The plot of the Iliad stems from a cycle of heroic tales about the Trojan War. The action of the poem represents only an episode of the war, in the 10th year; characters assumed to be already known. Therefore, when discussing the characters of the Iliad, it is necessary to relate not only to the text of the poem, but also to the entire cycle of legends.
Achilles. The central figure of the poem is Achilles, the bravest of the Achaean warriors - the son of the Thessalian king Peleus and the sea goddess Thetis. He is "short-lived", he is destined great glory And " quick death". Achilles is portrayed as such a powerful hero that the Trojan enemies are afraid to leave the walls of the city. Achilles is angry that the captive Briseis is being taken away from him and refuses to participate in hostilities. As a child, the mother, the goddess Thetis, tried to make Achilles' body invulnerable, and only in the heel could he be wounded. According to the prediction of the priest Kalanta, the campaign against Troy was doomed to failure without the participation of Achilles, and the Achaeans, led by Odysseus, call him to war. In the Iliad, the motif of Achilles' invulnerability has no of great importance; Achilles' invincibility comes from his inner qualities. Achilles strives to prove himself a hero, knowing that he is destined short life. A clash with Agamemnon over Briseis almost leads to bloodshed in the camp of the Achaeans. The end of Achilles' anger comes only when he learns of the death of a friend of Patroclus at the hands of the Trojan hero Hector. Having received new armor from Hephaestus, he rushes into battle, defeats the fleeing Trojans and defeats Hector in a decisive battle. However, the death of Hector portends the imminent death of Achilles himself. Achilles gives the body of Hector to the Trojan king Priam for a large ransom. The unsurviving epic "Ethiopias" tells about the further fate of Achilles.
Agamemnon - paramount chief Achaeans, son of Atreus and Aeropa. The Iliad describes Agamemnon as a valiant warrior, but does not hide his arrogance and intransigence; it is these qualities of a leader that are the cause of many disasters for the Greeks. Bragging about a successful shot while hunting provokes the wrath of the goddess Artemis, and she deprives the Greek fleet of a fair wind. Having captured Chryseis in raids on the outskirts of Troy, he refuses to return her for ransom to Chris, the priest of Apollo, for which God sends a pestilence on the Greeks. In response to Achilles' demand to return his daughter to his father, he takes away the captive Briseis from Achilles, which incurs the wrath of the hero. This episode is the beginning of the Iliad. Agamemnon in a witty way tests the loyalty of the army: he invites everyone to return home, and only after that he starts fighting. Other sources say that after the capture of Troy, Agamemnon with great booty and Cassandra returns to his homeland, where death awaits him.
Patroclus is a companion of Achilles. Although he is one of Elena's suitors, his participation in the war is more due to his friendship with Achilles. When Achilles withdrew from the fighting and the position of the Greeks became critical, Patroclus persuaded Achilles to allow him to fight. Dressed in the armor of his friend, on his chariot harnessed by immortal horses, Patroclus put the Trojans to flight and defeated over 20 Trojan warriors, including the famous hero Sarpedon. Fascinated by the battle, Patroclus forgot the covenant of Achilles, who ordered him to return as soon as the enemy was pushed back from the Achaean camp. Patroclus pursued the Trojans to the very walls of Troy and died there at the hands of Hector, who was helped by Apollo. In the ensuing battle over the murdered Patroclus, Hector managed to remove the armor from him, while the Achaeans, led by Menelaus and Ajax, beat off the body of Patroclus and carried it to the camp. Here Achilles arranged a solemn funeral for Patroclus: over the funeral pyre, 12 captive Trojan youths were sacrificed to the hero.
Menelaus - brother of Agamemnon, Spartan king, husband of Helen. Menelaus and Helen lived peacefully for about ten years, after which Helen was kidnapped by the Trojan prince Paris. Then Menelaus gathered all the former suitors of Elena, who swore an oath to protect her honor, and went on a campaign. In single combat with Paris, Menelaus clearly prevails, and only the intervention of the goddess Aphrodite saves Paris. Soon Menelaus was wounded by Pandarus with an arrow. Once again, Menelaus shows valor, defending the body of the murdered Patroclus from the Trojans. Menelaus is one of the Greek warriors who took refuge in a wooden horse, and on the night of the fall of Troy he killed the Trojan prince Deiphobes, who became the husband of Helen after the death of Paris.
Helen is the wife of Menelaus, the Spartan queen, the most beautiful of women. Her father is Zeus and her mother is Nemesis. The rumor about Elena's beauty spreads so widely throughout Greece that the heroes of all Hellas are going to woo the girl. Menelaus is chosen as husband. But Paris kidnaps Helen and flees with her to Troy, taking with her great treasures and many slaves. Elena in the Iliad is clearly burdened by her position; on the night of the capture of Troy, Elena's sympathy is on the side of the Greeks. After the fall of Troy, Menelaus wanted to kill her, but at the sight of his wife, he releases the sword from his hands and forgives her. The Achaean army, already ready to stone Elena, upon seeing her, abandons this thought.
