Nestor seems
like a minor character in The Iliad, but he actually
plays a significant role in the development of the epic’s plot.
What are some of the ways in which the aged king propels the action
of the story? What effect does he have on the epic as a whole?
In his role as storyteller and counselor
to the Achaean forces, Nestor often provides motivation for The Iliad’s
plot. He convinces the Achaean army to build fortifications around
its ships—fortifications that serve as a locus for much of the future
confrontation between the two armies. He proposes the spy mission
on which Odysseus and Diomedes kill Dolon and a number of Thracian
soldiers. Furthermore, it is Nestor who convinces Agamemnon to send an
embassy to Achilles, begging him to return to battle. Although this
mission ultimately fails, it provides Homer with the occasion to develop
the character of Achilles, giving an important context to his decision
to abandon the war effort. Finally, Nestor proposes to have Patroclus
fight in Achilles’ place wearing his armor. This scheme proves the
turning point for the entire epic.
What is
the role of women in The Iliad? Does the poem contain
any strong female characters, or do the acts and deeds of males
dominate the work?
The Iliad certainly contains
strong female characters. Athena and Hera rank among the most powerful
forces in the book. Even the other male gods cannot stand up to
them, and Ares, supposedly the god of war, must cede to Athena’s
superior might on two occasions. Moreover, Athena and Hera are more
than just assertive and forceful. They are cunning, quick-witted,
and sharp-tongued. By using her womanly assets and a little trickery,
Hera incapacitates even Zeus, the king of gods and men.
In the mortal sphere, however, The Iliad has
little to offer in the way of strong female figures. Very few women
enter the story at all, and the women who do appear usually fall
into one of two categories: property, such as Chryseis and Briseis,
or interlocutors for male characters, such as Helen and Andromache.
Homer uses Helen to reveal the cowardly underside of Paris’s character
and to spotlight the Achaean commanders when she describes them
to Priam on the Trojan ramparts. Andromache helps to make Hector
a sympathetic character and provides the stimulus for his speech
in Book 6 about the fate of Troy. Thus, the
significance of both women lies not in themselves but in the ways
they illuminate the men around them. The two may seem to be important
characters because of the high status they enjoy relative to other
women, but compared to The Iliad’s warriors they
are little more than props.
What role
does fate play in the emotional and psychological effect of The Iliad?
Why does Homer make his characters aware of their impending dooms?
Homer’s original audience would already have
been intimately familiar with the story The Iliad tells.
Making his characters cognizant of their fates merely puts them
on par with the epic’s audience. In deciding to make his characters
knowledgeable about their own futures, he loses the effect of dramatic
irony, in which the audience watches characters stumble toward ends
that it alone knows in advance. But Homer doesn’t sacrifice drama;
in fact, this technique renders the characters more compelling.
They do not fall to ruin out of ignorance, but instead become tragic
figures who go knowingly to their doom because they have no real
choice. In the case of Hector and Achilles, their willing submission
to a fate they recognize but cannot evade renders them not only
tragic but emphatically heroic.