Iliad, Books X-XII

In my readings I came across a phrase that I cannot shake. A walking Verfremdungseffekt (no, I’m not making the term up) refers to making strange what has become familiar. To the Greeks, the art of warfare has become familiar and commonplace. These factions have been warring for nearly a decade. Yet, Homer seems to make the war extraordinary. True many of his epic similes refer war and the soldiers to things in nature, but these still seem very foreign. Almost like Homer has to convince the audience that while war has many costs, it also seems to be natural.
Homer’s use of epic similes continues to really bring The Iliad to life. In a previous entry, I mentioned the description of two Achaean brothers who are like lions. Book XI compares the Trojans to a less noble creature—the jackal. Unlike the lion, these predators do not attack the strong and healthy animals. These Trojans prey upon the wounded. They simply finish off what another man has started (Book XI, lines 560-1). There is no honor in this. Furthermore, Homer seems to celebrate the hunted stag (in this case, I believe this to be honor or the spoils of war) as a resilient beast, able to escape the hunter but not the arrow. The stag sprints without becoming fatigued. Eventually, the strength has gone and these “ravening carrion packs begin their feasting” (Book XI, line 564). The Trojans are no better than vultures which come to gorge themselves upon rotting flesh. But, the noble lions (Agamemnon’s armies) are driven to the battle and the jackals (Trojans) flee like cowards. The lions receive all the glory from the war. What I find most interesting about this metaphor is that neither side kills the stag. It is the hunter which wounds the beast. Really, it is the gods who control fate and continue to pull the strings. Only by their approval does either side enjoy the spoils of war.