Allusions In The Iliad

Homer is a well-known and glorified enigma. Homer is the sum of two texts, the Iliad and the Odyssey. During antiquity, there were many texts attributed to Homer, or Homers, rather. These works of art were called Homeric hymn. We think of the Iliad and the Odyssey as being most strongly attested to Homer. The two were present at the very beginning of Greek literature. Who was Homer? Or moreover, who were Homer? This mystery surrounding authorship of the precursor hymns to Greek and Roman literature has been deemed the Homeric Question. The Homeric Question took different forms at different times throughout modern history. Scholars with opposing theories have divided themselves into camps which have their own set of proof. The question I will

The audience is dropped into the middle of a decade long conflict between the Greeks and Trojans, and the story continues from this point onward. The epic highlights the actions preceding the climax of the Trojan War, the duel of Hector and Achilles, the greatest heroes of the clashing nations. Allusions are made to past events, although the author, or authors, do not explore these allusions. The Iliad expects the reader to know of the fate of Achilles, arguably the most important character in the epic. An expectation of a knowledge base is reason to believe that the Iliad was heavily engrained in the epic cycle, so much so that single authorship could be dismissed. In contrast, The Odyssey follows Odysseus through space and time as he recounts past run-ins with Cyclopes, bondage to nymphs, and horrific scenes of warfare and retribution. The structure is much like that of the novel; the epic has a clear beginning, middle, and end. Between the two epics the Odyssey is often more appealing to modern readers. On the other side of the structure and coherence spectrum, the Iliad sets itself up to be all about the wrath of Achilles. The epic opens