word count = 851
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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