Iliad, Books IV-VI

It always amazes me how within this epic leaders come to a truce, only to have the peace shattered so quickly. It isn’t that different from today I suppose. Also I kept focusing on just a small part of Book IV. Every generation always seems to think their generation is the best. Even in ancient Greece, soldiers are proclaiming “we are far, far greater than our fathers” (Book IV, line 471). The rising have very little appreciation for their elders. Technology and more education rarely produce wisdom.
It’s been a while since I’ve looked in epic similes. If I recall, they are extended metaphors/similes. There were several which might qualify, but one of my favorites was in Book V comparing Diocles’ two sons to two young lions (Book V, lines 637-641). Its emphasis on the brutality of these lions creates incredible insight into the pair’s combat style. These lions ravage and maul until they are hacked down.
Book VI features Helen in a completely different light (as close to the TMZ version as ancient Greece had). Her regrets and self-deprecation always startle me. Paris is in the room; he can hear EVERYTHING. After ten years of listening to your wife say, “I never should have left my first husband,” and “he was such a better man” I cannot understand why Paris and the Trojans do not sent her on the next plane packing. Different times, perhaps.
The Iliad really should be Hector. Throughout the entire work, he remains constant. He is a devoted husband and father and I love reading this chapter to see how he interacts with his beloved Andromache and their young son. Troy’s under attack, Hector’s life is in jeopardy, yet Hector’s primary concern is for his wife. Her agony and subsequent slavery gives him the most grief (Book VI, line 539-540). I’m not a romantic person, but this gets me every time.