The iliad, questions for discussion book vi hector. But glaucus, son of hippolochus, and the son of tydeus 120 came together in the space between the two hosts, eager to do battle. However, no ancient source gives diomedes as jasons name, despite claims to the contrary. Blind rage and eccentric vision in iliad 6 stephen fineberg. Authors from 1711 down to the present have stated explicitly that the source for the claim that jasons name was diomedes was the scholia to pindars fourth pythian ode, especially the scholion to verse 211 old line numbering system. The encounter between glaucus and diomedes represents almost a kind of chivalry between soldiers. Athena temporarily gives diomedes, son of king tydeus of argos, unmatched battle prowess. Agamemnon and nestor urge greeks to show no mercy 73118. Like the generation of leaves, the lives of mortal. Find a summary of this and each chapter of the iliad. Brophy 210 reading response for book 6 of the iliad in this scene in book 6, glaucus and diomedes avoid fighting each other and instead become allies. Iliad vi 116155 essay dickinson college commentaries. Adrestus begs to be given mercy and menelaus considers.
Diomedes and glaucus in iliad 6, there is mention of two sorts of madness that. Since the equipment of glaucus was golden and that of diomedes bronze, the expression gold for bronze iliad, book vi, line 236 came to be used proverbially for a bad exchange. Within this thematic context, the meeting of the greek diomedes and the trojan glaucus in book 6 stands out as an anomaly. And compare these with how sarpedon refers to death in his conversation with glaucus book 12, lines 359381.
This possibility takes us back to the beginning of diomedes aristeia in book five, where athena gives him the power to recognize divinities in disguise, a gift apparently not still in force here. First, the priest chryses comes to ask their leader, king agamemnon, to release his daughter, whom agamemnon was holding captive. Zeus takes glaucus wits away because he allows him to trade his gold armor for diomedes bronze. Glaucus was actually the grandson of the hero bellerophon, as he was the son of his son, hippolochus. But despite echoing at 214 the introductory narrative formula used by glaucus at. A trojan recommendation is that they promise sacrifice to athena to stop diomedes, who seems a veritable achilles today. Book 5 begins a passage of extended individual heroism for diomedes, something that the greeks called an aristeia. Diomedes encounters glaucus, whose name means the gleaming one, a word used by homer to describe both the sea and the eyes of the wisdom goddess athene. Adrestus begs to be given mercy and menelaus considers, but agamemnon chides him for being weak. Hector arrives in troy and meets his mother hecuba. This ancient greek epic tells of the men and gods who fought for the.
Compare how achilles uses the prospect of death in this passage with how glaucus used it when he addressed diomedes on the battlefield book 6, lines 170175. As with glaucus in book 6, it is his family autga, but arucara are there to be interpreted, and as we shall see it is diomedes, not glaucus, who interprets. Even there in the thick of battle but lets trade armor. Book 6 illiad patrick lynch eng203b prof brophy reading. Hector returns to troy book 6 hector the family man previous books a brief introduction. These movements end in books xv, xvi, and xvii when the trojans fire the greek ships, patroklos is killed, and achilles decides to reenter the battle. It was a rather odd exchange, but ill get into that later. In book 6, in the heat of battle, we have the scene of glaucus and diomedes exchanging armor and avoiding killing each other when they find out they share something in common in their ancestry. The battle continues with ajax telamon killing trojans along side the rampaging diomedes. Chapter summary for homers the iliad, book 6 summary.
The fighting that began in book v continues in book vi. The battle narratives in book 6 constitute the epics first descriptions of warfare, and, within the war as a whole, the first battles in which the sulking achilles has not fought. Diomedes battles fiercely, and athena convinces ares that they both should stand aside and let the mortals battle it out on their own. Diomedes asks that they part as friends, as their grandfathers knew each other. An analysis of the meeting between diomedes and glaucus in iliad 6. Diomedes is confident that he will win the duel, unless of course glaucus happens to be a god in disguise. Follow this link for a detailed summary of the iliad includes a capsule summary, and a summary of which sides the gods take in the iliad. As a sign of friendship, diomedes took off his bronze armor worth nine oxen and gave it to glaucus. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of the iliad and what it means.