Odysseus is the king of Ithaca, the son of Laertes and Anticlea, an intelligent, cunning, dexterous and practical hero. Thanks to his invention - a wooden horse - Troy died. He is the bearer of practical intelligence, tireless energy, a far-sighted ability to navigate in difficult circumstances, the ability to speak eloquently and convincingly, the art of dealing with people. Odysseus wins not only with weapons, but with words and mind. He goes with Diomedes to the Trojan camp. Odysseus beats and makes a mockery of Thersites, who seduces the soldiers, and then delivers an inspirational speech that arouses the fighting fervor of the troops. He goes as an ambassador to Achilles, speaks in council, and words pour from his lips like a snow blizzard, so that no mortal can compete with him. Odysseus is "glorious with a spear", "great in soul and heart." In archery, he is surpassed only by Philoctetes. His "perfection" is emphasized. However, he himself admits to King Alkinos that he is famous for cunning inventions among people. Athena confirms that it is difficult even for a god to compete with Odysseus in cunning, fabrication and deceit. The Odyssey is dedicated to the return of Odysseus to his homeland.
Ajaxes are two warriors in the army of the Achaeans. In battle, they are often side by side. Ajax Oilid, king of Locris, is a skilled javelin thrower and an excellent runner. During the capture of Troy, he committed violence against Cassandra at the altar of Athena and brought the disfavor of the gods and the wrath of the troops, his ship crashed, returning from Troy, and Ajax died. Ajax Telamonides is the cousin of Achilles, a valiant warrior of great stature and powerful physique. He throws a huge stone at Hector and pierces the enemy's shield with it. The Trojans scatter in fear before him. When Patroclus is killed, Ajax helps carry his body from the battlefield. He also protects the body of the slain Achilles and claims to inherit his armor. When Odysseus gets the armor, the offended Ajax tries to kill the Achaean leaders at night, but Athena sends madness on him. When Ajax regains his sanity, he commits suicide.
Hector is the son of Priam and Hecuba, the main participant in the war on the side of the Trojans. He leads fighting, himself distinguished by strength and heroism. Twice fights Ajax Telamonides. Under the leadership of Hector, the Trojans break into the fortified camp of the Achaeans, approach the Achaean ships and manage to set fire to one of them. Hector also manages to defeat Patroclus in front of the very gates of Troy and remove the armor of Achilles from him. After Achilles enters the battle, Hector, despite the entreaties of his parents, remains with him in the field alone and dies in a duel at the Scaean Gate, predicting the imminent death of Achilles himself. Achilles, obsessed with a thirst for revenge for Patroclus, ties Hector's body to a chariot and circles around Troy, dragging the corpse of a slain enemy. But the dead Achilles is protected by the god Apollo, and birds and animals do not touch him. The gods force Achilles to hand over the body of Hector to his father Priam, who arranges a magnificent funeral.
Paris is the son of Priam and Hecuba. According to the prediction, he was to be the culprit in the death of Troy, and his parents threw him on Mount Ida to be eaten by animals. But the child survived and was raised by a shepherd.
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The epic poems of Homer "Iliad" and "Odyssey" are the first monuments known to us in time ancient Greek literature. They were created in the first third of the 1st millennium BC. Of course, they could not belong to the pen of only one author (Homer) and appear suddenly, as a result of individual creativity. If these brilliant works were compiled by one poet, who is conventionally called Homer, then this work was based on the centuries-old work of the Greek people. It is no coincidence that Homer's poems reflected a wide variety of periods. historical development ancient Greeks.
In principle, the Homeric epic describes the communal-clan organization of society. But the period that is depicted in the poems is very far from the real communal-tribal collectivism of the ancients. In the Homeric epic, signs of a highly developed private property, a private initiative within tribal organizations and slavery. True, the slaves are only doing the work of shepherds and domestic servants. But, if in the "Iliad" slavery is still patriarchal in nature, then in the "Odyssey" the degree of exploitation of slaves increases significantly.
Based on the foregoing, we note that the Homeric poems were written not just in the epic style, which reflects the communal-clan formation, but in its later variety, the free or mixed epic style. In contrast to the earlier, strict epic style, the free style reflects the period of the emergence of private property, the appearance on the stage of an individual, although not yet completely detached from the tribal community, but already conscious of himself as an independent hero. This hero often acts on his own initiative and sometimes even fights with the gods, like Diomedes, who wounded Aphrodite and Ares, the god of war himself. Diomedes, as a hero of the late, free epic style, is ready to fight even with Apollo, and Odysseus in the second Homeric poem (Odyssey, Canto 5) is not inferior to the god of the sea, Poseidon himself.
Sometimes the independence of the Homeric hero inspires fear in the gods. In this regard, when the gods consult among themselves, discussing further fate King Odysseus of Ithaca, Zeus admits that people blame the gods for their misfortunes in vain. If they had not acted contrary to fate, they would have avoided many troubles. Concerned about Odysseus's excessive independence, the gods decide to return him to Ithaca, otherwise he will return there regardless of the will of the gods, thanks to his own perseverance and determination.
Such behavior of the hero, of course, is not allowed in the strict epic style, which reflected the life of the ancient Greek society, soldered into a monolithic collective. This collective subordinated absolutely every personal life to itself, and individual human life was considered only in connection with the activities of the entire collective. An individual human life in itself did not represent any value - only the entire collective as a whole had value; it seemed to be a single organism, and human lives were included in it as cells. The same structure of relations exists in some phenomena of living nature, for example, in an anthill. In the 20th century a prime example similar organization of society - the Stalinist totalitarian state.
