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The natural elements are incredibly destructive. From tornados to forest fires to earthquakes, nature has the power to wreak havoc on anything in its path. Homer’s The Iliad is an ancient Greek epic poem set in the last year of the Trojan War. Long and detailed similes are found in abundance within the poem. These similes are often used to emphasize the strength and power of warriors. While many similes compare warriors to animals, only a few compare warriors to nature. This essay will focus on two similes that compare warriors to the natural elements. The elemental nature of the Homeric simile heightens the power of Achilles, portraying him as more powerful than the Achaean and Trojan armies combined.
The first …show more content…
The simile, similar to the first one, uses an element of nature as a vehicle. The text states,
Achilles now like inhuman fire raging on through the mountain gorges splinter-dry, setting ablaze big stands of timber, the wind swirling the huge fireball left and right- chaos of fire- Achilles storming on with brandished spear like a frenzied god of battle trampling all he killed and the earth ran black with blood. (20. 554-559)
Achilles is the tenor and the inhuman fire is the vehicle that carries him and his rage. Similar to fire, Achilles is destroying everything in his path. Again, the difference between this simile and the other similes throughout the text is evident. Where other similes compare warriors to animals, this simile compares Achilles an element of nature. This difference emphasizes the importance of this particular simile. It also emphasizes the idea that Achilles it set apart from the other warriors in the way that while they are only animals, Achilles is a much stronger force of …show more content…
Throughout The Iliad there are similes that describe the deaths of men through comparisons to felled trees. When the truce between the two armies erupts in war, the text states, “he fell like a lithe black poplar shot up tall and strong in the spreading marshy flats, the trunk trimmed but its head a shock of branches,”(4. 557-559). Here, the simile compares the death of Simoisius to the falling of a tree. Because there are several comparisons of falling warriors to falling trees, it is apparent that when other similes mention the destruction of trees it is implying the destruction of
The natural elements are incredibly destructive. From tornados to forest fires to earthquakes, nature has the power to wreak havoc on anything in its path. Homer’s The Iliad is an ancient Greek epic poem set in the last year of the Trojan War. Long and detailed similes are found in abundance within the poem. These similes are often used to emphasize the strength and power of warriors. While many similes compare warriors to animals, only a few compare warriors to nature. This essay will focus on two similes that compare warriors to the natural elements. The elemental nature of the Homeric simile heightens the power of Achilles, portraying him as more powerful than the Achaean and Trojan armies combined.
The first …show more content…
The simile, similar to the first one, uses an element of nature as a vehicle. The text states,
Achilles now like inhuman fire raging on through the mountain gorges splinter-dry, setting ablaze big stands of timber, the wind swirling the huge fireball left and right- chaos of fire- Achilles storming on with brandished spear like a frenzied god of battle trampling all he killed and the earth ran black with blood. (20. 554-559)
Achilles is the tenor and the inhuman fire is the vehicle that carries him and his rage. Similar to fire, Achilles is destroying everything in his path. Again, the difference between this simile and the other similes throughout the text is evident. Where other similes compare warriors to animals, this simile compares Achilles an element of nature. This difference emphasizes the importance of this particular simile. It also emphasizes the idea that Achilles it set apart from the other warriors in the way that while they are only animals, Achilles is a much stronger force of …show more content…
Throughout The Iliad there are similes that describe the deaths of men through comparisons to felled trees. When the truce between the two armies erupts in war, the text states, “he fell like a lithe black poplar shot up tall and strong in the spreading marshy flats, the trunk trimmed but its head a shock of branches,”(4. 557-559). Here, the simile compares the death of Simoisius to the falling of a tree. Because there are several comparisons of falling warriors to falling trees, it is apparent that when other similes mention the destruction of trees it is implying the destruction of