Michelle Powell
Professor Wilson
Mythology 285.33
Questions about the Iliad
1. Being a hero is something that was very important in a man’s life. The way hero’s gained glory was from fighting on the battlefield by continuously putting his life at risk.
2. Achilles claims to greatness is by one of the greatest skilled warrior on the battlefield. He takes pride in knowing that he can’t be beaten. Whereas Agamemnon isn’t as great of a warrior but is the king of Mycenae
3. I personally didn’t take the poem too literal, but I do think it aids to understanding the story more clearly.
4. Achilles was a very prideful man. He knew if he fought in the Trojan War he would die but he wanted his name to go down in history of him being the best warrior to ever live.
5. In a sense Diomedes and Odysseus were cruel for killing Dolon because he told them about the position of the Trojans thinking his life would be spared but if he had been set free, who is to say he wouldn’t have went back to Hector and told him everything that just happened. I guess in a sense Diomedes and Odysseus were covering their tracks.
6. I think the gods definitely are beneficial to the heroes in helping them win battles.
7. Patroclus was wearing Achilles armor to represent that he was fighting as Achilles. Patroclus led his army of men and was fighting so well that the Trojan army thought that he was Achilles fighting. But Patroclus disobeyed Achilles orders by going after the Trojans instead of fighting long enough to save the ships from being defeated.
8. After Patroclus is killed Achilles mother Thetis ask Hephaestus to make him new armor. The shield represents a world outside the battlefield and that the war is only one aspect of life. It’s a keep sake to remember back home
9. Achilles definitely had problems with controlling his temper very early on and was doing a little better with controlling himself until Patroclus was killed. After that he went back to fight in battle knowing that he would be killed which could be seen as him being noble.
10. I think the poem had a decent ending. It did its job of giving a summary of who won the war. It let the readers know about the fall of Troy.