There is a whole cycle of myths associated with the Trojan events. The poems "Iliad" and "Odyssey" are only small parts of this vast Trojan mythology. The Iliad describes only a few episodes that take up 51 days of the ten-year siege by the Greeks of the Asia Minor city of Troy. This is by all the rules of the genre - a heroic poem. The "Odyssey", as the researchers of the Homeric epic say, at first, apparently, was not included in the Trojan cycle and was just an analogy to the adventurous fairy-tale mythology of the Argonauts. Reworking the myths about Odysseus, Homer introduced the idea of the hero's return to his homeland from under the walls of the defeated Ilion into a purely adventure narrative. Thus, the main idea"Odyssey" - the hero's love for the homeland, for his wife, for the family hearth, which is defiled by obsessive suitors seeking the hand of Penelope.
It is no coincidence that these motifs of heroism and love for the motherland prevail in the poems. The fact is that the Homeric epic was taking shape at a time when the once strong Greece was devastated by the Dorians tribes that invaded from the north of the Balkan Peninsula. Creating their own poems, which absorbed ancient songs, myths and historical traditions, Homer wanted to remind the Achaeans (there was no single name for the Greek people then) of their glorious heroic past, to awaken in them love for their homeland and the will to resist the invaders. Therefore, the generation of ancient heroes, in contrast to his contemporaries enslaved by the Dorians, is presented by Homer as endowed with all sorts of virtues, a worthy role model.
Here one can also recall the “Tale of Igor's Campaign”, similar in meaning to Homer's poems, by an unknown ancient Russian author, who, with his work, warned Russian princes mired in civil strife on the eve of the Mongol-Tatar invasion.
2. Gods
In the Homeric epic, myth and historical reality, truth and fairy-tale fiction are closely intertwined. It is no coincidence that at first even the reality of the existence of the city of Troy itself in antiquity was questioned. But then, in the 70s of the last century, the German enthusiastic archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann discovered the ruins of the ancient city of Ilova (Troy) in the north of Asia Minor.
based on ancient Greek myths, "Iliad" and "Odyssey" are densely populated by Olympian gods. Olympus and the earth live in close unity. In Homer's poems mythological form the world appears as a single tribal community headed by Zeus.
The ancient Greeks believed that the immortal celestials were fully endowed with the whole gamut human feelings that they interfere in the lives of heroes, determine the fate of those who live on earth.
In addition to virtues, the gods possess all human shortcomings which Homer ruthlessly ridicules. They, like people, quarrel, scold, even sometimes fight. The gods are vindictive and vengeful. But they are also concerned about the fate of the heroes fighting under the walls of Ilion. Indeed, according to the ideas of the ancient Greeks, generations of heroes descend from Zeus, who is called by Homer "the father of people and gods", or from his relatives. Some heroes are directly related to the gods. As, for example, Achilles is the son of the sea goddess Thetis, the Lycian king Sarpedon, who is the son of Zeus and the goddess of Europe, and others.
The epic always deals with events so significant for the fate of entire peoples that, by the will of the ancient singers - the Aeds (Homer was also considered a blind singer), the gods necessarily interfere in these events. The events that caused Trojan War. The myth tells that the Earth, burdened with a huge human population, turned to Zeus with a request to reduce the human race. Zeus heeded the request of the Earth and unleashed a war between the Greeks and the Trojans. The reason for the war was the abduction of the wife of the Spartan king Menelaus Helen by the Trojan prince Paris. Enraged, Menelaus, together with his brother Agamemnon, gathers the Greek army and sails on ships to Ilion.
In the Iliad and the Odyssey, as well as in the entire Trojan cycle, the gods are directly involved in the events. The motivation for all the personal actions of the characters comes from outside. What, for example, caused Achilles' anger at the leader of the Greek army, Agamemnon? The anger that brought the Achaeans, as it is said in the poem: "suffering without count" and "many strong souls heroes" sent to Hades. The reason for the quarrel between the two heroes was the captive, the daughter of the priest of Chris, Briseis, whom Agamemnon took away from Achilles. By the will of Apollo, he was forced to give his captive Chryseis to her father Chris. Thus, the god Apollo turned out to be the culprit in the quarrel between Achilles and Agamemnon, who sent an evil disease to the Achaean army and thereby forced Agamemnon to return the daughter captured from him to the priest of the temple of Apollo in Troy.
Also, the will of the gods motivates other actions of heroes and life situations. When, for example, during a duel, Menelaus grabbed Paris by the helmet and dragged him to the Achaean camp (Iliad, Song 3), the goddess Aphrodite tore the helmet strap and freed Paris. But the belt could break on its own, without the intervention of Aphrodite, who patronizes Paris.
The gods not only intervene human life, they direct the thoughts and actions of people in the direction they need. As a result of the decision of the gods and the direct influence of Pallas Athena, who sympathizes with the Achaeans, the Trojan Pandarus shoots at the Greek camp, treacherously violating the recently concluded truce. When the Trojan Priam comes to Achilles' tent to ask for the body of his son Hector, he goes to meet him. Here, all the actions of Priam and Achilles are inspired by the gods.
However, the Homeric epic should not be understood in such a way that as if a person does not mean anything in himself, but true heroes are the gods. Homer hardly understood mythology literally and represented man as just a pitiful toy of the gods. Without a doubt, Homer puts forward human heroes in the first place in his poems, and his gods are only a generalization of human feelings and actions. And if we read about how a deity put some act into this or that hero, then this should be understood in such a way that this act is the result of a person’s own decision. But this decision came to his mind so subconsciously that even the hero himself considers it a divine predestination. And although the strict epic style implies that all thoughts, feelings and actions of a person are inspired by the gods, Homer, on this strict epic basis, cites infinitely diverse types of relationships between heroes and the gods. Here there is a complete subordination of a person to the divine will, and a harmonious unification of the divine and human will, and a rude attack of a person on one or another Olympian god.
