The Iliad

by Homer

I will sumarize the book so if you don't want spoilers maybe its better not to read it but if you're like some of my friends who:

• Are lazy.
• Couldn't read past page one.
• Fell asleep while trying to read it.
• Didn't understand a thing Homer was saying.
• Has illiterate syndrome which in my dictionary means incapable to read anything that isn't facebook or alike.

     ...Then I welcome you to read it! With a half smile, maybe a complete one if you tried. I actually didn't felt it was hard but after Pride and Prejudice and Crime and Punishment -which are not from the same author although I admit the style of the titles are kind of similar- nothing felt hard anymore. I had friends saying, "I tried to read it once, couldn't read past page one though." So I guess this is dedicated to my friends who might want to know what they couldn't read.

WARNING: If you're using it to avoid reading a book you should have read for school be advised this is only a summary so I maliciously avoided lots of details -you know, is nice being evil and so-, also I actually read the book in spanish so maybe some names are in spanish.

Summary

     The Iliad is the story of the war of Troy in a specific time of it. It starts when the achaeans are plagued by Apollo for not returning Criseida to his father Crises. Criseida was the women Atrida Agamemnon, the leader of the achaeans, had as a spoil after destroying one of the cites near Troy because as they say in the story: men were to be slaugthered and women enslaved whenever a city was conquered. Pressured by Apollo and his own people, Agamemnon had to return Criseida to his father and also offer sacrifices to the god but he felt ashamed to be the only one losing his spoil as he was the leader so he took Briseida, Achilles's spoil, because he was the one who protected the seer who said that they should return Criseida.

     Achilles's was angered by Agamemnon because he felt unnapreciated after being the best warrior among them and vowed that he shall not help the achaeans even if the trojans came by the boats and set fire to them making them lose the war.

     Because Achilles wants to see Agamemnon regret his actions he asks her goddess mother, the Nereid Tetis, to help him make this come true. Tetis then goes to Zeus and begs him to favour his son to which he complies by favouring the trojans and mostly the mighty son of king Priam, Hector.

     The war ensues until the achaeans are fighting near the boats, trying with all there might to prevent Hector setting fire to them, just as Achilles wanted. Agamemnon regrets his choice and begs Achilles to return to battle offering him all kind of presents to which he angrily declines.

     The gods favouring the achaeans start plotting against Zeus who prevents them leaving the Olympus and so lots of battles and plotting occur between them such as Hera seducing Zeus into sleeping with her and Poseidon disguised as an old man running around the troops inciting them to keep fighting, and Athena helping Diomedes fight against Ares and other crazy but cool things.

     Achilles suddenly feeling compassion for his dead comrades accepts letting Patroclus use his armor and lead the myrmidons to scare away the trojans from the boats but only if he doesn't go near the walls of Troy to which he disobeys and dies -as everyone who more less knows the story- by the hands of Hector who then steals and wears the armor. The achaeans manage to recover the body.

     Achilles is then notified and gets a newfound anger against Hector. He makes peace with Agamemnon and accepts Briseida again with the sole purpose to avenge his best friend by bringing the corpse of his killer before he buries him. Meanwhile Tetis promises to bring his son a new armor made by the god of blacksmith, Hephaestus, knowing that Hector had stole the one he had. The next day she comes back with an impressive armor to which Achilles comes back to battle to kill the trojans.

     Curious fact: Agamemnon vows he didn't lay in the same bed with Briseida and says that if he's lying the gods should punish him. Later on in the Odyssey, it is gossiped and then confirmed by his ghost that when returning home to Mycenae her wife, Clitemnenstra, plotted his death with his lover, Egisto, while he tried to put on a shirt without the holes for the head and arms. Agamemnon regretted being incapable to help his concubine, Cassandra the seeress of Troy, when her wife murdered her.

     The trojans escaped to the walls of Troy when they saw Achilles in a killing spree aproaching them. Only Hector stood outside the walls even when his parents begged him to escape. When confronted by Achilles, Hector struck by fear starts running around the wall fast enough so he isn't killed by the spear of Achilles but slow enough that he can't escape. He continues running with the help of Apollo until Zeus forbids him doing so and Athena disguised as his brother, Deiphobus, tricks Hector into fighting against Achilles. He realizes when the spear comes back to Achilles's hand after missing and seeing his brother disappear that the gods had tricked and forsaken him. He fights back but is finally killed by Achilles. While dying he tells him that one of his brothers shall avenge him which only anger Achilles even more.

     Curious fact: Achilles is killed by Paris but her mother and a horse- yes, a talking horse!- told him he was going to be killed by the protector god of Troy. So it is assumed that the arrow Paris shot was directed by Apollo to the heel.

     After poking Hector's corpse with the help of the achaeans, Achilles ties him to the chariot and drags his body around the walls of Troy before returning to the boats leaving the trojans crying for they know the best warrior and hope of Troy has died.

Priam begs Achilles.
Makes muscular and nude good in all situations. 

     Meanwhile, Patroclus is burned and his remains put in an urn. Achilles starts the funeral games for his friend using his own goods as the throphies. After that he refuses to eat and drink and full of anger drags Hector's corpse around the mound where Patroclus's remains are in his constant fits of anger. Zeus feeling compassion for Hector who was devoted to the gods sends Tetis to stop his son and convince him to return the body when Priam comes, and sends Iris, a god messenger, to notify him of the plans of Zeus to recover the corpse of his son with a cart full of present to exchange with his only company being of a man older than him.
     Hermes, sent by Zeus, guides Priam disguised as an achaean boy to the camp and lets Priam pass by sentinels unseen. Hermes then reveals himself and reassures him of entering Achilles's tent. Achilles feels compassion for Priam who is an old man just as his father. While both admitting they know they shall die in this war and both feel powerless about that, they manage to find compassion for each other even when being enemies and start to eat and drink again. Achilles returns Hector's body to Priam and ask for the days they need to make his funeral to which he replies twelve. Finally warned by Hermes, Priam and his companion return to Troy. The book ends when they bury the remains and erect a mound to glorify Hector.


Hope you liked it. Soon I will do one for the Odyssey which I actually like better than the Iliad. Well maybe because I like much better shameless cunning bastard Odysseus than always-angry non-present Achilles. And I actually thought the Iliad was going to end when the achaeans conquer Troy so when I saw The End I actually flipped past the page because I thought I would find more and only found blank pages. I was somewhat disappointed.