Lord of the Rings and The Illiad

1456 Words3 Pages

The story begins in the Shire, where the Hobbit Frodo Baggins inherits the Ring from Bilbo, his cousin and guardian. Gandalf the Grey, a wizard and old friend of Bilbo, strongly advises Frodo to take it away from the Shire, accompanied by his gardener and friend, Sam-wise Gamgee, and two cousins, Meridoc Brandybuck (Mary) and Peregin Took (Pippin). Along the way, Aragon, Isildur's heir, persuades them to take him on as guide and protector. They flee from the town of Bree after narrowly escaping an assault, which later occurs on the hill of Weathrop, wounding Frodo with a Morgul blade. Aragorn leads the hobbits toward the Elven refuge of Rivendell, while Frodo gradually succumbs to the wound. The Ringwraiths nearly overtake Frodo at the Ford of Bruien, but flood waters summoned by Elrond, master of Rivendell, rise up and overwhelm them. Frodo recovers in Rivendell under the care of Elrond.
The Ring must be destroyed, but that can only be done by returning it to the flames of Mount Doom in Mordor, where it was forged. Frodo volunteers to take on this daunting task, and a “Fellowship of the Ring" is formed to aid him: Sam, Merry, Pippin, Aragorn, Gandalf, Gimli the Dwarf, Leagolas the Elf, and Boromir, the Man, son of the Ruling Steward Denathor of the realm of Gondor. Frodo escapes after a battle with the others against the Orcs and determines to continue the quest alone, though Sam guesses his intent and comes along. The Fellowship of the Ring is broken. Orcs sent by Saruman and Sauron kill Boromir and kidnap Merry and Pippin. Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas pursue the orcs bearing Merry and Pippin to Saruman.
Merry and Pippin escape into Fangorn Forest, where they are befriended by Treebeard, the oldest of the tree-like Ents. Aragorn...

... middle of paper ...

...th a series of games in his honor. Achilles drags Hector’s body in circles around Patroclus’s funeral bier.
The gods agree that Hector deserves a proper burial. Zeus sends the god Hermes to escort King Priam, Hector’s father and the ruler of Troy, into the Greek camp. Priam begs Achilles to take pity on a father mourning his son and return Hector’s body. He invokes the memory of Achilles’ own father, Peleus. Achilles finally relents and returns Hector’s corpse to the Trojans. Both sides agree to a temporary truce, and Hector receives a hero’s funeral.
The Greek poet Homer was born sometime between the 12th and 8th centuries BC, possibly somewhere on the coast of Asia Minor. He is famous for the epic poems The Iliad and The Odyssey, which have had an enormous effect on Western culture, but very little is known about their alleged author. He died in 701 BCE in Greece.

Open Document