In Homer's poems there is almost no episode where the gods would not act, being, as it were, the main culprits of the events in the life of the heroes. The gods are at enmity with each other as well as the Achaeans with the Trojans, divided into two camps. The Trojans are constantly patronized by Apollo, Ares, Aphrodite, the Achaeans - Pallas Athena, the wife of Zeus Hera, Thetis. This does not happen by chance. The fact is that the Trojan mythology of the ancient Greeks reflected the complex process of mutual assimilation of the cultures of the Balkan and Asia Minor Greeks that was taking place at that time. As a result of this assimilation, gods appeared in the pantheon of Olympian deities, so to speak, of Asian origin. These are Apollo, Artemis, Ares, Aphrodite, constantly sympathetic to the Trojans. When Zeus allows the gods to join the war, they all immediately take the side of the defenders of Ilion. This is natural for the psychology of the ancients. After all, according to their concepts, the gods are also members of their tribal communities and are subject to the requirements of communal ethics, which, above all, obliges them to defend their homeland.
Homer often laughs at the gods. Even famous battle he draws the gods not in a heroic way, but rather in a humorous way. And indeed, how can one seriously take such a battle of the gods, when Apollo and Poseidon shook the land and sea so much that
Hades, the lord of the underworld, was terrified under the earth,
Terrified, he jumped down from the throne and shouted loudly to
The bosom of the earth was not opened by Poseidon, the shaker of the earth ... "
The comic reaches the level of burlesque when the sublime is portrayed as base. In the style of burlesque, Homer almost always describes scenes that take place on Mount Olympus. He has gods for the most part feasting and laughing. An example is the first song of the Iliad, which depicts Hera's marital jealousy. Zeus intends to beat his jealous wife, and the bow-legged freak Hephaestus makes the feasting gods laugh, rushing around the house with a goblet of wine.
Strong in the poems of Homer and satirical motifs. So, the Cyclopes in the poem "Odyssey" are depicted as a caricature and satire of people living without any laws. The images of some gods and heroes are also satirical. And although humorous and satirical tendencies are just a touch in the diverse palette of shades with which Homer depicts gods and heroes, it was precisely for this that he received criticism in his time. Already at that time, Homer was condemned by some of his contemporaries from the point of view of religion and morality. Many ancient Greeks were jarred by what they thought was the frivolity with which Homer endowed his gods and heroes with almost all human weaknesses and vices. The main detractors of the blind singer were the Pythagoreans and Orphics. Along with them, Xenophanes critically evaluated the works of Homer. He wrote: "Everything that people have dishonorable and shameful, Homer and Hesiod wrote to the gods: theft, adultery and mutual deceit." Plato also considered the Homeric myths about the gods to be just a thin lie, and Heraclitus, in general, called for Homer to be expelled from public meetings and even punished with rods!
Alas, this is probably the fate of all geniuses, from century to century justifying the assertion that "there is no prophet in his own country." The Jews did not accept Christ, in Rus' they burned Archpriest Avvakum at the stake, and what a long way to go, in the 20th century in our country more than one prophet was expelled abroad or imprisoned. At least the same Solzhenitsyn.
But let's not exaggerate, Homer, of course, had admirers. They considered his poems to be the center of wisdom, copied and memorized them. They perceived Homer as an ideal and a role model. Under the influence of Homer, Roman heroic poetry also developed, in particular, the poetry of Virgil. However, it is not yet known who would have prevailed if book publishing had been like ours in those days. I'm afraid that the Iliad and the Odyssey would not have been printed then, and if they had been printed, then, for sure, with large denominations. But Homer, fortunately, had another way out - he sang his poems. (Like Vysotsky in our time).
4. Heroes
If the gods of Homer, as already noted above, carry all the features of ordinary people and the poet, at times, reduces his description of the activities of the gods to sarcasm (as if justifying the well-known saying that from the great to the ridiculous is one step), then some heroes he equally endows the traits of the gods. Such is Achilles, born of the goddess Thetis, invulnerable to arrows and spears, whose armor is made by the god Hephaestus himself. Achilles himself is like a god. From one of his screams, the troops of the Trojans take flight in horror. And what is the description of the spear of Achilles:
"It was hard
Strong, huge that ash; its none of the Achaeans
Could not move; only one Achilles easily shook them ... "
Of course, Homer's poems, created in the era of communal-clan decomposition, show the heroes in their new quality. These are no longer heroes of a strict epic style. Features of subjectivism, instability, and effeminacy creep into the characters of Homer's heroes. The psychology of some of them is very capricious. The same Achilles, without a doubt, who is the main character of the Iliad, throughout the entire poem only knows that he is capricious, because of trifles he harms his own compatriots, and when Hector kills his best friend Patroclus, he falls into a real frenzy. He puts his personal interests above his patriotic duty. Although according to the laws of a strict epic style, he had to fight not because of revenge, but because of his duty to his homeland.
Achilles is probably one of the most complex figures in the whole ancient literature. In his character, all the contradictions of that transitional era from the communal-clan form of society to slavery were refracted. In Achilles, along with insane cruelty and a thirst for revenge, tender feelings for Patroclus and for his mother, the goddess Thetis, coexist. Significant in this regard is the scene when Achilles cries, laying his head on his mother's lap.
