Blind rage and eccentric vision in iliad 6 stephen fineberg. He fought on the side of the trojans, with his cousin glaucus. Agamemnon and nestor urge greeks to show no mercy 73118. And compare these with how sarpedon refers to death in his conversation with glaucus book 12, lines 359381. 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. Diomedes and glaucus in iliad 6 5 identity for his performance and success. Diomedes and glaucus in iliad1 6 by byron harries two men meet on a battlefield. Book 5 begins a passage of extended individual heroism for diomedes, something that the greeks called an aristeia. As a sign of friendship, diomedes took off his bronze armor worth nine oxen and gave it to glaucus. The iliad, questions for discussion book vi hector returns to troy 1. 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. Adrestus begs to be given mercy and menelaus considers. Adrestus begs to be given mercy and menelaus considers, but agamemnon chides him for being weak. 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.
A trojan recommendation is that they promise sacrifice to athena to stop diomedes, who seems a veritable achilles today. 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. The iliad, questions for discussion book vi hector. Glaucus was actually the grandson of the hero bellerophon, as he was the son of his son, hippolochus. 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. More details can be found in book 12 of the iliad, which, apparently, you were supposed to read and didnt. The iliad book 6 free download as powerpoint presentation. What makes them distinctive is that they come from achilleus. First, the priest chryses comes to ask their leader, king agamemnon, to release his daughter, whom agamemnon was holding captive. 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. Hector returns to the city and visits his mother, wife, and child.
This ancient greek epic tells of the men and gods who fought for the. 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. 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. It was a rather odd exchange, but ill get into that later. Like the generation of leaves, the lives of mortal. Meanwhile, diomedes and glaucus a trojan ally meet on the battlefield. Athena temporarily gives diomedes, son of king tydeus of argos, unmatched battle prowess. 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.
Diomedes tells glaucus that he has never noticed him before, and that he will fight him if he is mortal. Achilleuss attitude here is not unique in the iliad. 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. 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. For an analysis of the construction of the diomedes episode in book 6, with a different emphasis from that adopted here, see andersen, o. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of the iliad and what it means. 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. Within this thematic context, the meeting of the greek diomedes and the trojan glaucus in book 6 stands out as an anomaly. 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.
Compare his remarks here with those of hektor in book 6, lines 488489, quoted in the section on fate and free will. 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. But glaucus, son of hippolochus, and the son of tydeus 120 came together in the space between the two hosts, eager to do battle. Diomedes attempts to make up for the great warriors absence. Diomedes battles fiercely, and athena convinces ares that they both should stand aside and let the mortals battle it out on their own.
Glaucus responds that diomedes shouldnt ask about his birth, as men are. When they had come within range, the son of tydeus, he of the loud warcry, called. Glaucus, trojan hero who exchanges his golden armor for. 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. The battle continues with ajax telamon killing trojans along side the rampaging diomedes. Diomedes is confident that he will win the duel, unless of course glaucus happens to be a god in disguise. Iliad vi 116155 essay dickinson college commentaries. The catalogue of this days deadly confrontations, which has filled much of books 4 and 5. But despite echoing at 214 the introductory narrative formula used by glaucus at. The passages is designed to commemorate diomedes bravery and glory as a hero. Hector returns to troy book 6 hector the family man previous books a brief introduction.
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. The battle is fierce, deaths reported by the speaker, as different trojans and greeks fight. Diomedes wonders who glaucus is because hes never noticed him before. Even there in the thick of battle but lets trade armor. Homer tells of the mythical events of the great trojan war in his epic poem the iliad. The encounter between glaucus and diomedes represents almost a kind of chivalry between soldiers. Do you think that this attitude is consistent with his character elsewhere in the iliad. The episodes of glaucus and diomed, and of hector and andromache. Glaucus and diomedes refuse to fight because answers. During this interval, agamemnon orders menelaos to kill adrestus even though menelaos intends to spare the trojan. An analysis of the meeting between diomedes and glaucus in iliad 6. Diomedes and glaucus in iliad 6, there is mention of two sorts of madness that. Glaucus tells diomed his lineage and discover they are friends by oath years ago. Diomedes asks that they part as friends, as their grandfathers knew each other.
Polypoetes, and antilochus join in the fray while menelaus attacks the trojan adrestus. 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. Hector returns to troy hektors decision shame or glory. Zeus takes glaucus wits away because he allows him to trade his gold armor for diomedes bronze. One has to take this as the artisticcreative license of homer when diomedes and glaucus converse and glaucus says highhearted son of tydeus, why ask about my birth. The gods having left the field, the grecians prevail. The two men come across each other in no mans land, and were both eager to fight 43. 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. Hector arrives in troy and meets his mother hecuba.
I argue rather that the abbreviated narrative is evidence of how the poet. These movements end in books xv, xvi, and xvii when the trojans fire the greek ships, patroklos is killed, and. In the tenth year of the trojan war, tensions are running high among the achaians a superancient name for the ancient greeks. In the overall structure of the epic, this fighting involves three large movements between the ships and the city. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Book 6 illiad patrick lynch eng203b prof brophy reading. This, if nothing else, has made the meeting of glaucus and diomedes famous. And diomedes, good at the warcry, slew axylus, teuthras son, that dwelt in. 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. Characters in book vi of the aeneid characters in the iliad lycians people of the trojan war trojans. Chapter summary for homers the iliad, book 6 summary. The fighting that began in book v continues in book vi. However, no ancient source gives diomedes as jasons name, despite claims to the contrary. 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.
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