Homer by Daisy Dunn

Author:Daisy Dunn [Dunn, Daisy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781405933865
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 2019-09-05T00:00:00+00:00

The battle

While describing only a short period in the Trojan War, Homer provides an impression of the wider conflict culminating in the mighty battle between Hector, the greatest hero among the Trojans, and Achilles, the greatest hero among the Greeks. Their duel is the signal event of the Iliad and presages the end of the war itself.

Homer paints a magnificently vivid picture of each stage in the battle. Achilles appears in armour made by the craftsman god Hephaestus. Hector trembles and runs. Achilles chases. Zeus looks on and half-heartedly wonders whether the gods might save Hector. Athena darts down from Olympus to assist Achilles. Apollo protects Hector. But then Zeus balances the fates of the soldiers in his scales; Hector’s sinks. He must die. Apollo leaves. Athena stays.

Hector reaches for his sword but Achilles charges and drives his spear into his neck. Hector begs Achilles to return his body to the Trojans so that it is not eaten by the dogs. Achilles will not. He calls Hector a dog and wishes he could eat him himself. The image of dogs pervades the Iliad, evoking the terrible fate that awaits a man whose corpse remains exposed. Earlier in the poem, Hector in the heat of battle was even described as rabid.

With his dying breath, Hector accurately predicts Achilles’ coming death, which will occur when Apollo guides Paris’ arrow into his heel. Untroubled, Achilles strips Hector of his armour. The Greeks gather to stab his corpse. Achilles bores through Hector’s feet to tie him to his chariot and drag him through the dust. Homer spares no details of the abuse. He isolates Achilles from us as well as from his compatriots while illustrating his strength.

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