Unlike the cunning and treacherous Odysseus, Achilles is straightforward and brave. Even knowing about his bitter fate to die young, he still undertakes this dangerous campaign to Ilion. Meanwhile, as already mentioned, this is the hero of the later epic, when the ideals of severe heroism were already a thing of the past, and the capricious personality of the hero, very selfish and nervous, was next in line. Instead of the former primitive collectivism, separate person. Namely - a person, and not just a hero, since according to the laws of a tribal community, every man must be a hero. Every man had to fight bravely for his community, and cowardice on the battlefield was considered the greatest disgrace.
But in view of the fact that Homer's work is based on heroic mythology, the personality in his poems is still in strong connection with his clan and tribe, he represents a single whole with them. A different depiction of personality would go beyond the boundaries of the epic and would show a picture of later classical slavery.
The son of the Trojan king Priam Hector strictly observes the rules of communal ethics. Unlike the hysterical Achilles, he is strict, fearless and principled. His main goal is to fight for his homeland, for his people, for his beloved wife Andromache. Like Achilles, he knows he must die defending Troy, and yet he openly goes into battle. Hector is a model of an epic hero, almost devoid of any flaws.
Agamemnon, unlike Hector, is endowed with numerous vices. He is also a brave warrior, but at the same time a weak-willed, greedy and, so to speak, morally unstable subject. Sometimes a coward and a drunkard. Homer often tries to belittle him, to present him in an ironic perspective. Along with the Olympian gods, Homer is also ironic about the heroes. In general, the Iliad can be interpreted as a satire on the Achaean kings, especially on Agamemnon and Achilles. Of course, the leader of the Achaeans, Agamemnon, is not as capricious and petty as Achilles, because of whose selfish offense the Greeks suffered such great losses. He is in many ways more principled and honest, but still cannot be regarded as classic hero epic. Agamemnon, in a way, match the eternally feasting and laughing Olympic gods.
And finally - Odysseus, as Homer says, "in rationality equal to God." His image cannot be understood in a simplified way, as the image of only a diplomat and a practitioner, and even more so, a cunning and adventurer. The adventurism of the image of Odysseus in the second Homeric poem would have had its rightful place if the hero had not self-sacrificing love for his native hearth, “the smoke of his native land” and for Penelope waiting for him on Ithaca. But we must not lose sight of the time of creation of the Odyssey, that is, the period of decomposition of tribal relations. In this regard, in the epic of Homer, willy-nilly, some features of the new, emerging social order, slavery, were also reflected.
The synthesis of myth, fairy tale and real life led to one goal - the creation of the image of a new hero, who absorbed the features necessary for an active person in the era of the development of new lands, the development of navigation, crafts, slavery and trade. It is no coincidence, therefore, that Homer's appeal to a clearly adventurous-adventure plot. In the Odyssey, he was attracted primarily by intelligence, enterprise, dexterity, patience and courage - everything that was required for a hero of modern times. Indeed, unlike the rest of the Achaean kings, Odysseus also owns a carpenter's ax when he builds a raft for himself, as well as a battle spear. People obey him not by order or law of the tribal community, but by the conviction of the superiority of his mind and life experience.
Of course, Odysseus is practical and cunning. He gladly receives rich gifts from the feacians and, on the advice of Athena Pallas, who patronizes the hero, hides these treasures in a cave. Once in Ithaca, he tenderly falls to native land, but his head at this moment is full of cunning plans, how to deal with insolent suitors.
But Odysseus is fundamentally a sufferer. No wonder Homer constantly calls him "long-suffering." He is more of a sufferer than even a sly one, although Odysseus's cunning seems to be limitless. It is not for nothing that in the Iliad he often acts as a scout, in disguise making his way into Troy besieged by the Achaeans. main reason the suffering of Odysseus is an irresistible longing for the homeland, which he cannot achieve by the will of circumstances. The gods take up arms against him: Poseidon, Aeolus, Helios and even Zeus. Terrible monsters and cruel storms threaten the hero with death, but nothing can restrain his craving for his native Ithaca, love for his father, wife, son Telemachus. Odysseus did not even hesitate in choosing when, in return for his homeland, the nymph Calypso promised to grant him immortality and eternal youth. Odysseus chooses a path full of hardships and dangers home to Ithaca. And, of course, the role of a bloodthirsty killer who mercilessly cracks down on suitors, filling the entire palace with their corpses, does not fit well with this tenderly loving husband and father. What can you do, Odysseus is a product of his cruel era, and the suitors would not have spared him either, if Odysseus fell into their hands.
Summing up what has been said, we note that the immortal creations of Homer had a huge impact on all subsequent world literature. The influence of Homeric poems on Roman literature was strong. At all, heroic epic- this is a historically natural stage in the artistic development of the world, which arose in the ancient and Middle Ages at the decisive, turning points in the fate of peoples. These are, in addition to Homer's poems "The Tale of Igor's Campaign", the Indian "Mahabharata" and "Ramayama", the Icelandic sagas, the legends of the Nibelungs of the ancient Germans, the Kyrgyz "Manas", the Karelian-Finnish "Kalevala" and much more. Friedrich Nietzsche's "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" can be noted as a stylization of such an epic poem. Of the works of the 20th century, as an epic, without a doubt, Mikhail Sholokhov's "Quiet Flows the Don" can be considered.
“The works of Homer are an excellent encyclopedia of antiquity,” wrote the poet N. I. Gnedich, who first translated the Iliad into Russian in 1829. Zhukovsky, Belinsky, Gogol admired Homeric poems.
