The deaths of numerous soldiers in Book XIII truly depict the cost of war. These deaths are all brutal. Both Acheans and Trojans alike fall. Homer reminds the audiences both the winners and the losers suffer losses in war. There is no true victory. Homer’s use of epic simile further imprints death upon the minds of his audience. Strong soldiers fighting in battle are compared with massive trees that are cut down (Book 13, line 454). A more striking simile can be found beginning at line 660. This soldier is grasping for life; his dying breaths haunt my memory. The death of Harpalon is compared to the death of an earthworm (Book 13, line 754). We have all seen worms lying on the sidewalk after the rain. They die in mass, scorched by the hot sun. It is not the death of a hero. It is absolutely pointless. I can find no honor in this type of death.
Irony seems rich in Book XIV. Zeus and Hera have the weirdest possible marriage. When Zeus is overcome with lust for his wife, he convinces her to be with him by reminiscing about past flings. Hera doesn’t let it faze her, probably because she is only seducing him to advance the Acheans in battle.
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