Structure and form were of great concern to the ancient Greeks. This can be seen from the many conventions that are found in a Greek epic. These epics are long stories or poems that are spoken in hexameter. This paper will discuss the gods and heroes, who are prominent figures in epics. It will also describe the theme of an epic, what the setting of an epic entails, and the major events in an epic, how epics use extended similes, and what it means for an epic to begin in medias res.
The theme of an epic is one of the first pieces of information shown in the story. In the Iliad, the first paragraph reads
“The anger sing, O goddess, of Achilles, the son of Peleus, the destructive anger that brought ten thousand pains to the Achaeans and sent …show more content…
The first word of the story. Audiences are shown up front that this story would revolve around Achilles and the stages of his anger. It begins with a betrayal of the code of honor. Agamemnon has to return his prize, Chryseis, because of the death that Apollo is causing to the Achaeans. In return, Agamemnon decides to take Achilles’ prize, Briseis, from him. This causes Achilles to stop fighting in the war which, as the passage explains, was detrimental to the Greeks. As the story continues, the anger of Achilles begins to settle down and Achilles even reconciles with Agamemnon after his friend, Patroklos, is killed by Hector. This begins a new anger for Achilles as he goes to battle again against the Trojans seeking vengeance for his friend. Achilles’ anger doesn’t diminish after he kills Hector and drags his body around. After the funeral of Patroklos, Achilles is approached by Hector’s father, Priam, while he is sitting in his tent. Priam comes to Achilles hoping to get Hector’s body back so that he can have a funeral for him. During their meeting the two of them weep for their lost loved ones and Priam reminds Achilles of the love his father has for him. Achilles agrees to return the body of Hector to Priam and it is through this meeting that the anger of Achilles finally
The theme of an epic is one of the first pieces of information shown in the story. In the Iliad, the first paragraph reads
“The anger sing, O goddess, of Achilles, the son of Peleus, the destructive anger that brought ten thousand pains to the Achaeans and sent …show more content…
The first word of the story. Audiences are shown up front that this story would revolve around Achilles and the stages of his anger. It begins with a betrayal of the code of honor. Agamemnon has to return his prize, Chryseis, because of the death that Apollo is causing to the Achaeans. In return, Agamemnon decides to take Achilles’ prize, Briseis, from him. This causes Achilles to stop fighting in the war which, as the passage explains, was detrimental to the Greeks. As the story continues, the anger of Achilles begins to settle down and Achilles even reconciles with Agamemnon after his friend, Patroklos, is killed by Hector. This begins a new anger for Achilles as he goes to battle again against the Trojans seeking vengeance for his friend. Achilles’ anger doesn’t diminish after he kills Hector and drags his body around. After the funeral of Patroklos, Achilles is approached by Hector’s father, Priam, while he is sitting in his tent. Priam comes to Achilles hoping to get Hector’s body back so that he can have a funeral for him. During their meeting the two of them weep for their lost loved ones and Priam reminds Achilles of the love his father has for him. Achilles agrees to return the body of Hector to Priam and it is through this meeting that the anger of Achilles finally