The Homeric epic has not lost its relevance in our time - in the era of the collapse of the patriarchal-communal Stalinist barracks socialism and the emergence of something new, still incomprehensible, but certainly better. Gone are the days of thoughtless glorification of the so-called glorious revolutionary past. The pantheon of the “Kremlin gods” has noticeably diminished. The strict epic style in describing our past victories and achievements has been replaced by a mixed style of criticism and satire. The ancients were right: from the great to the ridiculous - one step. The main thing is not to break away from your homeland. After all, the way to Ithaca is so long.
. The Greeks near Troy have already spent nine years among battles and raids. The fateful tenth year is coming, the year of deciding the fate of the besieged city (see the Trojan War), when suddenly the quarrel between Agamemnon and Achilles for the possession of the beautiful captive Briseis gives new turnover the course of things. Offended in a sense of honor and love, angry Achilles remains with his ships at sea shore and no longer goes out to battle with the Trojans. With tears, he complains to his mother, the goddess Thetis, about the insult he has suffered, and she prays to the heavenly king Zeus to send victory to the Trojans until the Achaeans honor her son. Zeus nods his head in agreement, nodding so that his fragrant curls crumble and the heights of Olympus tremble and shake.
Trojan War. Iliad. Video tutorial
The Trojans, led by the brilliant Hector, soon gain the upper hand over the Greek enemies; they not only confront those in the open field near the walls of their city, they even push them back into the ship's camp, fortified with a ditch and a rampart. Threatening with death, Hector stands at the very moat and longs to overcome the last stronghold of the enemy.
In vain now the leader of the Greeks Agamemnon extends a hand of reconciliation to the angry Achilles; he is ready to give him Briseis, with seven other girls and various jewels to boot. Achilles remains unshakable: “If he offers me at least all the treasures piled up in the rich Orchomenus or in Egyptian Thebes, even then I will not change my mind until he completely erases my shame,” he answers the messengers of Agamemnon.
The pressure of the enemies is getting more and more formidable. No matter how bravely the Achaeans defend the fortification, Hector finally crushes the gate with a huge stone block. Like felled ash trees, the Achaeans fall under the blows of the Trojans. The ship of the hero Protesilaus is already on fire and threatens to set fire to the rest of the Hellenic fleet. Confusion and noise fill the entire Hellenic camp.
Then he hurries to Achilles best friendPatroclus. “You,” says Patroclus, “was born not by Peleus and Thetis, you were born by a gloomy abyss and surface rocks: your heart is as insensitive as a stone.” With tears, he asks Achilles for permission to take his armor and go out with it to fight at the head of his tribe, the Myrmidons, so that the Trojans, mistaking him for Pelid himself, would not dare to press on the ships more. Achilles agrees, but so that Patroclus only drives the enemy beyond the moat, and then immediately returns.
In the heat of battle, Patroclus pursues the fleeing Trojans to the very city walls and wreaks havoc. But disarmed and fogged by the patron of Troy, the god Apollo, pierced by the spear of Hector, he falls into the dust. With difficulty they save his corpse and bring it to the Greek camp; the weapons and armor of Patroclus become the spoils of the victor.
Endless is Achilles' sorrow for his fallen comrade, the meek, sweet-hearted hero. Achilles wishes to rest next to a friend in a burial mound. With fear, Thetis hears in the depths of the sea the mournful cry of his dear son and hurries with his sisters to the Trojan coast. “Didn’t Zeus do everything for you that you didn’t ask him to do?” she says to her crying son. And he replies that life is not sweet to him until Hector falls into the dust before him, pierced by his heavy spear.
Achilles burns with the thought of revenge. While Thetis hurries to Hephaestus to get new weapons from him for his son, the battle again approaches the ships. But Achilles shouts three times through the ditch with his loud voice, and the frightened Trojans immediately took to flight. Against the advice of Polydamus, the Trojans, at the call of Hector, spend the night at sentry fires in an open field.
At dawn, Achilles, in new weapons and with a shield of many craftsmanship, rushes to their camp, brandishing a heavy spear of strong ash. The destroyer rages terribly among the Trojan regiments: he fills the river Scamander with corpses, so that the waves are saturated with blood and turn purple. At the sight of such a disaster, the Trojan king Priam orders the guards to open the gates to the fleeing, but not to let go of the gates, so that Achilles does not break into the city. One Hector remains outside the gate, not heeding the requests of his praying parents, who look at him from above the tower. However, when Achilles appears with a terrible ash spear on his mighty shoulder, Hector's heart trembles, and he runs around the wall of Troy three times in fear.
Zeus feels sorry for the knight pursued by Achilles: Hector always honored him with sacrifices and prayers. Zeus weighs the lot of both on the golden scales of fate, but Hector's cup sinks down. Achilles overtakes him, pierces him through with a spear, ties him with his feet to the chariot, so that the beautiful head of Hector drags in the dust, and drives the horses to the ships among the plaintive cries from the walls of Troy.
Achilles wants Hector's body to rot unburied, and Patroclus arranges a magnificent funeral, burning twelve captured Trojans along with his body at the stake for the repose of the fallen hero.
Achilles drags the body of the murdered Hector on the ground
Once again, Achilles takes out his anger on the lifeless Hector; he drags his corpse three times around the grave of a comrade. But the gods pour pity into his heart. At night, Hector's father, Priam, comes to Achilles' tent with rich gifts, and embracing his knees, reminds him that he also has an old father far away.
Anguish and sorrow take possession of the soul of the Greek hero. Tears and deep sadness about the fate of all earthly things lighten the burden of grief for Patroclus, which hitherto crushed his chest. Achilles gives the aged Priam to bury the body of his son, which the gods have preserved from decay.