In contrast, glaucus and diomedes, two enemies, glaucus from the trojans and diomedes from the achaeans, in a most unusual encounter not seen up to this point, meet in battle 8 ff. The episodes of glaucus and diomed, and of hector and andromache. For an analysis of the construction of the diomedes episode in book 6, with a different emphasis from that adopted here, see andersen, o. Glaucus tells diomed his lineage and discover they are friends by oath years ago. Glaucus and diomedes refuse to fight because answers. Diomedes tells glaucus that he has never noticed him before, and that he will fight him if he is mortal. Glaucus, trojan hero who exchanges his golden armor for diomedes bronze armor bellerophon, ancestor of glaucus hecuba, wife of trojan king priam, mother of hector and many others andromache, wife of hector astyanax, infant son of hector book 7 combat of hector and ajax. This, if nothing else, has made the meeting of glaucus and diomedes famous. Homer tells of the mythical events of the great trojan war in his epic poem the iliad. These movements end in books xv, xvi, and xvii when the trojans fire the greek ships, patroklos is killed, and. Diomedes attempts to make up for the great warriors absence. Do you think that this attitude is consistent with his character elsewhere in the iliad. The two men come across each other in no mans land, and were both eager to fight 43.
The catalogue of this days deadly confrontations, which has filled much of books 4 and 5. I shall argue that, far from offering us the comforting view that human nature is basically quite civilized after all which, if true, would undermine what has already been established in books 4 and 5, the episode can be read as a discriminating critique of the homeric heros. In the overall structure of the epic, this fighting involves three large movements between the ships and the city. What makes them distinctive is that they come from achilleus. Achilleuss attitude here is not unique in the iliad.
I argue rather that the abbreviated narrative is evidence of how the poet. Polypoetes, and antilochus join in the fray while menelaus attacks the trojan adrestus. During this interval, agamemnon orders menelaos to kill adrestus even though menelaos intends to spare the trojan. Characters in book vi of the aeneid characters in the iliad lycians people of the trojan war trojans. The episode of diomedes and glaucus confrontation with each other on the battlefield in the trojan war from book 6, the iliad, is examined as an example to. Yet for all the episodes appeal and intrigue, scholars writing from the beginning of the twentieth century to its end generally see no particular unity therein. Hector returns to the city and visits his mother, wife, and child. In the tenth year of the trojan war, tensions are running high among the achaians a superancient name for the ancient greeks.
The battle is fierce, deaths reported by the speaker, as different trojans and greeks fight. Upon learning of glaucus ancestry, diomedes planted his spear in the ground and told of how his grandfather oeneus was a close friend of bellerophon, and declared that the two of them despite being on opposing sides should continue the friendship. Prophet helenus advises aeneas and hector to rally the trojans and then orders hector to tell the women of troy to make an offering to athene to try to stop diomedes rampaghe 119236. Diomedes and glaucus in iliad 6 5 identity for his performance and success. He fought on the side of the trojans, with his cousin glaucus. More details can be found in book 12 of the iliad, which, apparently, you were supposed to read and didnt.
Hector returns to troy hektors decision shame or glory. Helenus, the chief augur of troy, commands hector to return to the city, in order to appoint a solemn procession of the queen and the trojan matrons to the temple of minerva, to entreat her to remove. Meanwhile, diomedes and glaucus a trojan ally meet on the battlefield. Compare his remarks here with those of hektor in book 6, lines 488489, quoted in the section on fate and free will. And diomedes, good at the warcry, slew axylus, teuthras son, that dwelt in. The narration of hectors return to troy is interrupted by an encounter between a foremost achaean leader, diomedes, and a trojan ally, glaucus of lycia. Diomedes and glaucus in iliad1 6 by byron harries two men meet on a battlefield. When they had come within range, the son of tydeus, he of the loud warcry, called.
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