For ten days the Trojans mourn their hero in mournful songs, and then they burn his body, collect the ashes in an urn and lower it into the grave ditch.
Homer's poems present a whole gallery of individually outlined typical images.
central figure"Iliad" is Achilles, a young Thessalian hero, son of Peleus and the sea goddess Thetis. Achilles is an integral and noble nature, personifying that military prowess in the understanding of the ancient heroes, which serves ideological basis the whole poem. He is a stranger to cunning and duplicity. Because of the consciousness of his strength and greatness, he was used to command. His anger manifests itself in the most violent forms. Taking revenge on the Trojans for Patroclus, he becomes like some kind of demon fighter.
The same madness is seen in the desecration of the corpse of Hector (XXII, 395-401), and in the fact that he kills twelve Trojan captives on the grave of Patroclus. He was also given the features of a singer-poet (IX, 186). Finally, he softens, seeing before him the tears and the terrible prayer of his father, who came to him for the body of his son, who had been killed by him.
The image of the protagonist of the Achaean army corresponds to figure of the Trojan warrior Hector. Although the poet never forgets that this is a representative of a hostile people, who cannot be treated as a fellow tribesman. Hector is the leader of the Trojan army, and the whole burden of the war falls on him. IN difficult moments he is always ahead of everyone and is in the greatest danger. He has a high sense of honor and enjoys general respect and love. He remains alone on the battlefield while the others hide in the city. Neither the prayers of his father, nor the tears of his mother can shake him: the duty of honor in him is above all. Hector is most clearly shown in the scene of a meeting with Andromache (VI, 392-502), where we see him as a husband and father. If the ideal of military prowess is given in the person of Achilles, then the bearer worldly wisdom Odysseus appears - the hero is “cunning” and “long-suffering”. In the Iliad, he appears both as a warrior and as a wise adviser, but also as a person ready for all sorts of deception (X, 383; III, 202). The very capture of Troy with the help of a wooden horse was the work of his cunning. Always on guard, he has a store of fictional stories at the ready.
“In cunning, often rude and flat, in what is called in prosaic language “swindle”. And meanwhile, in the eyes of the infantile people, this cunning could not help but seem the extreme degree of possible wisdom.
In addition to the main characters, there are also many secondary. Some of them are also very bright colors. There are more such persons in the Iliad than in the Odyssey. Mycenaean king Agamemnon, the eldest of the Atrids, is the leader of the entire campaign and is called the “master of men” or “shepherd of peoples”. Menelaus- the Spartan king, the husband of Helen abducted by Paris - the main person interested in the war. However, the poet depicts them both far from attractive features.
Endowed with charming features image of Nestor - eternal type an old man who loves to remember the years of his youth and give his instructions. Performing feats, he is carried away by the dream of capturing Troy and died at the hands of Hector (XVI, 817-857). Aged Trojan king priam outlined with exceptionally attractive features. This is the type of a real patriarch, surrounded by a large family. In old age, he ceded the right of military leader to his eldest son Hector. He is soft and gentle. Even to the despised and hated by all Elena, he is very cordial.
Plots famous works The Iliad and the Odyssey are taken from a common collection of epic tales about the Trojan War. And each of these two poems is a small sketch from a larger cycle. The main element in which the characters of the Iliad operate is war, which is depicted not as a clash of the masses, but as the actions of individual characters.
Achilles
The main character of the Iliad is Achilles, a young hero, the son of Peleus and the goddess of the sea, Thetis. The word "Achilles" is translated as "swift, like a god." Achilles is central character works. He has a solid and noble character, which personifies real valor, as the Greeks then understood it. For Achilles, there is nothing higher than duty and honor. He is ready to avenge his friend's death by sacrificing his own life. At the same time, duplicity and cunning are alien to Achilles. Despite his honesty and sincerity, he acts as an impatient and very short-tempered hero. He is sensitive in matters of honor - despite the serious consequences for the troops, he refuses to continue the battle because of the offense inflicted on him. In the life of Achilles, the dictates of heaven and the passions of his own being coincide. The hero dreams of glory, and for this he also turns out to be ready to sacrifice his own life.
Confrontation in the soul of the protagonist
Achilles, the protagonist of the Iliad, is accustomed to command and control, as he is aware of his strength. He is ready to destroy Agamemnon in place, who dared to offend him. And Achilles' anger manifests itself in many different forms. When he takes revenge on his enemies for Patroclus, he turns into a real demon-destroyer. Having filled up the entire bank of the river with the corpses of enemies, Achilles enters into a fight with the very god of this river. However, it is very interesting to watch how Achilles' heart softens when he sees a father asking for the body of his son. The old man reminds him of his own father, and the cruel warrior relents. Achilles also yearns bitterly for his friend, weeps at his mother. In the heart of Achilles nobility and the desire for revenge are fighting.
Hector
Continuing to characterize the main characters of Homer's Iliad, it is worth dwelling in particular detail on the figure of Hector. The courage and courage of this hero are the result of the prevailing in his mind good will. He knows the feeling of fear, like any other warrior. However, despite this, Hector learned to show courage in battles, to overcome cowardice. He leaves his parents, son and wife with sadness in his heart, as he is faithful to his duty - to protect the city of Troy.
Hector loses the help of the gods, so he is forced to give own life for your city. He is also depicted as human - not once does he reproach Elena, he forgives his brother. Hector does not hate them, despite the fact that they were the perpetrators of the outbreak of the Trojan War. In the words of the hero there is no disdain for other people, he does not express his superiority. The main difference between Hector and Achilles is humanity. This quality is opposed to the excessive aggressiveness of the protagonist of the poem.
Achilles and Hector: comparison
It is also a frequent task Comparative characteristics The main characters of the Iliad are Achilles and Hector. Homer gives the son of Priam more positive, human features than the main character. Hector knows what social responsibility is. He does not put his experiences above the lives of other people. In contrast to him, Achilles is a true personification of individualism. He raises his conflict with Agamemnon to a truly cosmic scale. In Hector, the reader does not observe the bloodthirstiness that is inherent in Achilles. He is an opponent of war, he understands what a terrible disaster it is for people. The whole disgusting and terrible side of the war is clear to Hector. It is this hero who proposes not to fight with whole troops, but to put up individual representatives from each side.
Gods help Hector - Apollo and Artemis. However, he is very different from Achilles, who is the son of the goddess Thetis. Achilles is not affected by weapons, his only weak point is his heel. In fact, he is a half-demon. Going to battle, he puts on the armor of Hephaestus himself. And Hector is a simple man who faces a terrible test. He realizes that he can only answer the challenge, because the goddess Athena helps his enemy. characters are very different. The Iliad begins with the name of Achilles, and ends with the name of Hector.
Element of heroes
The description of the main characters of the poem "Iliad" by Homer would be incomplete without a description of the environment in which the action of the poem takes place. As has already been pointed out, such an environment is war. In many places of the poem, the exploits of individual characters are mentioned: Menelaus, Diomedes. However, the most significant feat is still the victory of Achilles over his opponent Hector.
Also, the warrior wants to know exactly who he is dealing with. In some cases, the confrontation is stopped for a while, and to ensure the freedom of the soldiers, as well as non-interference strangers, the truce is consecrated by sacrifices. Homer, who lived in an atmosphere of war and constant murder, expressively depicts the agony of the dying. The cruelty of the victors is no less vividly depicted in the poem.
Menelaus and Agamemnon
One of the main characters of the Iliad is the Mycenaean and Spartan ruler Menelaus. Homer portrays both not the most attractive characters- both do not miss the opportunity to abuse their position, especially Agamemnon. It was his selfishness that caused the death of Achilles. And the interest of Menelaus in the attack was the reason that the war broke out.
Menelaus, for whom the Achaeans advocate in battles, was to take the place of the Mycenaean ruler. However, he turns out to be unsuitable for this role, and this place turns out to be occupied by Agamemnon. Fighting with Paris, he gives vent to his anger, which he has accumulated against his offender. However, as a warrior, he is significantly inferior to other heroes of the poem. His actions are significant only in the process of saving the body of Patroclus.
Other heroes
One of the most charming protagonists of the Iliad is the elder Nestor, who likes to constantly remember the years of his youth, to give his instructions to young soldiers. Also attractive is Ajax, who, with his courage and strength, surpasses everyone, excluding Achilles. Causes admiration and Patroclus, the most close friend Achilles, who was brought up with him under the same roof. Performing his exploits, he was too carried away by the dream of capturing Troy and died from the merciless hand of Hector.
The elderly Trojan ruler named Priam is not the main character of Homer's Iliad, but he has attractive features. He is a true patriarch who is surrounded by a large family. Having grown old, Priam cedes the right to command the army to his son, Hector. On behalf of all his people, the elder brings sacrifices to the gods. Priam is distinguished by such character traits as gentleness, courtesy. He even treats Elena, whom everyone hates, well. However, the old man is haunted by misfortune. All his sons die in battles at the hands of Achilles.
Andromache
The main characters of the poem "Iliad" are warriors, but in the work you can also find a lot female images. This is named Andromache, his mother Hecuba, as well as Helen and the captive Briseis. For the first time, the reader meets Andromache in the sixth canto, which tells of her meeting with her husband, who returned from the battlefield. Already at that moment, she intuitively anticipates the death of Hector and persuades him not to leave the city. But Hector does not heed her words.
Andromache is faithful and loving wife who is forced to live in constant anxiety for her spouse. The fate of this woman is filled with tragedy. When her hometown Thebes was devastated, Andromache's mother and brothers were killed by enemies. After this event, her mother also dies, Andromache is left alone. Now the whole meaning of her existence is in her beloved husband. After she says goodbye to him, she mourns with the maids, as already dead. After this, Andromache is not found on the pages of the poem until the death of the hero. Sorrow is the main mood of the heroine. She foresees her bitter fate in advance. When Andromache hears screams on the wall and runs to find out what happened, she sees: Achilles is dragging the body of Hector along the ground. She falls unconscious.
Heroes of the Odyssey
A common question that students are asked in literature lessons is to name the main characters of the Iliad and the Odyssey. The poem "Odyssey", along with the "Iliad", is considered to be the most important monument the entire era of transition from the communal-tribal to the slave-owning system.
The Odyssey describes even more mythological creatures than the Iliad. Gods, people fabulous creatures- Homer's "Iliad" and "Odyssey" are full of different characters. The main characters of the works are both people and gods. Moreover, the gods take an active part in the lives of mere mortals, helping them or taking away their power. Main character"Odyssey" is the Greek king Odysseus, who returns home after the battle. Among other characters, his patroness, the goddess of wisdom Athena, stands out. The sea god Poseidon opposes the main character. An important figure is the faithful Penelope, the wife of Odysseus.
